WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer released the following statement today in response to a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq:

"Today's NIE details once again how Iraq's leaders are not creating the political reconciliation that is necessary for a stable nation to emerge.

"There is widespread agreement that the purpose of the President's escalation was to reduce violence enough to provide breathing space for Iraqi politicians to make significant strides in bringing their people together to build a secure and stable nation.

"Although the report details some reduction in violence it makes clear that it has not been taken advantage of by Iraqi leaders and that Iraqi Security Forces are still highly dependent on the U.S. military.

"Another NIE released recently reported that Al Qaeda has exploited our focus on Iraq to regroup and its strength is now at pre-9/11 levels.

"Both of these reports from our intelligence community are simply further evidence that we must make a strategic redeployment from Iraq and focus on combating global terrorism."