IV 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 32 

Commemorating the 30th anniversary of Operation Provide Comfort. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2021 

Mr. WALTZ (for himself, Mr. COOPER, Mr. STEWART, Mr. CROW, Ms. TITUS, 

Mr. KIM of New Jersey, and Mr. BACON) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 30th anniversary of Operation Provide 

Comfort. 

Whereas after the uprising against Saddam Hussein in 

March 1991, Hussein turned tanks and helicopter 

gunships on the defenseless citizens of Kurdistan; 

Whereas overwhelmed by the Hussein regime’s superior firepower, and having already experienced the genocidal 

death of some 200,000 Kurds, along with the wanton destruction of 4,500 Kurdish villages and deadly chemical 

bombardment, hundreds of thousands of Kurdish men, 

women, and children fled to Iraq’s northern and eastern 

borders, fearing that the regime would use poison gas 

against them, as during the Anfal campaign and in 

Halabja only 3 years before; 


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Whereas in the early days of this refugee crisis, the daily 

death toll of fleeing Kurds at one point exceeded 1,000, 

with victims having no time to gather any possessions or 

winter protective gear and thus succumbing to exposure, 

malnutrition, and disease; 

Whereas the United States, in response to the unfolding 

human catastrophe, led what became the largest humanitarian operation of its kind ever, ‘‘Operation Provide 

Comfort’’, delivering humanitarian relief and enforcing a 

no-fly zone; 

Whereas Operation Provide Comfort saved the lives of countless thousands of Kurds from near certain death on 

Kurdistan’s freezing and rugged border mountains; 

Whereas Kurds, to this day, credit American-led Operation 

Provide Comfort, particularly the no-fly zone that protected the Kurdish people until 2003, for the stable, 

peaceful, and welcoming environment Kurdistan is today; 

Whereas the Kurdistan Region of Iraq serves, as one of the 

world’s largest safe havens for those fleeing conflict and 

religious and political persecution; and 

Whereas the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Kurdish Peshmerga remain among the most dependable and 

steadfast partners of the United States in the fight 

against extremism and terrorism: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress hereby— 

3 (1) commemorates the 30th anniversary of Op4 eration Provide Comfort; 

5 (2) recognizes and honors the heroic American 

6 soldiers, diplomats, political leaders, and coalition 


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1 partners who implemented Operation Provide Com2 fort; 

3 (3) recognizes and honors the bravery of the 

4 nearly 2,000,000 Kurdish women, children, and men 

5 who struggled to survive starvation and exposure, 

6 and who welcomed the aid that came and embraced 

7 the opportunity for a new life; and 

8 (4) reaffirms the strong American-Kurdish 

9 partnership and enduring respect and support for 

10 our Kurdish friends, who courageously stand shoul11 der to shoulder with the United States in our shared 

12 opposition to extremism and terrorism. 

Æ 


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