Michael Rule, the writer of this article for Newsbusters.org, closes this post with:

It seems no clear thinking individual wants civil war, and that Iraqi politicians realize the only people who would benefit are the extremists. Wouldn’t the American people be better served if perhaps the media spent more time reporting the facts in Iraq as a whole and less time sensationalizing the idea of civil war due to violence in Baghdad?

Mr. Rule, the answer to that one is fairly obvious. The corps of reporters from America that are in Iraq are not much different than the White House press corps.

These are reporters that sit in their hotels and offices in the Green Zone in Baghdad and write either what they see in their little neighborhood. So, it doesn't matter what is going on in a country that is about twice the size of Colorado. If things are bad in the neighborhood of the large city they live in, then the entire country is falling apart ... no matter what the facts are outside the city limits of Baghdad.

It's a classic case of: "I've made up my mind. Don't confuse me with the facts."