Doug Bereuter: “H. Con. Res. 218, which this Member introduced on February 1, 1998, calls for the urgent need to establish a cease-fire…”

“H. Con. Res. 218, which this Member introduced on February 1, 1998, calls for the urgent need to establish a cease-fire in Afghanistan and begin the transition towards a broad-based multi-ethnic government that observes international norms of behavior. Today Afghanistan has no internationally recognized government. It is a country torn apart by civil war carried out by two warring factions known as the Taliban and the Northern Alliance. No parties to the conflict are heroic. All must share the blame for the destruction and division. One of the by-products of the destruction brought about by this extended warfare is that Afghanistan has become one of the world's leading producers of opium. Over the past year alone, the production of opiates in Afghanistan has increased, and results in a growth in the drug trade throughout Central and South Asia, Russia, Europe and the United States. Other problems currently facing Afghanistan include serious and repeated human rights violations occurring throughout the country, especially the treatment of women.”