Charlie Melancon: “Hurricane Katrina has caused not only colossal damage to the economy of Louisiana and the entire gulf coast but she has…”

“Hurricane Katrina has caused not only colossal damage to the economy of Louisiana and the entire gulf coast but she has also taken away hundreds of innocent lives and left thousands homeless. As the Representative of the Third Congressional District of Louisiana, half of which was leveled by this disaster, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to those who have responded to this American calamity. I would especially like to thank the people of the Republic of Kazakhstan and their president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, for the condolences and readiness to render financial assistance to Katrina's victims. No one can have too many friends, and that applies to both countries and individuals. The history of the United States and Kazakhstan's cooperation is a vivid example of a partnership between true friends and allies with shared values. Kazakhstan inherited the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal from the Soviet Union but choose not to keep that lethal legacy, which could have automatically placed Kazakhstan among the world's nuclear superpowers. Instead, the people of Kazakhstan, led by their president, chose the path of peaceful development and, together with the United States, dismantled these weapons of mass destruction. That was a worthy move of a strategic partner. After the tragic events of September 11, Kazakhstan unhesitatingly and unconditionally supported the United States and declared its full assistance in the war on terrorism.…”