[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 4212-4217]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  JOINT MEETING TO HEAR AN ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY MOHAMMAD ASHRAF 
        GHANI, PRESIDENT OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN

  During the recess, the House was called to order by the Speaker at 10 
o'clock and 56 minutes a.m.
  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms, Ms. Kathleen Joyce, announced 
the Vice President and Members of the U.S. Senate, who entered the Hall 
of the House of Representatives, the Vice President taking the chair at 
the right of the Speaker, and the Members of the Senate the seats 
reserved for them.
  The SPEAKER. The joint meeting will come to order.
  The Chair appoints as members of the committee on the part of the 
House to escort His Excellency Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, President of the 
Islamic

[[Page 4213]]

Republic of Afghanistan, into the Chamber:
  The gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy);
  The gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise);
  The gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. McMorris Rodgers);
  The gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden);
  The gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messer);
  The gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx);
  The gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers);
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Royce);
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry);
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Nunes);
  The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen);
  The gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger);
  The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi);
  The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer);
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra);
  The gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley);
  The gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro);
  The gentlewoman from Maryland (Ms. Edwards);
  The gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel);
  The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo);
  The gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee);
  The gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Susan Davis);
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff); and
  The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moulton).
  The VICE PRESIDENT. The President of the Senate, at the direction of 
that body, appoints the following Senators as members of the committee 
on the part of the Senate to escort His Excellency Mohammad Ashraf 
Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, into the House 
Chamber:
  The Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell);
  The Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn);
  The Senator from Utah (Mr. Hatch);
  The Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Barrasso);
  The Senator from Missouri (Mr. Blunt);
  The Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker);
  The Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Corker);
  The Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin);
  The Senator from Washington (Mrs. Murray);
  The Senator from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow);
  The Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez); and
  The Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy).
  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms announced the Acting Dean of 
the Diplomatic Corps, Her Excellency Dr. Alia Hatoug Bouran, the 
Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
  The Acting Dean of the Diplomatic Corps entered the Hall of the House 
of Representatives and took the seat reserved for her.
  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms announced the Cabinet of the 
President of the United States.
  The Members of the Cabinet of the President of the United States 
entered the Hall of the House of Representatives and took the seats 
reserved for them in front of the Speaker's rostrum.
  At 11 o'clock and 4 minutes a.m., the Sergeant at Arms, the Honorable 
Paul D. Irving, announced His Excellency Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, 
President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
  The President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, escorted by the 
committee of Senators and Representatives, entered the Hall of the 
House of Representatives and stood at the Clerk's desk.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  The SPEAKER. Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and the 
distinct honor of presenting to you His Excellency Mohammad Ashraf 
Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  President ASHRAF GHANI. In the name of God the merciful, the 
compassionate, Speaker Boehner; Vice President Biden; Senate Majority 
Leader McConnell; House Majority Leader McCarthy; House minority 
leader, Ms. Pelosi; Senate minority leader, Mr. Reid; ladies and 
gentlemen of the Congress, please allow me to thank you for your 
gracious invitation to address this unique forum of deliberative 
democracy.
  Above all else, I would like to begin by thanking the people of the 
United States, whose generous support for my country has been of such 
immense value in advancing the cause of freedom.
  More than 1 million brave Americans have served in Afghanistan. They 
have come to know our snowcapped mountains, our verdant valleys, our 
windswept deserts, our parched fields, our unharnessed, flowing rivers, 
and our plains of waving wheat.
  But more important than knowing our geography, they have come to 
defend and to know our people. And in return, the people of Afghanistan 
recognize the bravery of your soldiers and the tremendous sacrifices 
that Americans have made to keep Afghanistan free.
  We owe a profound debt to the 2,315 servicemen and -women killed and 
the more than 20,000 who have been wounded in service to your country 
and ours. We owe a profound debt to the soldiers who have lost limbs to 
buried bombs, to the brave veterans, and to the families who tragically 
lost their loved ones to the enemies' cowardly acts of terror.
