Analysts tell Reuters that NBC's decision to call the situation in Iraq a civil war "would increase public disillusionment with the U.S. troop presence there."

The decision "certainly is a major milestone," Ted Carpenter, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, says. "That does change the terminology and is likely to change the perspective of viewers, and one suspects other media outlets will sooner or later follow suit." More...