Clinton, Kerry & Boxer Introduce Legislation Requiring Pentagon to Prepare for Iraq Redeployment

August 2, 2007

Washington, DC – During a press conference this afternoon on Capitol Hill, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced legislation that would require the Pentagon to prepare a report and briefing for Congress on contingency planning for redeploying troops from Iraq.

A transcript of Senator Clinton’s remarks is below:

Senator Kerry and I and our co-sponsors for this legislation are here today because we believe strongly in the vital role that Congress has played throughout our history in holding administrations accountable and protecting our nation and our military's future through rigorous debate and oversight.

Our system of checks and balances is a source of strength, and it ensures that our policies are tested by the fires of the democratic process.

That is why on May 22, 2007, I wrote to Secretary of Defense Gates, requesting that he provide the appropriate oversight committees in Congress with briefings on contingency plans for the future of our troops in Iraq.

I did so out of a sense of seriousness and concern because the seeds of many problems that continue to plague our troops and the mission in Iraq were planted in the failure to plan for the conflict and properly equip our men and women in uniform.

And Secretary Gates had previously said that planning had been limited to more of just broader conceptual thinking. In fact, General Pace had reiterated that the Joint Chiefs of Staff had not received orders to prepare contingency plans.

Instead of the kind of partnership that we should have between the executive and the congressional branch, the Bush administration offered a political, unacceptable response through Undersecretary Edelman, a reply that suggested congressional oversight emboldens our enemies and public debate over Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda.

It was a letter that impugned the patriotism of millions of Americans, including a bipartisan majority in the United States Senate who believe it is long past time to change course in Iraq.

I appreciate that Secretary Gates followed up with a different letter that expressed regret this important discussion went astray and reaffirmed his support for congressional oversight.

In fact, as a result of my inquiry, a classified Pentagon briefing regarding planning took place this morning before the Senate Armed Services Committee, and I welcomed that briefing.

Whatever the contingency might be, it is clear that planning is essential, and not just planning in broad strokes, but very specific plans that take into account all the various and often difficult contingencies and circumstances that we will face.

Withdrawing troops from Iraq will be dangerous and difficult. And we must oversee the Bush administration, as the Constitution demands, and that four years of mistakes and mismanagement in Iraq require.

That is why we are introducing this legislation – Senators Kerry, Boxer, Lautenberg, Bayh, Brown and Whitehouse -- to mandate that the Pentagon brief Congress on contingency planning to ensure the safe and secure redeployment of our troops from Iraq.

This goes way beyond politics and certainly beyond partisanship. The American people have said, consistently, it is time to change course in Iraq. We don't believe it is possible to wake up one morning and order a change of course. We think you have to be preparing, even if it is painful to do so.

And after four years of miscalculations and misjudgments, the need for oversight could not be clearer.

So I appreciate my colleagues joining me. And we will continue to do whatever we can to make sure that we protect our young men and women in uniform, that we protect as many lives of Americans and Iraqis as possible.

We must not redeploy out of Iraq with the same combination of arrogance and incompetence with which the Bush administration exhibited deploying into Iraq. We did not have a smart plan to go in, but we will do everything in our power to be sure we have a smart plan to get out.

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