•HRES 491 IH 
Whereas, during the NATO Military Committee (MC) visit to 
Georgia on February 11, 2014, and February 12, 2014, 
General Knud Bartels, Chairman of the NATO MC em-
phasized Georgia’s significant progress in achieving its 
ambitious defense reforms; expressed the Committee’s 
‘‘strong support’’ for the reforms and its confidence that 
the ‘‘transformation is comprehensive, solid and irrevers-
ible’’, also noting that ‘‘The NATO Military Committee 
strongly supports these reforms and looks forward to 
strengthening military cooperation, both in terms of oper-
ational engagements and interoperability in order to 
maintain the beneficial partnership we have built 
throughout the years.’’; 
Whereas Georgia has been a reliable partner and ally in en-
hancing global peace and stability with its contribution to 
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; 
Whereas in Iraq, thousands of Georgian forces helped guard 
the Iraqi side of the Iraq-Iran border, having redeployed 
from the safety of the Green Zone to accept this dan-
gerous mission; 
Whereas in Afghanistan, Georgia has contributed troops to 
the NATO-International Security Assistance Force 
(ISAF) mission since 2004, and engaged in combat oper-
ations in Helmand province side-by-side with the United 
States Marines; 
Whereas Georgia has been the largest non-NATO troop con-
tributor and the fifth largest troop contributor overall, 
serving without any national caveats; 
Whereas, despite the heavy casualties, Georgia is committed 
to remain in the NATO ISAF until the end of the mis-
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•HRES 491 IH 
sion and stands ready to continue its significant contribu-
tion to the NATO’s post-ISAF missions in Afghanistan; 
Whereas Georgia remains committed to provide full transit 
capacity in support of the United States and coalition 
troops in Afghanistan; 
Whereas NATO agreed to include Georgia in the NATO Re-
sponse Force in 2015; 
Whereas Georgia expressed its intent to participate in EU 
and United Nations-led crisis management and stabiliza-
tion missions; 
Whereas the United States rejects the long-outdated notion 
of the spheres of influence and strongly stands by the 
principle that sovereign democracies are free in their de-
cision and choice of their own partnerships and alliances; 
Whereas Georgia has sought to strengthen its economic and 
political ties with NATO countries; and 
Whereas the United States has long supported the European 
aspirations of Georgia: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports Georgia’s aspirations to join the 
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); 
(2) recognizes the significant benefits of closer 
economic and political ties between NATO members 
and Georgia which will spur economic growth, 
strengthen democratic institutions and norms, and 
bolster the rule of law in the South Caucasus region 
as well as other countries in Eastern Europe; 
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•HRES 491 IH 
(3) calls on the Government of Russia to re-
spect the rights of countries to make their own sov-
ereign choices with regard to international partner-
ships, including to join NATO; 
(4) urges the Administration and the United 
States Department of State to continue to work 
closely with Georgia to support its entry into NATO; 
(5) acknowledges and supports the progress 
made by Georgia in the NATO membership process; 
and 
(6) urges NATO members to extend a Member-
ship Action Plan (MAP) to Georgia at the NATO 
Summit in the United Kingdom in September 2014. 
Æ 
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