Title: Commemorating the 30th anniversary of Operation Provide Comfort.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This concurrent resolution commemorates the 30th anniversary of Operation Provide Comfort (the humanitarian operation to defend and deliver aid to Kurdish refugees fleeing attacks by the Hussein regime), and it reaffirms the strong American-Kurdish partnership.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 32 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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;
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
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress hereby--
            (1) commemorates the 30th anniversary of Operation Provide 
        Comfort;
            (2) recognizes and honors the heroic American soldiers, 
        diplomats, political leaders, and coalition partners who 
        implemented Operation Provide Comfort;
            (3) recognizes and honors the bravery of the nearly 
        2,000,000 Kurdish women, children, and men who struggled to 
        survive starvation and exposure, and who welcomed the aid that 
        came and embraced the opportunity for a new life; and
            (4) reaffirms the strong American-Kurdish partnership and 
        enduring respect and support for our Kurdish friends, who 
        courageously stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States 
        in our shared opposition to extremism and terrorism.
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