HR0826 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0826 LRB097 20636 KXB 66498 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began following the attacks on United States soil on September 11, 2001; and the members of the Illinois House of Representatives are proud to honor the men and women who serve, and have served, in our nations' armed forces; and

WHEREAS, The war on terror represents a global military, political, legal, and ideological struggle against organizations designated as terrorists or presented as posing a threat to the United States and its allies; and

WHEREAS, Members of the Illinois National Guard, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, the United States Army, and the United States Marines have served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the goal of defeating terrorist organizations and defending United States citizens at home and abroad; and

WHEREAS, The war in Afghanistan, "Operation Enduring Freedom", consisted of 3 phases: toppling the Taliban, rebuilding the Afghan state, and a turn to counterinsurgency whereby United States forces protected the population from Taliban attacks and supported efforts to reintegrate insurgents into Afghan society; and

WHEREAS, The war in Iraq, "Operation Iraqi Freedom", consisted of 2 phases: a brief, conventionally fought war in which United States forces invaded Iraq and rapidly defeated Iraqi military, and a longer phase in which a U.S. led occupation of Iraq was opposed by an increasingly intensive armed insurgency; and

WHEREAS, One hundred and fifty-eight Illinois residents have lost their lives in the war in Iraq and 79 Illinois residents lost their lives in the war in Afghanistan; and

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are proud to honor the men and women who serve, and have served, in our nations' armed forces; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare April 18, 2012 as Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Remembrance Day in the State of Illinois as a way of remembering the men and women from Illinois who bravely served in the those wars.