March 15, 2007—I think the witnesses’ remarks and written testimony remind us that there are American war fighters protecting this country from real and ever present threats. I can’t thank them enough for their service to this country.   

The recent confessions in Guantanamo Bay of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed are stark evidence of this threat. He confessed among other things that attacks he was involved in did not have a chance to take place including attacks on the Panama Canal, the Sears Tower in Chicago, the New York Stock Exchange, U.S. nuclear power plants, London's Heathrow Airport and Big Ben. Mohammed said he shared responsibility for planning an assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II in the Philippines.  Not only should this remind us of our enemy’s intentions, it should also speak to the success of the judicial process created by Congress to try terrorists of war crimes, and the need for Guantanamo Bay.

Congressman Franks is serving his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives, is a member of the Committee on Armed Services, Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Committee on the Judiciary, is Ranking Member on the Constitution Subcommittee, and member of the Anti-Terrorism Caucus