While all of us pray that the violence continues to subside. we should also appreciate history enough to know that lulls in intense violence are not always permanent. Let me also state that the current levels of violence in Iraq are still unacceptably high. As Joe Christoff of the Government Accountability Office recently testified. this recent reduction in violence should be put into the proper context as it coincides with increased sectarian cleansing and a massive refugee displacement. Let me quote: "You know. we look at the attack data going down. but its not taking into consideration that there might be fewer attacks because you have ethnically cleansed neighborhoods. particularly in the Baghdad area. Its produced 2.2 million refugees that have left. and its produced 2 million internally displaced persons within the country as well." Mr. Speaker. we must remember that the justification for the surge and the justification for the Bush military strategy in Iraq has always been to foster Iraqi political reconciliation. And there is precious little evidence of any such thing.
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