III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 476 

Designating March 25, 2008, as ‘‘Greek Independence Day: A National Day 

of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 7, 2008 

Mr. SPECTER (for himself, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Ms. MIKULSKI, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. REED, Mr. REID, Mr. 

SCHUMER, Mr. SMITH, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. 

CARPER, Mr. CASEY, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. CRAIG, Mrs. 

DOLE, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, Mr. GREGG, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. 

KENNEDY, Mr. KERRY, Mr. KOHL, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. SUNUNU, Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. WARNER, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. 

VOINOVICH, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. DODD, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. LAUTENBERG, 

Mr. BROWN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BAYH, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. INOUYE, and 

Mr. SALAZAR) submitted the following resolution; which was considered 

and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating March 25, 2008, as ‘‘Greek Independence Day: 

A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American 

Democracy’’. 

Whereas the ancient Greeks developed the concept of democracy, in which the supreme power to govern was vested 

in the people; 


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•SRES 476 ATS 

Whereas the Founding Fathers of the United States drew 

heavily on the political experience and philosophy of ancient Greece in forming a representative democracy; 

Whereas Greek Commander in Chief Petros Mavromichalis, a 

founder of the modern Greek state, said to the citizens 

of the United States in 1821 that ‘‘it is in your land that 

liberty has fixed her abode and . . . in imitating you, we 

shall imitate our ancestors and be thought worthy of 

them if we succeed in resembling you’’; 

Whereas, during World War II, Greece played a major role 

in the struggle to protect freedom and democracy by 

bravely fighting the historic Battle of Crete, giving the 

Axis powers their first major setback in the land war, 

and setting off a chain of events that significantly affected the outcome of World War II; 

Whereas Greece paid a high price for defending the common 

values of Greece and the United States in the deaths of 

hundreds of thousands of Greek civilians during World 

War II; 

Whereas, throughout the 20th century, Greece was 1 of only 

3 countries in the world, outside the former British Empire, that allied with the United States in every major 

international conflict; 

Whereas President George W. Bush, in recognizing Greek 

Independence Day in 2002, said, ‘‘Greece and America 

have been firm allies in the great struggles for liberty. 

. . . Americans will always remember Greek heroism and 

Greek sacrifice for the sake of freedom. . . . [and a]s the 

21st century dawns, Greece and America once again 

stand united; this time in the fight against terrorism. 

. . . The United States deeply appreciates the role 


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•SRES 476 ATS 

Greece is playing in the war against terror. . . . America 

and Greece are strong allies, and we’re strategic partners.’’; 

Whereas President Bush stated that Greece’s successful ‘‘law 

enforcement operations against a terrorist organization 

[November 17] responsible for 3 decades of terrorist attacks underscore the important contributions Greece is 

making to the global war on terrorism’’; 

Whereas Greece is a strategic partner and ally of the United 

States in bringing political stability and economic development to the volatile Balkan region, investing over 

$20,000,000,000, creating over 200,000 new jobs, and 

contributing over $750,000,000 in development aid to the 

region; 

Whereas Greece was extraordinarily responsive to requests by 

the United States during the war in Iraq, immediately 

granting the United States unlimited access to Greece’s 

airspace and the base in Souda Bay, and many United 

States ships that delivered troops, cargo, and supplies to 

Iraq were refueled in Greece; 

Whereas Greece actively participates in peacekeeping and 

peace-building operations conducted by international organizations including the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, and the 

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; 

Whereas, in August 2004, the Olympic games came home to 

Athens, Greece, the land in which the games began 2,500 

years ago and the city in which the games were revived 

in 1896; 

Whereas Greece received worldwide praise for its extraordinary handling during the 2004 Olympics of more than 


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•SRES 476 ATS 

14,000 athletes and more than 2,000,000 spectators and 

journalists, a feat Greece handled efficiently, securely, 

and with famous Greek hospitality; 

Whereas the unprecedented security effort in Greece for the 

first Olympics after the attacks on the United States on 

September 11, 2001, included a record-setting expenditure of more than $1,390,000,000 and the assignment of 

more than 70,000 security personnel, as well as the utilization of an 8-country Olympic Security Advisory Group 

that included the United States; 

Whereas Greece, located in a region in which Christianity 

mixes with Islam and Judaism, maintains excellent relations with Muslim countries and Israel; 

Whereas the Government of Greece has had extraordinary 

success in recent years in furthering cross-cultural understanding and reducing tensions between Greece and Turkey, as seen most recently with the January 2008 visit 

to Turkey by the Prime Minister of Greece, Kostas 

Karamanlis, the first official visit to Turkey by a Prime 

Minister of Greece in 49 years; 

Whereas Greece is a key energy security hub that delivers gas 

to Europe via the Turkey-Greece-Italy Interconnector; 

Whereas Greece is a world leader in the assimilation of immigrants, with immigrants having grown to more than 10 

percent of people employed in Greece; 

Whereas Greece and the United States are at the forefront 

of the effort to advance freedom, democracy, peace, stability, and human rights; 

Whereas those and other ideals have forged a close bond between the governments and the peoples of Greece and the 

United States; 


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Whereas March 25, 2008, marks the 187th anniversary of 

the beginning of the revolution that freed the people of 

Greece from the Ottoman Empire; and 

Whereas it is proper and desirable for the people of the 

United States to celebrate this anniversary with the people of Greece and to reaffirm the democratic principles 

from which both Greece and the United States were born: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates March 25, 2008, as ‘‘Greek 

3 Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of 

4 Greek and American Democracy’’; and 

5 (2) encourages the people of the United States 

6 to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and 

7 activities. 

Æ 


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