President obama i have the honor of visiting to you the president of the Islamic Republic of afghanistan. President ghani in the name of god, the merciful and compassionate, Speaker Boehner Vice President biden, Senate Majority leader mcconnell, House Majority leader mccarthy, House Minority leader ms. Pelosi Senate Minority leader, 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, id like to begin by thanking the people of the United States whose generous support for my country has been such immense value in advancing the cause of freedom. [applause] more than one million brave americans have served in afghanistan. They have come to know our snowcapped mountains, our valleys, our windswept deserts, our parched fields, our rivers and our plains of waving wheat but more important than knowing our geography theyve come to defend and to know our people. In return, the peop