[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 74 (Monday, May 19, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S6633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 45--EXPRESSING APPRECIATION TO THE 
  GOVERNMENT OF KUWAIT FOR THE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IT PROVIDED TO ALI 
    ISMAEEL ABBAS AND OTHER CHILDREN OF IRAQ AND FOR THE ADDITIONAL 
 HUMANITARIAN AID PROVIDED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE OF KUWAIT, AND 
                           FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Ms. LANDRIEU submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 45

       Whereas the plight of Ali Ismaeel Abbas, 12, of Baghdad, 
     Iraq, who lost his parents and several other relatives, 
     suffered severe burns, and lost both his arms on March 29, 
     2003, during the military conflict in Iraq, has aroused 
     concern on the part of people all around the world;
       Whereas, with the approval of the Cabinet of the Government 
     of Kuwait, First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister 
     of Kuwait Shaykh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jabir Al-Sabah personally 
     called for Ali to receive medical treatment in Kuwait;
       Whereas the Ministry of Health of Kuwait has agreed to care 
     for the orphaned Ali;
       Whereas Dr. Ahmad al-Shatti, spokesman for the Ibn Sina 
     Hospital for Specialized Surgery, which has expertise in burn 
     surgery, expressed welcome for Ali on behalf of the hospital;
       Whereas Ali was successfully medically evacuated by United 
     States military airlift from Baghdad, Iraq, to Nassiriya for 
     medical tests and then to Kuwait City, Kuwait, on April 15, 
     2003;
       Whereas doctors at the sophisticated Saud A. Albabtain 
     Center for Burns and Plastic Surgery at Ibn Sina Hospital 
     immediately provided medical care to stabilize Ali and then 
     performed surgery to treat his burns; and
       Whereas the Government and people of Kuwait are providing 
     medical supplies and hospital assessment missions in Iraq, 
     supplying water pumped through a pipeline they laid to the 
     Iraqi city of Umm Qasr, and operating the Kuwait Humanitarian 
     Operations Center, where the United States military 
     coordinates relief operations with nongovernmental 
     organizations, United Nations agencies, and the Government of 
     Kuwait: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That the Congress of the United States--
       (1) formally expresses its gratitude to the Government of 
     Kuwait for its magnanimity in receiving Ali Ismaeel Abbas, 
     for providing Ali life-saving medical care, and for 
     undertaking to provide for his long-term recuperation and 
     rehabilitation;
       (2) commends the Government and people of Kuwait for their 
     support of and welcome for Ali and other wounded children of 
     Iraq;
       (3) conveys the goodwill of Congress and the people of the 
     United States that has been engendered by the medical 
     assistance, water, and other humanitarian aid that the 
     Government and people of Kuwait have provided their 
     neighbors;
       (4) encourages the Government and people of Kuwait to 
     continue their humanitarian efforts; and
       (5) expresses firm confidence that such humanitarian action 
     will not only help heal the wounds of Ali, but will also 
     restore comity between Kuwait and Iraq and within the region 
     and deepen the friendship between the peoples of Kuwait and 
     the United States.

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