Commemorating the 30th anniversary of Operation Provide Comfort.

Bill: 117-hconres-32
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Waltz, Michael [R-FL-6]
Introduced: 2021-04-30
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Commemorative events and holidays

Conflicts and wars

Congressional tributes

Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad

Foreign aid and international relief

Human rights

International organizations and cooperation

Iraq

Middle East

Military operations and strategy

Racial and ethnic relations

Refugees, asylum, displaced persons

Terrorism
Latest action: action_date: 2021-04-30
text: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2021-04-30
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>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.</p>

tv_txt: IV 117th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 32 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

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.