Many media outlets have said it before me, but it goes without saying that we may be on the verge of a civil war in Iraq.

There’s no doubt about it: sectarian violence has been on the rise in Iraq. Since the bombing of the Askariya Shrine (also known as the Golden Mosque), which is an important and sacred place for Shiite Muslims, tensions between Shiites and Sunnis have risen.

Many media outlets have said it before me, but we may be on the verge of a civil war in Iraq.

To be sure, many of the rumors of civil war are hype. But that does not mean that such a war cannot happen or become reality sooner than we think.

The bombing took place Feb. 22, but the death toll since then is astonishing. According to an article on the ABC News Web site on March 1, nearly 380 people have been killed since the bombing occurred. The L.A. Times reports that 76 people were killed on Tuesday as Shiites and Sunnis exchanged mortar and bomb attacks aimed chiefly at religious areas.

It is obvious that much animosity exists between the two sects. But what are we to do about it?

If a civil war is to break out within the borders of Iraq, do American soldiers become officiators? Or do we take a side?

Progress in Iraq is moving too slowly; of that we can be sure. According to CNN.com on Feb. 24, the Pentagon announced that no Iraqi battalions are capable of carrying out missions on their own.

This isn’t progress; this is going backwards. Prior to this, there was at least one battalion that was capable of carrying out such missions.

The administration must now reassess how it will train the Iraqis to defend themselves. There is progress being made, but it is being made slower than the violence is escalating. We need to step it up, to push the Iraqis harder so that they can learn to defend their own soil. Otherwise, the American soldiers in Iraq will soon find themselves entwined in a civil war.

The question then becomes that of the role we must take if a civil war breaks out. Should the troops come home? Of that, I am uncertain. If the situation in Iraq becomes a civil war, then the troops really have no place in staying within the borders — it is not their fight.

But should they leave, it leaves Iraq vulnerable to outside influences.

I am for the American soldiers to come home as soon as they can. I was always for that. We cannot leave tomorrow, but perhaps tomorrow we can begin to think about when our soldiers can come home. We need to do it under the right conditions, with American soldiers leaving when we know a civil war will not break out.

Unfortunately, that does not look possible, because civil war may occur whether we are there or not.

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