HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023510.jpg
2.27 MB
Extraction Summary
3
People
8
Organizations
3
Locations
3
Events
2
Relationships
3
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
News article / opinion piece (wall street journal) included in house oversight production
File Size:
2.27 MB
Summary
This document is a reproduction of a Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Max Boot, dated April 18, 2011, discussing U.S. foreign policy in Iraq. It details Secretary of Defense Bob Gates' visit to Iraq to discuss the potential extension of U.S. troop presence beyond the 2011 deadline and analyzes the political tensions between Kurdish and Arab factions. The document bears a House Oversight Bates stamp, indicating it is part of a larger congressional production.
People (3)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Max Boot | Author |
Author of the Wall Street Journal opinion piece.
|
| Bob Gates | Secretary of Defense |
Visited Iraq to urge leaders to decide on U.S. troop presence.
|
| Barack Obama | President (referenced as 'the president' and 'Obama administration') |
Mentioned regarding his administration's hands-off attitude and 2008 campaign pledge.
|
Organizations (8)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Wall Street Journal |
Source of the article.
|
|
| U.S. Forces |
Subject of the article regarding their presence in Iraq.
|
|
| Obama Administration |
Criticized for its hands-off attitude in Iraq.
|
|
| al Qaeda in Iraq |
Mentioned as a perpetrator of continuing violence.
|
|
| Kurdish peshmerga militia |
Involved in tensions with Iraqi Security Forces.
|
|
| Iraqi Security Forces |
Receiving training from U.S. forces and interacting with peshmerga.
|
|
| Kurdish Regional Government |
Governing body in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Implied by the Bates stamp 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023510'.
|
Timeline (3 events)
Locations (3)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Primary subject location.
|
|
|
Country of interest regarding foreign policy.
|
|
|
Ill-defined frontier between Iraq proper and the Kurdish Regional Government.
|
Relationships (2)
Gates serving as Secretary of Defense under the Obama administration context.
U.S. forces involved in training, assisting and advising Iraqi forces.
Key Quotes (3)
"It's in America's Interest to Stay in Iraq"Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023510.jpg
Quote #1
"If there is to be a presence, to help with some of the areas where [the Iraqis] still need help... we're open to that possibility. But they have to ask."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023510.jpg
Quote #2
"end the war"Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023510.jpg
Quote #3
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (1,765 characters)
24
Article 5.
Wall Street Journal
It's in America's Interest to Stay in Iraq
Max Boot
Wall Street Journal
It's in America's Interest to Stay in Iraq
Max Boot
April 18, 2011 -- Secretary of Defense Bob Gates was in Iraq early
this month urging Iraqi leaders to decide whether they want U.S.
forces to stay beyond Dec. 31. "If there is to be a presence, to help
with some of the areas where [the Iraqis] still need help," he said,
"we're open to that possibility. But they have to ask."
This is a small, belated, but welcome step in the right direction. Until
now the Obama administration has taken a hands-off attitude in Iraq,
giving every indication that it would be fine with a complete pullout
of the 50,000 U.S. troops currently in the country. This would
presumably allow the president to make good on his 2008 campaign
pledge to "end the war"--although U.S. troops aren't engaged in much
of a war at the moment.
They are primarily involved in training, assisting and advising Iraqi
forces, conducting counterterrorism missions, and serving as a buffer
force to reassure all sides in Iraq's fractious politics that their
opponents will not resort to force to achieve their ends. The
reassurance provided by U.S. forces is important, given that violence
continues to be perpetrated by Sunni and Shiite extremist groups,
including al Qaeda in Iraq, whose premature obituary has been
written more than once.
U.S. forces play a particularly important role as a peacekeeper
between the Kurdish peshmerga militia and the Iraqi Security Forces
along the ill-defined frontier (the "Green Line") between Iraq proper
and the Kurdish Regional Government. On a visit to Iraq last month,
I encountered the umpteenth crisis between the Kurds and Arabs. The
peshmerga had come down south of the Green Line to surround the
this month urging Iraqi leaders to decide whether they want U.S.
forces to stay beyond Dec. 31. "If there is to be a presence, to help
with some of the areas where [the Iraqis] still need help," he said,
"we're open to that possibility. But they have to ask."
This is a small, belated, but welcome step in the right direction. Until
now the Obama administration has taken a hands-off attitude in Iraq,
giving every indication that it would be fine with a complete pullout
of the 50,000 U.S. troops currently in the country. This would
presumably allow the president to make good on his 2008 campaign
pledge to "end the war"--although U.S. troops aren't engaged in much
of a war at the moment.
They are primarily involved in training, assisting and advising Iraqi
forces, conducting counterterrorism missions, and serving as a buffer
force to reassure all sides in Iraq's fractious politics that their
opponents will not resort to force to achieve their ends. The
reassurance provided by U.S. forces is important, given that violence
continues to be perpetrated by Sunni and Shiite extremist groups,
including al Qaeda in Iraq, whose premature obituary has been
written more than once.
U.S. forces play a particularly important role as a peacekeeper
between the Kurdish peshmerga militia and the Iraqi Security Forces
along the ill-defined frontier (the "Green Line") between Iraq proper
and the Kurdish Regional Government. On a visit to Iraq last month,
I encountered the umpteenth crisis between the Kurds and Arabs. The
peshmerga had come down south of the Green Line to surround the
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023510
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