Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3087, which requires the President, in coordination with the Departments of State and Defense, to transmit to the Congress a strategy for the redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq. The bill also requires the Secretary of Defense, not later than 60 days after the enactment of this act, and every 90 days thereafter, to submit to Congressional defense committees a report on the status of this planning. In addition, the bill requires the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to brief these same Congressional committees on the matters contained in the report. Furthermore, the legislation contains “sense of Congress” language that the contingency planning should: address the protection of Iraqi forces, Iraqi nationals, third party nationals and U.S. civilians who have assisted the U.S. mission, enhance the ability of the United States to fight Al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorist organizations, and preserve military equipment necessary to defend the national security interests of the United States. Additional provisions in the bill include supporting and equipping Iraqi armed forces to take full responsibility for their own security.
This resolution is an important component of Congress’ oversight of the Iraq war, and compels the Administration to engage with Congress on the planning for responsible redeployment of our combat troops. The President’s Iraq policy of putting our brave men and women in the armed forces in the position of policing the streets of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities in the midst of a sectarian war is the wrong strategy and one that continually puts them in harms way. I will continue to advocate for an immediate start to the responsible redeployment of our combat troops from Iraq, but in the meantime, it is important to garner as many votes as possible within the Congress to send a strong message to the Administration that it must begin to plan for a comprehensive redeployment of our forces to provide for the best possible protection of our brave men and women in uniform.