First July 4th Celebration in 13 Years

Background

U.S. Ambassador Robert P. Finn and Afghan Vice-President Marshal Fahim Khan together cut a cake decorated with the flags of Afghanistan and the United States during a ceremony July 3 to mark the U.S. Independence Day. About 250 senior Afghan officials, foreign diplomats and aid workers attended the celebration at the U.S. Embassy-Kabul, the first such event in Afghanistan in 13 years.	U.S. Ambassador Robert P. Finn (in the center), flanked by Afghan Vice Presidents (on the left) Hedayat Amin Arsala and Marshal Fahim Khan, and (on the right) Karim Khalili and Nematullah Shahrani during a reception held at the U.S. Embassy-Kabul to mark the U.S. Independence Day. The group is standing in front of a huge woven banner donated to U.S. Embassy-Kabul by the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. One of its New York city members (Ed Quinones) was among the U.S.government employees who raced to the scene of the World Trade Center after the September 11 attack last year to help in the rescue efforts. He also served as a diplomatic security agent at Embassy-Kabul.
U.S. Ambassador Robert P. Finn, at the podium, addressing a crowd of 250 high-ranking Afghan government officials, foreign diplomats and aid workers at a ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan marking the U.S. Independence Day. The celebration was held a day early, on July 3, because of security concerns and represented the first time the holiday has been celebrated in Kabul in 13 years. The Ambassador is flanked on the left by Fauzia Aziz, an adminstrative assistant at the U.S. Embassy, and on the right, by four of the five Afghan Vice-Presidents (left to right): Karim Khalili, Marshal Fahim Khan, Hedayat Amin Arsala and Nematullah Shahrani.	Some of the 250 guests at the celebration held at the U.S. Embassy-Kabul to mark Independence Day. It was the first gathering to mark the U.S. holiday in Afghanistan in 13 years.