Rumsfeld denies Iraq sliding into civil war

TOP members of the Bush administration urged Congress quickly to pass a $91 billion spending bill as US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld scrambled to deny Iraq was sliding into civil war.

Mr Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice claimed that, despite a surge in sectarian violence in Iraq, the process of creating a stable government is proceeding satisfactorily.

Rumsfeld was pressed to explain the US military’s plan to respond in the event that Iraq’s sectarian violence grows into a fully-fledged civil war.