[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 153 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 153
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 24, 2005
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Welcoming His Excellency Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan, on
the occasion of his visit to the United States in May 2005 and
expressing support for a strong and enduring strategic partnership
between the United States and Afghanistan.
Whereas Afghanistan, a great nation located at the crossroads of many
civilizations, has suffered the ravages of war, foreign intervention,
occupation, and oppression;
Whereas the Afghan people courageously resisted the decade-long occupation of
their country by the former Soviet Union, forcing a Soviet withdrawal in
1989 and thereby contributing to the end of the Cold War;
Whereas following the Soviet withdrawal, Afghanistan went through a period of
chaos and conflict, exacerbated by insufficient attention from the
international community, during which time the Taliban militia seized
control of much of the country and provided a base of operations to Al
Qaeda and other terrorist elements;
Whereas following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States
launched Operation Enduring Freedom, liberating the Afghan people from
tyranny, transforming Afghanistan from a haven for terrorists into a
strategic partner in the struggle against international terrorism, and
helping Afghans build a democratic government;
Whereas the Afghan Constitution, drafted by a broadly representative Loya Jirga,
or Grand Council, and enacted on January 4, 2004, provides for equal
rights for and full participation of women, mandates full compliance
with international norms for human and civil rights, establishes
procedures for free and fair elections, creates a system of checks and
balances between the executive, legislative and judicial branches,
encourages a free market economy and private enterprise, and obligates
the state to prevent all types of terrorist activity and the production
and trafficking of narcotics;
Whereas more than 10.5 million Afghan men and women voted in national
presidential elections in October 2004, demonstrating commitment to
democracy, courage in the face of threats of violence, and a deep sense
of civic responsibility;
Whereas Hamid Karzai, formerly the interim President, was elected to a five-year
term as Afghanistan's first democratically-elected President in the
country's history;
Whereas nationwide parliamentary elections are planned for September 18, 2005,
and further demonstrate the Afghan Government's commitment to adhere to
democratic norms;
Whereas the Government of Afghanistan has demonstrated a firm commitment to
halting the cultivation and trafficking of narcotics and has cooperated
fully with the United States and its allies on a wide range of counter-
narcotics initiatives;
Whereas in addition to military and law enforcement operations, President Karzai
welcomes the United States and the international community to assist
Afghanistan's counter-narcotics campaign by supporting programs to
provide alternative livelihoods for farmers, sustained economic
development, and governmental and security capacity building;
Whereas recognizing that long-term political stability requires sustained
economic security, Afghanistan is striving to create an economic base to
provide meaningful livelihoods for all of its people, and the United
States has a cooperative interest in helping Afghanistan achieve this
goal;
Whereas section 101(1) of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C.
7511(1)) declares that the ``United States and the international
community should support efforts that advance the development of
democratic civil authorities and institutions in Afghanistan and the
establishment of a new broad-based, multi-ethnic, gender-sensitive, and
fully representative government in Afghanistan'';
Whereas on June 15, 2004, during President Karzai's visit to the United States,
President George W. Bush stated: ``Afghanistan's journey to democracy
and peace deserves the support and respect of every nation. . . . The
world and the United States stand with [the people of Afghanistan] as
partners in their quest for peace and prosperity and stability and
democracy.'';
Whereas on June 15, 2004, in his address to a joint meeting of Congress,
President Karzai stated: ``We must build a partnership that will
consolidate our achievements and enhance stability, prosperity and
democracy in Afghanistan and in the region. This requires sustaining and
accelerating the reconstruction of Afghanistan, through long-term
commitment. . . . We must enhance our strategic partnership. The
security of our two nations are intertwined.'';
Whereas on April 13, 2005, while receiving the visiting United States Secretary
of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, President Karzai, in expressing the desire
of the Afghan people for a long-term strategic partnership with the
United States, stated: ``They want this relationship to be a wholesome
one, including a sustained economic relationship, a political
relationship, and most important of all, a strategic security
relationship that would enable Afghanistan to defend itself, to continue
to prosper, to stop interferences, the possibility of interferences in
Afghanistan.''; and
Whereas the people of the United States, and their elected representatives, are
honored to welcome President Karzai back to the United States in May
2005 on a visit that will further advance the close partnership between
the United States and Afghanistan: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That--
(1) Congress welcomes the first democratically-elected
President of Afghanistan, His Excellency Hamid Karzai, as an
honored guest and valued friend upon his visit to the United
States in May 2005; and
(2) it is the sense of Congress that--
(A) a democratic, stable, and prosperous
Afghanistan is a vital security interest of the United
States; and
(B) a strong and enduring strategic partnership
between the United States and Afghanistan should
continue to be a primary objective of both countries to
advance a shared vision of peace, freedom, security,
and broad-based economic development between the two
countries and throughout the world.
Passed the House of Representatives May 23, 2005.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.