November 19, 2005—Last night, Congress overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to bring America’s troops home from Iraq immediately.  Among the 403 House members who voted against the measure was Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02).  Franks followed up his no vote with an expressive five-minute speech on the House floor where he defended our troops in Iraq and the War against Terrorism.  He had this to say:

“It deeply concerns me that there are members of this body that have been constantly misinforming the public about pre-war intelligence on Iraq and demanding timetables for troop withdrawal.”

Franks also presented the solid evidence that our country is not just at war with enemy combatants, but with an ideology that threatens the very existence of the free world.

“We simply cannot deny that we are fighting a war against enemies with an evil ideology that is bent on the destruction of the Western world.  They are committed to killing us.”

“We are at war!  To undermine the sacrifice and blood-bought advancement of our valiant American soldiers who are at this very moment fighting terrorists in Iraq is unconscionable!”

“If freedom is to survive, to allow Islamist terrorists to declare victory in Iraq is not an option - we must win, and we cannot win if we leave before the job is done.”

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.