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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 counternarcotics 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,

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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

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will further advance the close partnership between the United States and Afghanistan: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That—

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(1) Congress welcomes the first democraticallyelected 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.

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Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. It is the intention of the Chair to ask unanimous consent to consider the measures en bloc, and that the resolutions and the amendments which the Members have before them be considered as read. All Members are given lead to insert their prepared remarks into the record.

[The amendments referred to follow:]

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H.L.C.

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

TO H. RES. 273

OFFERED BY MS. ROS-LEHTINEN

Strike the preamble and insert the following:

Whereas the people of the Lebanese Republic have a rich, proud, and honorable history dating from ancient times to the present;

Whereas Lebanon and the United States have enjoyed a his

tory of friendship and cooperation which has been marked by the immigration of many Lebanese to the United States where they and their descendants have contributed greatly to the fabric of American life;

Whereas Syria has dominated the Lebanese political scene, resulting in a deterioration of Lebanon's human rights situation, the manipulation of Lebanese election results to meet Syria's requirements, and the imposition of curbs on Lebanon's media, once the freest in the Arab world; Whereas Syria has publicly withdrawn its military forces

from Lebanon, leaving behind, however, an intelligence structure;

Whereas Congress conditioned the lifting of sanctions on Damascus in the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-175) upon the Government of Syria ending its occupation of Lebanon (including the complete withdrawal of intelligence and all other security-related personnel in Lebanon) and upon other factors;

Whereas the international community has, through the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559

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