Summary of source #2

For my second scholarly source i used another GAO article. GAO is the best site I can find that has so much input on Iraq. Unlike my source number one this one goes more in detail with stabilizing and securing Iraq, rather than just the reconstruction. This is definitely a scholarly source because the information comes straight from the military and Department of Defense. It gives other ways the United states is rebuilding Iraq. They even give information saying that the United States is training the Iraq soldiers and helping them rebuilding their forces.
     I love this article because some of it is set up in points. This makes it very easy to read and obtain the information a lot quicker. It states many problem the U.S. forces are having in Iraq. It is a very interesting and informative article. This will help me with my paper.










                                                                          Works Cited


Walker, David M. "Securing, Stabilizing, and Rebuilding Iraq: GAO Audit Approach and Findings: GAO-07-385T." GAO Reports (2007): 1. Military & Government Collection. EBSCO. Web. 18 Feb. 2011.

Source # 1 GAO Reports (scholarly)

GAO is a fantastic article. There is many charts and direct information from the military and many first hand accounts. I know that it is a creditable source because there is many elements of this article being scholarly. There is an abstract that is very usual to readers. It explains so many problems in the reconstruction of Iraq. It explains how the Department of Defense's efforts to reconstruct Iraq are faulty. It has 3 full graphs within the information.
         This site has very useful information that will help me with my five page paper. GAO provides many other articles that I can also use as a source for my information. They give many figures that are a shock to me because I had no clue they were that high. This article was written in 2007, so it is fairly new. The united spent over 700 billion dollars of the War in the middle east on terrorism. The number keeps growing, I am excited to find more articles that are like this one.




                                                                   Work Cited


"Stabilizing and Rebuilding Iraq: GAO-08-568T." GAO Reports (2008): 1. Military & Government Collection. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.

                                                                  Public Sources

TAVERNISE, SABRINA, and Khalid Hassan. "U.S. Official Defends Pace of Iraqi Reconstruction." New York Times (1923-Current file): A4. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2007). 2005. Web. 14 Feb. 2011 <http://search.proquest.com/docview/93026152?accountid=6199>.

GLANZ, JAMES. "Iraqis Press Donors for Billions More in Reconstruction Aid." New York Times (1923-Current file): A6. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2007). 2005. Web. 14 Feb. 2011 <http://search.proquest.com/docview/93052429?accountid=6199>.

Possible Thesis Statements for Unit 1 essay

1. Riverbend speaks about the oppression women are going through. Iraqi women are only to leave the house with a man and are forced to wear head scarfs. When will this socially injustice Country change?

2. It would benefit Iraq finically if they gave the reconstruction projects to local Iraqi construction companies rather than the over priced U.S corporations.

3.  Riverbend calls the government leaders of Iraq puppets. She states that the leaders of Iraq are hanging on the strings of the U.S. leaders and by the strings of a corrupt country filled with terrorism.

Religions, Political leaders and Political parties in present-day Iraq

        There are many religions in Iraq, but the main religion is Islam. Iraq is 97% Muslim.(60-65% Shi'a, 32-37% Sunni.)  The city Karbala has a definite prominence of mostly Shi'a people. Also, Sammara is a holy place for predominantly Shi'a and some Sunni people because relatives of the prophet Mohammed are buried there. Christianity in Iraq represents a small minority of people, mostly in the North. They represent 3% of Iraqi religions. A very small religion in Iraq is Yazdânism. These people live near Mosul and are made up of ethnic Kurds. They date back to pre-islamic times and Mosul is their holy grounds. Finally, Judaism was once a big religion in Iraq until the majority fled to Israel. Fewer than 100 Jews remain in Iraq.

      Iraq is a multi-party state. The political parties are usually set up ethnic affiliation. There are many parties and alliances in Iraq. After the 2010 election there was 325 seats in the Iraqi cabinet. The main parties and Alliances include: United Iraqi Alliance UIA, National Iraqi List / Iraqiya, Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq SCIRI/ISCI, and Kurdistan Alliance. There are Kurdish parties, Secular Nationalist Parties, Shi’a Parties,Sunni Parties and minority parties. There are so many political parties in Iraq. They run such things like oil, foreign affairs and everything else.

       Also, in Iraq there are many leaders. The United States has helped Iraq shadow the U.S government. Iraq has the framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. It is a multi-party system whereby the executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers as the head of government, as well as the President of Iraq, and legislative power is vested in the Council of Representatives and the Federation Council. Present day Iraq has a president and his name is Jalal Talabani. He was elected in 2005. He inspired a Kurdish revolt against Suddam Hussein ( former leader/dictator of Iraq).

Iraq has finally made a steady government with the help of U.S forces. In 2010 the prime minister  Nouri al-Maliki won his second term. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. His 37-member Cabinet was approved by theNational Assembly and sworn in on May 20, 2006. 

        The new government includes all of Iraq’s major communities. The Sunnis  disenfranchised after boycotting the 2005 election, were given several top posts, including speaker of Parliament. President Obama has rightly promised to withdraw all American troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. Mr. Maliki insisted that that deadline is firm. The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as numerous independent commissions. In my opinion, the future of Iraq is all in the hands of these government leaders, no one else.

      

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/party.htm

http://www.terra.es/personal/mothman/iraq.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Iraq

more quotes

pg. 76 " For sale: wealthily country with a population of around 25 million.... plus around 150,000 foreign troops and a handful of puppets"

pg. 16 " Females can no longer live their home alone. Each time I go out, E. and either my father, uncle, or cousin has to accompany me"

pg 46 " September 11th was a tragedy, not because 3,000 Americans died... but because 3,000 humans died."

pg 20 " As to my connection to Western Culture you would not believe how many young Iraqis people know so much about American/British/french pop culture"