  We owe a profound debt to the many Americans who have come to build 
schools, repair wells, and cure the sick. And we must acknowledge with 
appreciation that at the end of the day, it is the ordinary Americans 
whose hard-earned taxes have over the years built the partnership that 
has led to our conversation today. I want to thank the American 
taxpayer and you, their representatives, for supporting us.
  The service of American men and women--civilian or military--in our 
country has been made possible by the bipartisan support of the 
Congress of the United States. On behalf of our own parliament and 
people, I salute and thank you. It has always been a pleasure to 
receive and interact with Congressmen and -women during your visits to 
Afghanistan. Please do come again and again, and if you are reservists, 
please come in your proud uniforms. I had a unique opportunity that, 
when Senator Graham was dressed as a colonel, I asked him to salute a 
three-star British general, and he complied. So thank you.
  Veterans will always be welcome in Afghanistan. Our deepest hope is 
that the time will come when Americans visiting our country see the 
cultural heritage and natural riches of the Bamiyan valley; the ancient 
Timurid architecture of Her-at and Mazar-e-Sharif; the fishing streams 
of Badakshan and Takhar; the forests of Khost, Kunar, Nuristan, and 
Paktia; and the ancient architecture of Farah, Helmand, and Nimroz, not 
as soldiers, but as parents showing their children the beautiful 
country where they served in the war that defeated terror. On behalf of 
my entire country, when that day comes, you will be our most welcome 
and honored guests.
  America's support to Afghanistan has been led by a succession of 
remarkable generals. I am proud to have known and worked with Dan 
McNeill, David McKiernan, Stanley McChrystal, David Petraeus, John 
Allen, Joseph Dunford, and John Campbell. Their commitment and 
dedication is inspirational. These generals lived in simple quarters. 
They worked tirelessly through the night. And their leadership of their 
troops has set an example that our generals are working hard to follow.
  Your civilian leaders are no less inspirational. Ambassadors such as 
Ronald Neumann, Zal Khalilzad, Karl Eikenberry, Ryan Crocker, James

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Cunningham, and my good friend Michael McKinley give American diplomacy 
first-class leadership and strategic understanding. And I would be 
remiss not to mention the stimulating conversations with my friends 
from this Chamber, like John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Carl Levin, and 
many of your visitors. But I must also acknowledge the deeply 
appreciated contributions of the aid workers and NGOs who are the day-
to-day representatives of your country. I have met people from all 50 
States of the Union, from Senators and Representatives to construction 
workers and computer operators. I want to thank all of them for 
introducing the best of America to the people of Afghanistan.
  And finally, I would like to thank President Obama. He is an 
admirable and principled partner. His support for Afghanistan has 
always been conditional on our performance. I like and appreciate his 
clear and disciplined approach to American engagement. Thanks to his 
strict rigor, we were encouraged and supported to build up the Afghan 
Armed Forces into the self-reliant army that it is today. Because he 
stood firm on the deadline for the surge and the transition, the U.S. 
Army pulled off a logistical near miracle, first deploying and then 
withdrawing more than 100,000 soldiers without a hitch and timed to 
deadline. And it is thanks to his promise to America to end active 
combat that we saw a seamless handover of responsibility for all combat 
operations from your side to ours on December 31, 2014.
  U.S. soldiers are no longer engaged in combat. But we are delighted 
to have them in the train, assess, and advice mission.
  Tragedy brought our two countries together, but it is our shared 
interests and values that will keep us together. September 11, 2001, 
was not a distant image that I watched on the emotionless screen of 
television. It was horrific, and it was personal. I was in my office at 
the World Bank when the first plane smashed into the World Trade Center 
and forever changed the lives of each and every one of us.
  New York is a special place for me and my family. My wife and I are 
both graduates of Columbia University. I was another beneficiary of 
Americans' wonderful generosity that has built so many longstanding 
friendships through its unparalleled universities. I ate corned beef at 
Katz's, New York's greatest, greasiest, pickle-lined melting pot.
