U.S. Won’t Get Into Civil War, but Will Sort Of Hang Out In the General Vicinity

ABC’s headline for the heavily-hyped Vargas/Bush interview:

Bush: U.S. Won’t Get Into Iraq Civil War

And the referenced excerpt:

VARGAS: So let me make sure I understand you. No matter what happens with the level of sectarian violence, the U.S. troops will stay there

BUSH: The U.S. troops will stay there so long as — until the Iraqis can defend themselves. I mean, my policy has not changed.

Well, when the big news in the interview is that “my policy hasn’t changed,” writing a catchy hed’s gotta be difficult. Anyway, it’s a terribly exciting sit-down if you’re a fan of course-staying. Here’s our favorite, only-slightly-out-of-context selection:

BUSH: When I saw TV reporters interviewing people who were screaming for help. It looked — the scenes looked chaotic and desperate. And I realized that our government was — could have done a better job of comforting people. A lot went right, by the way. But the chaotic scenes were very troubling. It just — it was very unsettling for me to realize our fellow citizens were in near-panic wondering where the help was.

VARGAS: Let’s move to Iraq.

Oh, wouldn’t that be lovely! You should!

Bush: Blah Blah Blah Blah [ABC]