U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Thursday said the U.S. military will depend on Iraqi security forces to control the situation if a civil war breaks out in that country.

He made the remarks when testifying with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the issue of the Bush administration's request for 91 billion U. S. dollars to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rumsfeld said in case of a civil war, his plan is to have the Iraqi security forces deal with it, but "to the extent they are able to."

He said the key to avoiding civil war is for Iraq's political leaders to form a government of national unity.

The Pentagon chief also said that it will be "counterproductive " to set a timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces, stressing that he is confident the Iraqis realize the enormity of the stakes at this stage of the process.

However, Gen. John Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command, warned the same Senate committee that Iraq has been moving in the direction of civil war.

"There's no doubt that the sectarian tensions are higher than we've seen, and it is of great concern to all of us," he said.

The Feb. 22 bombing of a sacred Shiite shrine in Samarra has triggered violent reprisals between Iraqi sects in which hundreds of Iraqis were killed.

Source: Xinhua