  Close friends were working near the Trade Center. My children were 
born in New York City, and my daughter was living in New York when the 
Twin Towers fell. I visited Ground Zero that very week. Seeing 
firsthand the tragedy and devastation drove home the realization that 
after 9/11, the world would never be the same. I went home knowing that 
America would seek justice, and I began to write the plan for our 
national reconstruction.
  Indeed, justice came swiftly. Al Qaeda terrorists were killed or 
driven underground. The Taliban, acknowledging their losses after the 
initial encounters, quickly vacated the cities, with their leadership 
moving to Pakistan and their rank and file returning to their villages.
  There was considerable anxiety about how the Afghan people would 
respond to the American presence. The issue was put to rest by the 
welcome accorded to the American soldiers and civilians as partners. 
Even today, despite the thankfully rare if no less tragic ``green on 
blue'' incidents by Taliban infiltrators, the overwhelming majority of 
Afghans continue to see partnership with the United States as 
foundational to our future. There is no better proof of this than last 
October's overwhelming and immediate parliamentary approval of the 
bilateral security agreement and the status of forces agreement, both 
of which testify to our desire to continue the partnership.
  Afghanistan has been the front line of the global battle against 
extremists. America, as a result, has been safe, but that safety has 
been ensured through the loss of American and Afghan lives in the fight 
against terror.
  We have made great sacrifices--we Afghans--but then it is our 
patriotic duty to do so. You, on the other hand, had a choice; and when 
you came to a fork in the road, you chose to do the right thing.
  Thank you.
  Most recently, due to the refusal of our previous government to sign 
the bilateral security agreement and the status of forces agreement 
with NATO, we had lost momentum, and both partners had to operate under 
uncertainty, resulting in some 8 months of lost time in the most 
critical moment of transition.
  You could have used this opportunity to end the partnership and 
return home in frustration, but you did not. Thanks to the flexibility 
shown by President Obama and Congress, we have made up for the loss and 
have regained momentum without breaking, by even a day, the promise of 
President Obama to the American people that the U.S. combat role would 
end on December 31, 2014.
  Thank you for staying with us.
  I would like to talk a little about our partnership because it is 
evolving. We are starting to balance the focus on security with a new 
emphasis on the rule of law and justice, growth, and the pursuit of 
peace and reconciliation.
  The framework for our future relationship is defined by our Strategic 
Partnership Agreement and the bilateral security agreement. On your 
side, you have reaffirmed your commitment to support Afghanistan. On 
our side, we will focus on self-reliance. To get there, we have 
initiated reforms that will create a self-sustaining Afghanistan.
  I know the American people are asking the same question as the Afghan 
people: Will we have the resources to provide a sustained basis for our 
operation? The answer is: within this decade, we will.
  As the current phase of our relationship draws to a close, our 
appreciation for the depth of America's contribution to our people 
cannot be measured in words alone, but it can be seen quite literally 
in the number of Afghans whose futures have been changed thanks to 
America and its allies.
  On September 10, 2001--this will no longer shock you--there were no 
girls enrolled in school in Afghanistan. It was illegal to educate 
girls. Today, more than 3 million girls in primary schools across the 
country are learning to openly and actively participate in the future 
of a democratic Afghanistan.
  Their parents thank you.
  In 2002, when the allies built their first clinics, the average 
lifespan of the ordinary Afghan was 44 years. Today, it is over 60.
  Their children thank you.
  Today, the rate of maternal mortality in our poor country remains 
unacceptably high, but thanks to the immense effort you have made to 
build clinics and to train nurses, an Afghan woman is no longer more 
likely to die because she gives birth to a child than if she had 
somehow fought on the front line of combat.
  Their husbands and their children thank you.
  Our partnership with America and its allies has brought our country 
hope where we had none. We would, once again, like to thank you for 
that wonderful gift from your people to ours, the gift of hope; but, in 
Afghanistan, there is a saying that no gift can remain unreciprocated.
