The Wire

Its seems US President George Bush – and his administration – is finally coming to terms with idea that Iraq might be sliding into civil war. On Monday the president acknowledged the toll that the Iraq war was taking on the American people but quickly dismissed the view of some that US troops should leave the country. But with oil prices going up and up as the resource becomes more and more scarce, some observers noted that his comments also highlighted what many have suspected as being the real reason for the Iraq war – the control of Iraq’s oil reserves. This report begins with statements by George W Bush himself, recorded at a White House news conference on Monday.