Minister. And i took him at his word. That thats what he meant. And i think that a lot of voters inside of israel understood him to be saying that fairly unequivocally. Afterwards, he pointed out that he didnt say never but there would be a series of conditions in which a palestinian state could potentially be created, but of course, the conditions were such that they would be impossible to meet any time soon. So even if you accept it, i think the corrective Prime Minister netanyahus in subsequent days, there still does not appear to be a prospect of a meaningful framework established that would lead to a palestinian state even if there were a whole range of conditions and security requirements that might be phased in over a long period of time. Which was always the presumption. I dont think anybody ever envisioned in any peace agreement, certainly not one that Prime Minister netanyahu would agree to, where the israeli people would agree to that overnight you suddenly have a palestinian state right next to jerusalem and that israel would not have a whole range of security conditions that had to be met and that it would be phased in over a long period of time. So the issue has never been to create a palestinian state over night. The question is do you create a process and framework that gives the palestinians hope, the possibility that down the road they have a secure state of their own standing side by side where theyre secure, fully recognized jewish state of israel. And i think its not just my estimation. Its hard to envision how that happens. Based on the Prime Ministers statements. And so when i said we have to now do a an evaluation of where we are, its not in reference to our commitment to israels military edge in the region israels security, our intelligence cooperation our military cooperation, that continues unabated. And i will continue to do whatever i need to do to make sure that our friends in israel are safe. Thats what i have done since i have been president. And thats not going to stop. And so the israeli people need to know that. But i am required to evaluate honestly how we manage israelipalestinian relations over the next several years. Because up until this point, the premise has been, both under republican and democratic administrations, that as diffle as it was, as challenging as it was, the possibility of two states living side by side in peace and security, could marginalize more extreme elements, bring together folks at the senter with some common sense, and we could resolve what has been a vexing issue and one that is ultimately a threat to israel as well. And that possibility seems very dim. That may trigger then, reactions by the palestinians that in turn elicit counter reactions by the israelis. And that could end up leading to a we are going to leave this briefing from yesterday to go live now to the floor of the u. S. House where the president of afghanistan is addressing a joint meeting of congress. This is his first visit to the u. S. Since being elected president. Yesterday, president obama agreed to extended stay of 9,800 u. S. Troops in afghanistan at least until the end of this year. Also agreeing the u. S. Would continue funding afghan troops to the end of 2017. Vice President Joe Biden and an entourage of folks arriving now in the at the floor of the house. The speaker the joint meeting will come to order. The chair appoints as the committee on the part of the house to escort his excellency ashraf ghani into the chamber the gentleman from california mr. Mccarthy, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. Scalise, the gentlewoman from washington state, 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. Nunez, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. Frelinghuysen, the gentlelady from texas, ms. Granger the gentleman from california 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 jeement 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, miss susan davis, the gentleman from california mr. Schiff, the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. Bolden. Vice President Biden friends of the senate at the direction of that body appoints the following senators and members of the committees on the part of the senate to escort ashraf ghani into the chamber. Mr. Mcconnell, the senator from texas, mr. Cornyn, the senator from utah, mr. Hache, the senator from wyoming mr. Barrasso, the senator from mississippi, mr. Wicker, the senator from tennessee, mr. Corker, the senator from illinois, mr. Durbin, the senator from washington, miss bury, the senator from michigan, miss stabin now, the senator from new jersey, mr. Menendez, the senator from connecticut, mr. Murphy. The speaker members of the Escort Committee will please exit through the Chamber Lobby doors. Mr. Speaker, the acting dean of the diplomatic corps. Mr. Speaker, the president s cabinet. The sergeant at arms mr. Speaker, the president of the Islamic Republic of afghanistan. The speaker members of congress, i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you his excellency Mohammad Ashraf ghani 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. 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, knowing our gentlemenography, theyve come to defend and to know our people. In return, the people of afghanistan recognizes the bravery of your soldiers and the tremendous sacrifices that americans have made to keep afghanistan free. We owe a profound debt to the 2,350 service men and women killed in the more than 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 whove lost limbs 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 whove come to repair wells and cured the sick and we must acknowledge with appreciation that at the end of the day, its the ordinary americans whose hardearned taxes who over the years built the partnership that has led our conversation today. I want to i want to thank the american taxpayers and you, their representatives, for supporting us. The service of american men and women in our country has been made possible by the bipartisan support of the congress of the United States. On behalf of our parliament and people, i salute and thank you. It has always been a pleasure to receive the congress men and women during your trips to afghanistan. Please do come again and again. And if you are in service, please come in your proud uniforms. I have a unique opportunity that when senator graham was just as a colonel, i asked him to salute our british general and he complied. So thank you. Veterans will always be welcomed 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 valley the ancient architecture the fishing streams, the forests and the ancient architecture of another. 