  Today, I would like to return that gift of reborn hope by offering 
the American people a partnership with a nation that is committed to 
the cause of freedom and that will join the fight against the growing 
threat of terrorism.
  I will use my remarks today to tell America the history of how a 
future Afghanistan came to be. It is a story about how a poor country 
that relied on foreign help became a self-reliant nation where free 
trade and the rule of law let Afghan businesses create jobs and 
prosperity for its people. It is also a story about how a country that 
had been ravaged by conflict became a platform for peace and regional 
stability and prosperity.
  Ladies and gentlemen, the story about Afghanistan's path to self-
reliance has already started. It began with last year's election and 
the formation

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of our national unity government. Afghanistan's external image is of a 
traditional country that has been frozen in time; but my partner and 
the CEO of Afghanistan, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, and I ran intense and 
passionate campaigns on the most modern of issues, such as the need to 
end corruption, taking the actions that will build transparency into 
government, and guaranteeing support for the impartial rule of law. 
Campaigns became forums for public debate.
  In the final election, not only did more than 7 million Afghans turn 
out to the polls, but more than 38 percent of the votes were cast by 
women, many of whom had never previously had the chance to speak 
politically with their own voices.
  There is no denying that the election was hard fought, but in the 
end, we chose the politics of unity over the politics of division. The 
national unity government brings together all parts of the country to 
make the government the arena where disputes are raised and resolved.
  Dr. Abdullah and myself may not initially agree on every issue, but 
we both believe deeply that spirited debate will produce better 
outcomes than will confrontational stalemate. We not only work 
together, we like working well together.
  The Afghanistan country, to world perception, is well suited to 
democracy. Like Americans, Afghans are individualists. None of us 
defers to anyone else. We have neither had caste nor class, so 
persuading each other is an art form.
  Our key characteristics are our openness and hospitality. We believe 
in equality. Even in the most traditional parts of the country, our 
leadership must earn rather than inherit their positions. There is a 
strong public conscience. People are expected to act for the common 
good. We love debate.
  Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce you to 
Afghanistan. We are an old country with a proud heritage and a history 
of trade with our neighbors. We have had bills of exchange for at least 
2,000 years, and our women could write 2,500 years ago. For at least 
three millennia, we have been a hub for the caravans and trade networks 
that spread across Asia, bringing Chinese silks and Indian textiles to 
ancient Rome and Renaissance Italy.
  The 19th century disrupted this world, as it did in so many other 
places. Afghanistan became an isolated buffer caught between two 
expanding empires. The emergence of the Soviet Union further isolated 
our country, culminating in the 1979 invasion and the subsequent war of 
resistance.
  Today, however, the isolation is over. First, awareness is growing 
that Afghanistan is, quite literally, the heart of Asia. Asia cannot 
become a continental economy without us. Asia, in the next 25 years, 
will have its 1869 moment--the year that the East and West Coasts of 
the United States were joined through the transcontinental railway--but 
this completion of a new, interconnected Asia cannot happen without us. 
We are in the midst of 3\1/2\ billion people, and we should be able to 
export something and not just import.
  Our fragmented geography can once again become the opportunity for 
integrating central, west, east, and south Asia into a network that 
supports stability and prosperity over a vast swath of the world's 
surface. Diplomatic efforts to advance integration can free up cross-
border trade and support multicountry investments in energy, transport, 
and water; and this, again, is beginning. The first major project 
between central Asia and south Asia, called CASA 1000, for transmitting 
energy from Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan is already underway.
  I truly believe that diplomatic efforts backed by the leaders of our 
countries will build the peace and prosperity for south and central 
Asia in the same way that the common market has done so for Europe and 
ASEAN has done for our neighboring region to the east. We envisage an 
Afghanistan that in 20 years has become a hub of trade and gas 
pipelines, power transmission lines, railways, modern telecom, and 
banking services; but American support for all of these is essential, 
and we thank you for that commitment.
