Mini-Civil War?

A British General states that Iraq's

...sectarian conflict is not a full-blown civil war but could be described as a "civil war in miniature." "In my judgment, we are not in a situation of civil war," British Royal Marine Lt. Gen. Robert Fry told reporters at the Pentagon in a video-teleconference from Baghdad.

It's a mini-civil-war but not a civil war? WTF? Are the people killed less dead because it is a mini-civil-war?

Insanity.