Madam Speaker, Monday, yesterday, was the most violent day so far this year in Iraq. In what the Associated Press called a ``relentless cascade of bombings and shootings,'' insurgents killed more than 100 people, not to mention hundreds of wounded and maimed, in a series of coordinated attacks. Both civilian and security forces came under siege: a bombing outside a restaurant in Kut province; another at the mayor's office in Tarmiya; another at a market in Suwayra; and security checkpoints throughout Baghdad hit by gunmen disguised as street cleaners.

At a textile factory in the city of Hillah, the bombing was timed at the end of a shift, maximizing the bloodshed and the casualties. When people rushed to help the wounded, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in the crowd, just adding to the carnage. According to the AP account, the wounded in Hillah could be heard cursing their government for its inability to protect them.

A few years ago, you'll remember we were told the insurgency was in its ``last throes.'' But it is clearly capable of wreaking havoc--and doing so with precision and sophisticated planning. The continuing political instability in Iraq is contributing to the chaos, as the elections held more than 2 months ago have yet to produce a clear winner and a new government. There's real danger, Madam Speaker, that if the Sunnis are not given a stake in the new government, we could see the kind of sectarian strife bordering on civil war that exploded in Iraq just a few years ago.

With most of the recent attention on Afghanistan, this onslaught serves as a chilling reminder of just how dangerous and unstable Iraq remains. Fear and violence remain a way of life. We can't become complacent, Madam Speaker. We can't forget about the role of the U.S.-led military occupation and what role that played in inflaming the insurgency in the first place and in provoking these kinds of attacks. Much was made of the supposed blow to the insurgency when two leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq were killed last month. Yesterday's horror just goes to show that killing terrorists and killing militants just makes it easier for al Qaeda to recruit new ones.

Just a few hours ago comes word that top officials are apparently drawing exactly the wrong conclusion for Monday's attacks. They're talking about slowing down the pace of the redeployment of our troops out of Iraq. What we need instead, Madam Speaker, is an acceleration of the redeployment plan, because our continued military presence is a key factor in motivating militants to acts of unspeakable terror. We're doing as much to engender violence as to tamp it down. We're doing as much to undermine security as we are to contributing to it. Only by ending our military occupation and replacing it with a civilian surge can we hope to foster peace, stability, and democracy in Iraq.

The men and women of our armed services have performed their duties with honor and courage. They are not to blame for a failed policy, Madam Speaker. But for their safety and for the good of Iraq and for the good of the future of the Iraqi civilians and their country, let's bring our troops home.