00                CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 18(MLV)                                                               
01 Supporting the men and women of the United States armed forces.                                                         
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS the men and women of the United States armed forces are currently                                       
04 engaged in military action in Iraq; and                                                                                 
05       WHEREAS the government of Saddam Hussein has posed a threat to national                                         
06 security and world peace for many years, attacking other nations and breaching international                            
07 laws and understandings; and                                                                                            
08       WHEREAS Iraq has not only attacked other nations, it has used chemical weapons of                               
09 mass destruction against its own Kurdish population; and                                                                
10       WHEREAS Iraq has failed to comply with the United Nations Security Council                                      
11 unanimously adopted Resolution 1441, calling for it to declare any weapons of mass                                      
12 destruction programs within its borders; and                                                                            
13       WHEREAS Iraq has attempted to shoot down surveillance planes patrolling the no-                                 
14 fly zone imposed by the United Nations; and                                                                             
15       WHEREAS the men and women of the United States and coalition armed forces are                                   
16 sacrificing their personal safety for freedom for Iraqi people and peace in the region; and                             

01       WHEREAS the United States and coalition armed forces have made the ultimate                                     
02 sacrifice; and                                                                                                          
03       WHEREAS the United States and coalition forces are leaving their families to travel                             
04 halfway around the world to assist in bringing peace to a country that has, for many years,                             
05 only known tyranny;                                                                                                     
06       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature expresses its support for                                      
07 President George W. Bush's decision in taking military action against the regime of Saddam                              
08 Hussein in Iraq; and be it                                                                                              
09       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature expresses its support to                                     
10 the men and women of the United States and coalition armed forces who are currently                                     
11 involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom and other such operations around the world.                                         
12       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President                              
13 of the United States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the United States                              
14 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Bill Frist, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate;                         
15 the Honorable Thomas Daschle, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable J. Dennis                               
16 Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; General Tommy Franks, Commander-                                 
17 in-Chief, U.S. Central Command; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa                                 
18 Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of                                  
19 the Alaska delegation in Congress.