  Ladies and gentlemen, if one story of our future history is bright, 
there is another, darker cloud that is making its way towards our 
country. Afghanistan's security transition took place against the 
backdrop of the unexpected rise of religious extremism in the Middle 
East. The promise of the Arab Spring gave way to the emergence of Daesh 
terror and collapse of states, but the changed ecology of terror could 
have not formed without some states tolerating, financing, providing 
sanctuary, and using violent, nonstate actors as instruments of 
shortsighted policies.
  It is critical that the world understand the terrible threat that the 
Daesh and its allied forces pose to the states of western and central 
Asia. Terrorist movements, whose goal is to destabilize every state in 
the region, are looking for new bases of operation. We are the front 
line, but terrorists neither recognize boundaries nor require passports 
to spread their message of hate and discord. From the west, the Daesh 
is already sending advance guards to southern and western Afghanistan 
to test our vulnerabilities. To the south, Pakistan's counterinsurgency 
operations, in which more than 40,000 people have already died, are 
pushing the Taliban from South Waziristan toward Afghanistan's border 
region.
  Criminalization of the economy is an indispensable part of this new 
ecology of terror. Control over the narcotics trade is providing the 
financing for these groups to find weapons and recruits, blurring the 
lines between criminal economics and criminal politics.
  Each of these groups poses a clear and present danger to our 
neighbors, to the Arab-Islamic world, and to the world at large. 
Afghanistan is carrying forward everyone's fight by containing this 
threat. But extremism is becoming a system, one that, like a dangerous 
virus, is constantly mutating, becoming more lethal, very media savvy, 
well financed, and thriving on state weakness and an overall lack of 
regional coordination.
  To date, Afghanistan's people have rejected the allure of violent 
movements. We are willing to speak truth to terror.
  Military fighting may stem the advance of extremism, but it will not 
put an end to the anger and hatred being promulgated across Muslim 
majority countries by these groups. That hatred must be challenged and 
overcome from within the religion of Islam.
  The heart of the issue remains who is entitled to speak for Islam. 
Leaders, intellectuals, and those many millions of Muslims who believe 
that Islam is a religion of tolerance and virtue must find their voice. 
Silence is not acceptable.
  But silence is not what the world will hear from us. Afghanistan is 
joining a new consensus that is emerging in the Muslim world, a 
consensus that rejects intolerance, extremism, and war. Scholars such 
as Fredrick Starr have documented beautifully central Asia's long 
tradition of rationalism and scientific inquiry. During Islam's Golden 
Age, Muslim scholars synthesized and recorded all known knowledge of 
the medieval world, giving the world advances in algebra, astronomy, 
water resource management, printing, and positive science. This is the 
Islamic civilization that needs to reinvent itself.
  The Islamic world must understand its own gloriously tolerant and 
inquisitive past. It must reengage with the world openly and without 
paranoia of encirclement.
  We, the unity government of Afghanistan, know that Islam is a 
religion of peace. We are responding to extremist threats by building 
partnerships at the global, regional, Islamic, and national levels of 
governance.
  Globally, Afghanistan abides by international conventions and the 
rule of law. We are staunch supporters of the Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights, which is firmly embedded in our Constitution, obliging 
the state to achieve these rights for our citizens. We are committed to 
supporting our independent human rights commission, and I am pleased 
that Dr. Sima Samar, a tireless champion of human rights, is a member 
of this delegation and is

[[Page 4216]]

today sitting in the audience of this great Chamber. And our government 
will join the free trade system and harmonized investment rules that 
build prosperity and promote peace.
  Regionally, we are engaging our neighbors across Asia to build trust 
and trade. Afghanistan will become a platform for cooperation in a vast 
region that extends from India to Azerbaijan and beyond. We have 
already made significant headway in making the vision of the Lapis 
Lazuli Corridor that will link us to Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, 
Turkey, and Europe into a reality. Thank you, Members of Congress, for 
wearing Lapis Lazuli.
  The Arab Islamic world, from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, 
Qatar and Iran, is keenly aware of the new threats, and we hope they 
will soon agree on a regional framework for cooperation. The recent 
declaration of a Council of Ulema across the Muslim world may well be a 
historic turning point in building that alliance.
