September 25, 2006—Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) rebuked the anti-American message of the 9/11 Memorial commissioned and praised by Governor Janet Napolitano. The Governor said it is “a memorial for Arizona that fully encapsulates the losses that American suffered on September 11, 2001”. It is described as a flat ring that has phrases cut into the metal. When the sun shines through the cut-out phrases, they appear legibly on the sidewalk. Many of the phrases included are anti-American, unfounded, and have little or no relation to the September 11, 2001 tragedy.  For instance, the date of the “Gulf of Tonkin incident” is listed, as is the accidental bombing by U.S. marines of an Afghani wedding party in 2002. Criticism of the memorial originated among members of the blogosphere, and Congressman Franks thanks them for their work to make sure that the truth is safeguarded in this memorial.

 Governor Napolitano stated that, “We who are here will always remember . . . but (the memorial) is designed for the children of Arizona of tomorrow. We want them to understand what happened.” Congressman Franks responded, “The Memorial’s reflection of a warped revisionist outlook on history is tragic in that the anti-American sentiments and blatant misrepresentation of facts will be the Governor’s legacy to future generations.  Endorsing a deception intrinsic in this memorial is disgraceful and the epitome of irresponsibility in a public official.”

Congressman Franks further said, “I wish the architects hadn’t projected their ahistorical and anti-American prejudices into a space meant for solemn reflection and public mourning. It is shameful that Governor Napolitano’s commission rejected the opportunity to bring people together and instead chose to use this memorial to make an outrageous political statement.”

Trent Franks is the Congressman from the 2nd Congressional District of Arizona.  He is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, the House Judiciary Committee and Vice Chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee