October 2, 2007 — Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) today made the following statement regarding his vote against H.R. 3087, the Iraq Redeployment bill, which would require the Administration and State Department, Defense Department, and senior military leaders, to develop and transmit to Congress a comprehensive strategy for the “redeployment” of U.S. Armed Forces from Iraq.

Franks stated, “When Democrats use euphemisms like “redeployment,” they really mean retreat.  Al Qaeda well understands this, and it sends a message that weakens the morale of our troops.  In reality, this bill is just a messaging tool to appease the Democrats’ liberal base, and conveys the partisan defeatism of liberal politicians to our noble warfighters on the battlefield, as well as to our enemies.

“The President and the Department of Defense are continually developing contingency plans including the withdrawal of our troops at the appropriate time, which makes this entire bill redundant at best.  The efforts of House Democrats would be much better spent in bringing meaningful legislation to the Floor such as the Appropriations bill for our military and veterans that was overdue on October 1st.”

House Democrats advocated for H.R. 3087 ostensibly to force the hand of the Commander in Chief to tell Congress how or when he plans to withdraw American troops in Iraq.  However, Secretary Gates confirmed once again in July that such contingency planning is already taking place inside the Pentagon.