Click to play videoWashington: American intelligence agencies have just completed a new assessment of prospects in Iraq, and the judgment is grim.
The study is called the National Intelligence Estimate and it concludes current trends mean even more violence in the months to come.
The report says withdrawal of coalition forces would worsen the violence and destroy the fledgling Iraqi military.
The intelligence agencies believe violence in Iraq is going to get worse unless underlying causes are quickly corrected.
The new national intelligence estimate, calls The Prospects for Iraq’s Stability: A Challenging Road Ahead, says sectarian divisions are eroding the effectiveness and dependability of the Iraqi military.
The report is pessimistic about the chances of the government to heal internal divisions, saying the Shia are insecure about their hold on power, and the Sunnis are unwilling to accept their minority status.
The report says Iraqi on Iraqi violence is a greater problem than al-Qaeda attacks but does not use the term civil war to characterise the conflict there.
“I think it oversimplifies it. It’s a bumper sticker answer to what's going on in Iraq,” said US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
Whatever it’s called, the report makes it clear it is not likely to end or get markedly better any time soon.
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