1. Senator Lindsey O. Graham
Resolution
Regarding the importance of the signing of the US/Afghan Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA).
Whereas following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States decisively
expelled the Taliban in a precipitous military campaign and sought to promote a Western
and multilateral agenda to stabilize and reconstruct the state of Afghanistan;
Whereas the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) between the United States and the Islamic
State of Afghanistan, signed on September 30, 2014 and approved by Afghan Parliament
on November 29, 2014, marks the full implementation of the Strategic Partnership
Agreement (SPA) initially signed in May 2012;
Whereas the BSA proves an enduring commitment between the governments of the United
States and Afghanistan to enhance the ability of the Afghan government to deter
threats to its sovereignty,
Whereas the BSA assures Afghan citizens that the United States will work with the Government
of Afghanistan to draft an appropriate response in the case of external aggression;
Whereas the BSA allows for long-term cooperation for the promotion of security, stability, and
unity within Afghanistan and contributes to the security of the United States, our allies
and to the stability of the Middle East;
Whereas the United States vowed to hold those responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks accountable, the United States, within the partnership seeks to ensure that
terrorists may never again
use Afghan soil to plot an attack on another nation;
Whereas the BSA ensures that our efforts with the ANSF continue so that they remain capable of
defending the Afghan citizens and aims to guarantee that the Islamic State of Afghanistan
does not again succumb to the fate of being a terrorist safe-haven, which would threaten
not only Afghanistan and the Middle East, but the world;
Whereas the BSA allows for a scaling down of United States forces in Afghanistan while
effectively training, advising, and assisting Afghan National Security Forces (ASNF) so
that the gradual withdrawal of United States troops does not threaten the security of
Afghan citizens;
Whereas the BSA safeguards the rights of men and women serving in the United States Armed
Services by retaining United States jurisdiction over any criminal or disciplinary
proceedings involving United States troops in Afghanistan;
Whereas the BSA embodies the efforts of the international community to establish Rule of Law
within Afghanistan and to reestablish a unified, inclusive, and effective government that

2. would be accountable to the Afghan people;
Whereas the United States has committed to work with the international community to
rebuild the institutions and economy of Afghanistan;
Whereas the NATO Resolute Support Mission to provide financial and logistical support for the
ASNF and the Afghan government is contingent on the signing and upholding of
the BSA and the NATO-Afghanistan Status of Forces Agreement;
Whereas, in the Wales Summit Declaration on Afghanistan, Issued by Heads of State and
Government of Allies and their International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troop
contributing partners, NATO committed its financial support of the Afghan National
Security Forces;
Whereas the preliminary model for a future total size of the ASNF, defined by the International
Community and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, envisages an
estimated annual budget of U.S. $4.1 billion, and will be reviewed regularly against the
developing security environment
Whereas the Afghan National Army (ANA) Trust Fund, originally established in 2007, provides
a mechanism for NATO Allies and ISAF nations to provide funding for the ANSF after
2014, and Allies and partners have pledged U.S. $450 million to this fund annually;
Whereas NATO restates the aim, agreed at the 2012 Chicago Summit, that Afghanistan should
assume, no later than 2024, full financial responsibility for its own security forces;