[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 6, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H1216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE

  (Mr. HARE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HARE. Mr. Speaker, no one can deny that the situation on the 
ground in Iraq is grave and rapidly deteriorating and therefore 
deserves the immediate and undivided attention of this Congress.
  Last week, the National Intelligence Estimate released a pessimistic 
outlook on the future of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The NIE offers no 
hope that under the likeliest of scenarios the level of violence in 
Iraq will be significantly reduced between the next 12 to 18 months.
  Additionally, the Iraq Study Group has identified the increase of 
sectarian violence in Iraq as a principal challenge to stability in the 
Middle East. In light of the current situation, a military approach is 
no longer a viable solution to stabilizing Iraq. Our success in Iraq is 
dependent upon a forward change in direction, which involves input of 
Iraq's neighbors and the entire international community.
  Through political and diplomatic engagement we have a serious chance 
of reducing sectarian tensions, bringing our troops home, and 
ultimately declaring victory in Iraq. I urge my colleagues in both 
Houses to put aside partisan differences and honestly debate our 
strategy in Iraq.

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