"The Afghans [...] wish nothing more [...] than to live their lives in peace, to practice their religion in freedom, and to exercise their right to self-determination. As a consequence, they now find themselves struggling for their very survival as a nation."

-President Ronald Reagan - Remarks on Signing Proclamation 4908, Declaring March 21st as Afghanistan Day in the United States. (10 March, 1982)

"The resistance of the Afghan freedom fighters is an example to all the world of the invincibility of the ideals we in this country hold most dear, the ideals of freedom and independence. We must also recognize that the sacrifices required to maintain this resistance are very high. Millions have gone into exile as refugees. We will probably never know the numbers of people killed and maimed, poisoned and gased, of the homes that have been destroyed, and of the lives that have been shattered and stricken with grief. [...] Our observance again this year of Afghanistan Day on March 21, the Afghan New Year, will recall for all the world America's unflagging sympathy for a determined people, its support for their refugees and commitment to achieving a political settlement for Afghanistan which will free that country from tyranny's yoke."

-President Ronald Reagan - Proclamation 5034, Redeclaring March 21st as Afghanistan Day in the United States. (21 March, 1983)