  Condemnation of terror by this largest gathering of Muslim Ulema is 
an unprecedented step in acknowledgment of the shortcomings of Muslim 
majority country governments.
  Properly supported, Afghanistan is uniquely positioned to block the 
spread of extremism. We have none of the historical inferiority 
complexes that fuel the resentment against Western domination. After 
all, we defeated most of the empires.
  With the bitter exception of the aberrant Taliban regime, Afghan 
Islam has traditionally been inclusive and reflective, not violent and 
angry. And after 36 years of conflict, our people are well-vaccinated 
against the seduction of ideologically based conflicts.
  Our people, our children, desperately want to be normal. Ordinary is 
what has escaped us--and we would really like to be leading ordinary 
lives: to go to school and come back, to shop without being blown up, 
to play volleyball without being attacked. So many children I have held 
in my arms who have been mutilated. That must not be permitted and 
cannot be permitted and will not be permitted.
  For Afghanistan to oppose the violence of extremists, we must turn 
our sights to the struggle to end the conditions that give rise to 
extremism in the first place. Our effort begins with the frank 
recognition of our problems and the challenges that we must tackle with 
determination and commitment.
  Nearly 40 years of conflict have produced a country where corruption 
permeates our government. Until we root out this cancer, our government 
will never generate the trust to win the hearts of our people or the 
trust of your taxpayers. We will eliminate corruption.
  On our second day in office, we tackled the notorious case of Kabul 
Bank, which for years had lay in abeyance. I am pleased to report to 
you that all the court systems of Afghanistan, including the supreme 
court, has now made a decision against these thieves and has allowed us 
to collect from them. And we will collect and get the public purse 
refilled.
  Ladies and gentlemen, ending corruption and impunity are the 
precursors of self-reliance, but the true test will be whether we can 
restore the fiscal basis of public expenditure. We must create an 
environment where private investment, sustainable natural resources, 
and critical market-linking infrastructure development provide our 
youth with jobs, help us balance the budget, and launch the virtuous 
cycle that will let freed markets build our nation's wealth.
  Here, I am pleased to report that we are reversing decades of 
mismanagement. We have just reached an agreement with IMF. But, most 
significantly, we are determined to create the wealth that will not 
make us dependent.
  During this decade, we can assure you that we will be able to pay 
both for our security and delivery of our services.
  If economic growth is the first foundation block of self-reliance, 
the second foundation is with the education of Afghanistan's women.
  No country in the modern world can be self-reliant with half of its 
population locked away, uneducated and unable to contribute its energy, 
creativity, and drive to national development.
  We have a tradition of respecting women. And let us not forget the 
largest trader in Arabia was the wife of the Prophet. And the greater 
transmitter of knowledge--the authentic sayings of the Prophet--was his 
second wife.
  Aberrant customs do not replace the fundamental sense of justice 
between men and women that societies that seek fairness are built upon.
  Afghan culture traditionally had space for women as leaders, 
managers, and traders. The gender apartheid imposed by the Taliban came 
from people who had grown up outside of families, in refugee camps and 
religious boarding schools.
  Our plan for restoring women's place in society is built of three 
pillars that rest on a foundation of respect for the human, religious, 
and constitutional rights of all of our citizens.
  First--and I want to spend a little time on this theme--educating 
women is not solely a matter of rights, important though they are. It 
is a matter of national necessity.
  I have said in the past that educating one Afghan young girl will 
change the next five generations of a family. I would not be standing 
before you today as an educated man had my grandmother--in exile in 
India who had learned to read under the British--not taken it upon 
herself to make sure that I would match my youthful passion for hunting 
and riding horses with mastering the classics in Dari and Pashto and 
striving to excel in foreign languages.
  Thank you, Grandmother.
  Afghanistan's self-reliance demands men and women who can run a 
modern economy. Basic health and education must reach all Afghan girls. 
That is a promise. But beyond providing all Afghan girls with these 
basic rights, we will increase to parity the number of women graduating 
from high schools and colleges.
