Republican U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint said Tuesday that unchecked violence has made civil war in Iraq "more possible now," but that he doubts that will happen.

"I'm still optimistic that if left alone, the population will support the government," he told editors and reporters of The Greenville News.

Last week, the U.S. military high command in Iraq warned that the nation is moving closer to civil war.

DeMint, who visited Iraq last year and met with American military commanders and Iraqi government officials, said he senses "dwindling support" in America for the war, although no strong sentiment for pulling out.

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While polls show a majority of Americans want troops out, DeMint said, "it depends how you ask the question. People are tired of the war, but if you ask if we should just leave, the numbers change."

DeMint said it would be "dangerously naive" not to view Iraq in context with the worldwide war on terror.

"I believe the only reason we haven't been attacked here again is because we're on the offensive and they've had to fight us in other places," DeMint said.

He rejected statements by Hezbollah that it won the 33-day war with Israel that ended Monday with a UN-imposed cease-fire.

But DeMint said Israel lost the public relations battle because the agreement and images of civilian casualties "puts Hezbollah on an equal footing with Israel," a situation that "is very distressing."