III 
109TH CONGRESS 
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 cross-
roads 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;
HCON 153 RFS 
Whereas following the Soviet withdrawal, Afghanistan went 
through a period of chaos and conflict, exacerbated by in-
sufficient 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 inter-
national terrorism, and helping Afghans build a demo-
cratic government; 
Whereas the Afghan Constitution, drafted by a broadly rep-
resentative 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, estab-
lishes procedures for free and fair elections, creates a sys-
tem of checks and balances between the executive, legisla-
tive and judicial branches, encourages a free market 
economy and private enterprise, and obligates the state 
to prevent all types of terrorist activity and the produc-
tion 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 re-
sponsibility; 
Whereas Hamid Karzai, formerly the interim President, was 
elected to a five-year term as Afghanistan’s first demo-
cratically-elected President in the country’s history;
HCON 153 RFS 
Whereas nationwide parliamentary elections are planned for 
September 18, 2005, and further demonstrate the Af-
ghan Government’s commitment to adhere to democratic 
norms; 
Whereas the Government of Afghanistan has demonstrated a 
firm commitment to halting the cultivation and traf-
ficking 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 oper-
ations, 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 eco-
nomic development, and governmental and security ca-
pacity 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 coopera-
tive 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 demo-
cratic 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:
HCON 153 RFS 
‘‘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 Afghani-
stan] 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 Afghani-
stan and in the region. This requires sustaining and ac-
celerating the reconstruction of Afghanistan, through 
long-term commitment. . . . We must enhance our stra-
tegic 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 rela-
tionship, a political relationship, and most important of 
all, a strategic security relationship that would enable Af-
ghanistan to defend itself, to continue to prosper, to stop 
interferences, the possibility of interferences in Afghani-
stan.’’; 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
HCON 153 RFS 
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 part-
nership between the United States and Afghani-
stan should continue to be a primary objective 
of both countries to advance a shared vision of 
peace, freedom, security, and broad-based eco-
nomic development between the two countries 
and throughout the world. 
Passed the House of Representatives May 23, 2005. 
Attest: 
JEFF TRANDAHL, 
Clerk.