  Even as I address you today, in Kabul designs are already being 
finished for an all-women's university that will provide safe, top-
quality education for the next generation of Afghan women leaders.
  Let me tell you the story of Khatera Afghan, a young woman from 
Kandahar. Her schooling began when she braved threats of disfigurement 
by people swearing that they would throw acid in her face before they 
would let a girl attend a school. She would not be dissuaded. Her uncle 
threatened to disown her when she applied to university. But she stared 
him down.
  Khatera went to the American University of Afghanistan, where she not 
only topped her class but, aided by a Fulbright scholarship, went on to 
get a master's degree from the Ohio State University.
  Today, Khatera's formerly angry uncle is so proud of her that he 
tells his grandchildren, both little boys and little girls, that they 
must be as brave as their Aunt Khatera.
  Khatera, like thousands of Afghan women, thanks America for those 
opportunities--for the primary school teachers, for the university in 
Kabul, for the scholarship to Ohio--that changed her life and her 
children's future. And she is dedicated to create opportunities for 
millions of other Afghans.
  The second pillar is that women must have the same access to economic 
opportunities as men. Women's full empowerment will come about, not 
through global conventions or government programs, but when they have 
jobs and own businesses.
  The United States has been a steadfast supporter of the nationwide 
National Solidarity Program which, for 10 years, has given not 
thousands but millions of poor village women their first chance to 
control their own resources.
  Our third and final foundational belief is that a mental and cultural 
revolution must take place over the treatment of women in and by our 
society. There is no point talking about how much we respect women's 
honor if we let rape go unpunished or allow harassment in our streets.
  We have signed the global conventions to end violence and 
discrimination against women; we will implement

[[Page 4217]]

them vigorously, but work is still needed to convince our people that 
the protection of women's rights is part and parcel of their own quest 
for social justice.
  I, personally, as the leader of Afghanistan, am committed to working 
with the ulema, activists, and thought leaders of our country to bring 
about this mental change. Both the CEO, Dr. Abdullah, and I will insist 
that the officials of our government set the national standard for 
workplace fairness.
  Thanks to your help and support, the opportunities for women are 
indeed changing. I am sure that many of you have seen those stunning 
Skateistan videos of fathers proudly taking their shiny-eyed daughters 
to show off their newfound skills in the ancient art of skateboarding. 
They are but the tip of the changes that are underway and which must be 
protected and advanced.
  I am meeting, frequently, women who are entertaining the idea--
seriously--the idea of becoming the first woman President of 
Afghanistan, and we will support them.
  I am pleased to state that we have fulfilled our promise to name four 
women to the Afghan Cabinet, raising the women's share to 20 percent--
still too low, but at least fulfillment of our promise.
  We are determined to name qualified women as ambassadors and to 
increase their number as deputy ministers, and we are working hard to 
attract and train a whole new cadre of women technocrats into our 
government. I promise you that, 5 years from now, our ministries will 
have a whole new look to them, with women in leading positions.
  We are a country of young people. The absolute majority of people are 
under 30 years of age. Youth are invested in the future, not in 
repeating the past. Jobs and engagement with the world are their first 
priority.
  Despite all of the assistance that Afghanistan has received over the 
years, 30 percent of the population still lives below the poverty line, 
lacking even basic services such as clean water or household 
electricity. This cannot continue.
  We have articulated a citizen's charter that will guide the 
investments that are needed to reduce poverty across the nation and 
prepare the next generation for capitalizing on the new opportunities 
that a thriving economy can provide.
  Ladies and gentlemen, so far, I have talked about how we will achieve 
self-reliance by ending corruption, balancing the budget, mobilizing 
the energies of our women and youth, and growing the economy. Let me 
now turn to the elephant that is lurking in the back of the room.
  We must secure peace.
  Afghans have shown that we know how to fight. Unfortunately, we have 
inherited that skill for 3 million years. Since as far back as the 
invasion of Alexander and the more modern expulsion of the Soviet 
Union, Afghans have shown that we will protect our country against 
foreign attack, no matter how steep the price or how well armed the 
intruder.
