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ESTONIA Amid a new media debate over use of the phrase "civil war" to describe deteriorating conditions in Iraq, President Bush said Tuesday that the sectarian violence rocking Iraq is not civil war but part of an al-Qaida plot to use violence to goad Iraqi factions into repeatedly attacking each other.

Meanwhile, asked at a press briefing about the "civil war" tag, top Bush adviser Stephen Hadley denied it, but added, "It is what it is."

"No question it's tough, no question about it," Bush said at a news conference with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves. "There's a lot of sectarian violence taking place, fomented in my opinion because of the attacks by al-Qaida causing people to seek reprisal."

Bush, who travels to Jordan later in the week for a summit with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said the latest cycle of violence does not represent a new era in Iraq. The country is reeling from the deadliest week of sectarian fighting since the war began in March 2003.

"We've been in this phase for a while," Bush said.

This comment appeared at odds with the assessment of the president's national security adviser, who told reporters on the way to Estonia that Iraq is in a "new phase" that requires changes.

On Monday NBC and MSNBC announced they would henceforth refer to the conflict as a "civil war," and The New York Times also said it was adjusting its terminology.

Hadley, the national security adviser, had the following exchange with reporters while traveling with the president on Monday, en route to Estonia.
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Q Do you maintain it's still not a civil war in Iraq?

MR. HADLEY: Well, it's interesting, the Iraqis don't talk of it as a civil war; the unity government doesn't talk of it as a civil war. And I think the things they point to when they say that are, one, that at this point in time the army and the police have not fractured along sectarian lines, which is what you've seen elsewhere; and the government continues to be holding together and has not fractured on sectarian terms.

But, look, the point is, it is what it is. There is a high level of sectarian violence. It is a challenge for the Iraqis. It's a challenge for us. We need to be talking about a way forward and a strategy for dealing with it. And that's really what the President has been focusing on and where we need to focus -- how to deal with this particular challenge going forward.

Q -- the President fears that were he to --

MR. SNOW: -- (inaudible) -- civil war? No, but you have not yet had a situation also where you have two clearly defined and opposing groups vying not only for power, but for territory. What you do have is sectarian violence that seems to be less aimed at gaining full control over an area than expressing differences, and also trying to destabilize a democracy -- which is different than a civil war, where two sides are clashing for territory and supremacy.

Q Can I just follow on -- isn't the President's fear that were he to acknowledge that it is a civil war that there would be a further bottoming-out of public support? There certainly have been Republicans and others who have said the public would not stand by for U.S. forces to be in the middle of a civil war. So isn't there a political dimension to this that nobody wants to admit, including the Iraqis, that it is a civil war?

MR. HADLEY: I don't think Americans have any -- I think they -- through the media and other things, there is a high degree of awareness, obviously that there is a lot of sectarian violence. You know, you show it on your TVs and it's in the newspapers. This is something that they're well aware of and they're obviously very concerned about it and want to know what our strategy is going forward, in light of this phenomenon -- which has really served us, since February and the bombing of the Shia mosque.

So it is a new element on the security scene; it is a real challenge to the government; it is something that the government needs to address. The unity government is clear and aware of that. And it's a big challenge, and people understand that. So I think people are aware, they're concerned, they want us to work out a strategy with the Iraqi government that offers the prospect of dealing with this problem. And that's what we're going to try to do.