Whereas the ancient Greeks developed the concept of
democracy, in which the supreme power to govern was vested in the
people;
Whereas the Founding Fathers of the United States drew
heavily on the political experience and philosophy of ancient Greece in forming
a representative democracy;
Whereas Greek Commander in Chief Petros Mavromichalis, a
founder of the modern Greek state, said to the citizens of the United States in
1821 that it is in your land that liberty has fixed her abode and . . .
in imitating you, we shall imitate our ancestors and be thought worthy of them
if we succeed in resembling you
;
Whereas, during World War II, Greece played a major role
in the struggle to protect freedom and democracy by bravely fighting the
historic Battle of Crete, giving the Axis powers their first major setback in
the land war, and setting off a chain of events that significantly affected the
outcome of World War II;
Whereas Greece paid a high price for defending the common
values of Greece and the United States in the deaths of hundreds of thousands
of Greek civilians during World War II;
Whereas, throughout the 20th century, Greece was 1 of only
3 countries in the world, outside the former British Empire, that allied with
the United States in every major international conflict;
Whereas President George W. Bush, in recognizing Greek
Independence Day in 2002, said, Greece and America have been firm allies
in the great struggles for liberty. . . . Americans will always remember Greek
heroism and Greek sacrifice for the sake of freedom. . . . [and a]s the 21st
century dawns, Greece and America once again stand united; this time in the
fight against terrorism. . . . The United States deeply appreciates the role
Greece is playing in the war against terror. . . . America and Greece are
strong allies, and we're strategic partners.
;
Whereas President Bush stated that Greece's successful
law enforcement operations against a terrorist organization [November
17] responsible for 3 decades of terrorist attacks underscore the important
contributions Greece is making to the global war on terrorism
;
Whereas Greece is a strategic partner and ally of the
United States in bringing political stability and economic development to the
volatile Balkan region, investing over $20,000,000,000, creating over 200,000
new jobs, and contributing over $750,000,000 in development aid to the
region;
Whereas Greece was extraordinarily responsive to requests
by the United States during the war in Iraq, immediately granting the United
States unlimited access to Greece's airspace and the base in Souda Bay, and
many United States ships that delivered troops, cargo, and supplies to Iraq
were refueled in Greece;
Whereas Greece actively participates in peacekeeping and
peace-building operations conducted by international organizations including
the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union,
and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe;
Whereas, in August 2004, the Olympic games came home to
Athens, Greece, the land in which the games began 2,500 years ago and the city
in which the games were revived in 1896;
Whereas Greece received worldwide praise for its
extraordinary handling during the 2004 Olympics of more than 14,000 athletes
and more than 2,000,000 spectators and journalists, a feat Greece handled
efficiently, securely, and with famous Greek hospitality;
Whereas the unprecedented security effort in Greece for
the first Olympics after the attacks on the United States on September 11,
2001, included a record-setting expenditure of more than $1,390,000,000 and the
assignment of more than 70,000 security personnel, as well as the utilization
of an 8-country Olympic Security Advisory Group that included the United
States;
Whereas Greece, located in a region in which Christianity
mixes with Islam and Judaism, maintains excellent relations with Muslim
countries and Israel;
Whereas the Government of Greece has had extraordinary
success in recent years in furthering cross-cultural understanding and reducing
tensions between Greece and Turkey, as seen most recently with the January 2008
visit to Turkey by the Prime Minister of Greece, Kostas Karamanlis, the first
official visit to Turkey by a Prime Minister of Greece in 49 years;
Whereas Greece is a key energy security hub that delivers
gas to Europe via the Turkey-Greece-Italy Interconnector;
Whereas Greece is a world leader in the assimilation of
immigrants, with immigrants having grown to more than 10 percent of people
employed in Greece;
Whereas Greece and the United States are at the forefront
of the effort to advance freedom, democracy, peace, stability, and human
rights;
Whereas those and other ideals have forged a close bond
between the governments and the peoples of Greece and the United States;
Whereas March 25, 2008, marks the 187th anniversary of the
beginning of the revolution that freed the people of Greece from the Ottoman
Empire; and
Whereas it is proper and desirable for the people of the
United States to celebrate this anniversary with the people of Greece and to
reaffirm the democratic principles from which both Greece and the United States
were born: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
(1)designates March
25, 2008, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of
Greek and American Democracy
; and
(2)encourages the
people of the United States to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and
activities.