  I have no doubt that, provided that they continue to receive 
equipment and training, our Armed Forces will stand firm against any 
efforts by outside extremists to build a base inside our territory; but 
we must now show that we can also bring peace.
  Our strategy is built around three initiatives. The first is to use 
our diplomacy to build a community of nations that is committed to 
stability in Asia. Dr. Abdullah and I have met with the leaders of 
Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, 
the Emirates, and China, among others. Their commitment for building 
mutual security across nations includes ending the financing and 
sanctuary for extremist groups.
  The second initiative is to build up the ability of our Armed Forces 
to project the elected government across our entire national territory. 
Our partnership with the United States and ISAF, now transformed into 
the resolute support mission, has given Afghanistan a well-trained army 
that is bringing the fight to the enemy. We are no longer on the 
defensive, but have taken the offensive.
  On December 31, 2014, all combat operations were handed over to 
Afghan National Security Forces. General John Campbell, the U.S. 
commander of the Resolute Support mission, has publicly testified in 
this very Chamber that the Afghan Army's professionalism and morale 
meet all of a military man's expectations.
  Thanks to our army, we will negotiate with the Taliban from a 
position of strength, not weakness, so that the hard-fought gains in 
education, health, governance, media freedom, and women's rights are 
not lost.
  The third initiative will be our push for national reconciliation. 
The Taliban need to choose not to be al Qaeda and be our friend; and, 
if they choose to be our friend, they will be welcome to be part of the 
fabric of our society.
  Many believe themselves to be patriots rebelling against the 
corruption and criminality that they saw in their towns and villages. 
We can deal with legitimate grievances. Provided that combatants agree 
to respect the constitution and the rule of law as the outcomes of 
negotiations, we are confident that we can find a path for their return 
to society.
  Ladies and gentlemen, I am not here to tell you a story about an 
overnight transformation of my country. You are too wise for such 
stories. Twelve years of partnership provide evidence enough that the 
road ahead will be difficult.
  We live in a rough neighborhood. We are a very poor country. Self-
reliance is our goal. We bear the scars of the fight against the Soviet 
Union and the forces of fundamentalism, scars that are as much in our 
minds as on the bodies of the Afghan farmers and American soldiers who 
have fought for freedom.
  Although we may be poor, we are very proud. Our goal of self-reliance 
is no pipedream told to pacify partners who are tired of hearing the 
promises that we later fail to keep. We want your know-how, the 
business skills of your corporations, the innovation of your startups, 
and the commitment of your NGOs, but we don't want your charity.
  We have no more interest in perpetuating a childish dependence than 
you have in being saddled with a poor family member who lacks the 
energy and drive to get out and find a job. We are not going to be the 
lazy Uncle Joe.
  Afghanistan can and will be an enduring success. Your support, your 
understanding, and your commitment to our country will not have been in 
vain. Afghanistan will be the graveyard of al Qaeda and their foreign 
terrorist associates.
  Never again will our country be a host to terrorists. Never again 
will we give extremists the sanctuary to plan their destructive plots. 
We are determined to become the Asian development roundabout and the 
platform for the peaceful cooperation of civilizations.
  Together, our two countries will finish the job that began on that 
clear, terrible September morning almost 14 years ago. We have the will 
and we have the commitment that will anchor our country in the world 
community of peaceful, democratic nations.
  Knowing our conditions, you--the American Congress--and the American 
people will decide how to ensure that our common goals and interests 
are written into the books that will be telling the history of our 
shared future.
  Thank you again, and may God bless the partnership between America 
and Afghanistan.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  At 12 o'clock and 6 minutes p.m., His Excellency Mohammad Ashraf 
Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, accompanied by 
the committee of escort, retired from the Hall of the House of 
Representatives.
  The Assistant to the Sergeant at Arms escorted the invited guests 
from the Chamber in the following order:
  The members of the President's Cabinet;
  The Acting Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.

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