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 youll be our most welcomed and honored guests. Americas support to afghanistan has been led by a succession of remarkable generals. Im proud to have known and worked with Dan Mcneil David mcconcernon, Stanley Mcchrystal david petraeus, john allen, joseph 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 sets an example that our generals are working hard to follow. Your civilian leaders are no less inspirational. Ambassadors such as Ronald Newman ryan crocker, James Cunningham and my good friend, michael mckinley, give american diplomacy firstclass 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. But i must also acknowledge the deeply appreciated contribution of the aide workers who are daytoday representatives of your country. Ive 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. Finally, i would like to thank president obama. Hes an admirable and principleled partner. His support for afghanistan has always been conditional on our performance. I like and appreciate his clear and disciplined approach make an engagement. Thanks to his rigor we were encouraged to build up the Afghan Armed Forces into the selfreliant army it is today. Because he stood firm on the deadline for the surge and the transition the u. S. Army pulled out a logistical near miracle. First deploying then withdrawing nearly 100,000 soldiers without a hitch. And it is thanks to his promise to america to end the active combat that we saw a seamless hand over the responsibility for all combat operations fromure side to ours on december 31, 2014. 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 asset, and advice mission. Tragedy brought our two countries together, but our shared interest 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 its personal. I was and it was personal. I was in my office at the world bank when the first plane crashed 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 throughout its universities. I ate corn beef at new yorks greatest melting pot. Close friends were working near the trade center. My children who were born in new york and my daughter was living in new york when the twin towers fell. I visited ground zero that very week. Seeing first hand 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. 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 partner. Even today, despite the thankfulness, the overwhelming majority of afghans continue to see the partnership with the United States as foundational for our future. Theres no better proof of this than last octobers overwhelming and immediate parliamentaryry approval of the bilateral Security Agreement and status of forces agreement, both of which testified to our desire to continue the partnership. Afghanistan has been the frontline of the global battle against extremism. 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. But then its our patriotic to do so. You, on the other hand, have a choice and when came to a fork in the road chose to do the right thing. Thank you. Most recently due to the refusal of the government to sign the bilateral Security Agreement and Status Forces Agreement with nate heo we have lost momentum. And both partners have to operate under uncertainty resulting in some eight 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 showed by president obama and congress we have made up for the loss and have regained momentum. Without breaking by even the day of promise of president obama to the American People that the combat role would end on december 31 2014. Thank you for staying. I would like to talk a little about our partnership because its evolving. We are starting to balance the focus on security with a new emphasis on rule of law and justice, growth in 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 selfreliance. To get there, we have initiated reforms that would create a selfsustaining afghanistan. I know American People are asking the same questions as Afghan People. Will we have the resources to provide a sustained basis for our operation . And the answer is. Within this decade, we will. As the current face of our relationship grows to a close, our appreciation for the depth of american contribution to our people cannot be measured in words alone. But 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 three 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 life span of whole of afghan was 4 years. Today today its over 60. Their children thank you. Today the rate of maternal more tality in our poor country was unacceptably high, but thanks to the immense effort you have made to build clinics and train nurses an afghan woman no longer is no longer more likely to die because she gives birth to a child than if she had been somewhat caught on the frontline of combat. Their husbands and their children thank you. Our partnership with america and its allies has brought oiler country hope where we 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, theres 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 of afghanistan came to be. It is a story about how a poor country that relied on foreign help became a selfreliant nation where free trade and the rule of law create jobs and prosperity for its people. It is also a story about how a country that has been ravaged became a platform for peace and regional stability and prosperity. Ladies and gentlemen the story of afghanistans path to selfreliance is already started. It began with last years election and the formation of our National Unity government. Afghanistans external image is of a traditional country that has been frozen in time. That my partner of dr. Abdullah, intense and compassionate campaigns on the most modern officials. That is the need to end corruption. Taking the action that is 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 more than seven million afghans turned out to the polls, but more than 38 of the votes were cast by women. 90 of them would never have previously had a chance to speak politically with their own choice. Theres 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 where disputes an arena where disputes are resolved. Dr. Abdullah and myself may not initially agree on every issue, but we both believe deeply that spirited debate wi