Knowledge and awareness of what is taking place in the world around you is an important part of your social studies education. Throughout the course of the year, you will be assigned news articles about a wide variety of current topics. Please carefully follow the guidelines below.

1. Follow the below link (which will open in a separate window or tab) and read the article carefully.
2. Answer ALL of the questions below.
3. When you are finished, press 'Submit' - you will not get to go back and change your answers, so be sure you are ready when you press the button.
4. You will see a screen that gives you your grade. You do not need to tell me your grade - I will receive your score.

Important Notes:

• The assignment must be completed EVERY week - assignments must be submitted by 7:00 AM on Fridays unless specifically told otherwise.
• Each week, the article and questions will be available beginning Monday morning.
• This assignment MUST be completed on your own. Should cheating or working together become an issue, the grade of zero will be assigned and a written assignment will replace the current format.

For this assignment, please read the following article: Obama: 'Time to turn the page' as Iraq combat mission ends. This assignment is due on September 10, 2010

Name:

Period:   1/2 (wci-a) 5/6 (wci-h) 7/8 (wci-h) 14/15 (wci-g) 16/17 (wci-h)

1. According to the article, what was the major justification used for going to war in Iraq in the first place?
   a. Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait
   b. The 9/11 attacks
   c. Iraq’s refusal to allow a democratic government
   d. The search for weapons of mass destruction
   


2. With the end of combat missions in Iraq,
   a. There are no more US troops left in that country
   b. Some US non-combat troops will remain to assist and train the Iraqi military
   c. US military presence in the Middle East has come to an end
   d. US combat troops will shift their focus to rebuilding damaged cities in Iraq
   


3. Which statement most accurately reflects what the President said about al Qaeda?
   a. Al Qaeda is no longer a threat to the United States
   b. Al Qaeda continues to be a threat to the US but there is nothing that can be done about that
   c. Al Qaeda continues to be a threat to the US and we will now have more resources available to defeat them
   d. Al Qaeda continues to be a threat, however they are not as large a danger as they were just a few years ago
   


4. Who was responsible for the troop surge in Iraq in 2007?
   a. Barack Obama
   b. George W. Bush
   c. Mitch McConnell
   d. Fareed Zakaria
   


5. What was Minority Leader John Boehner’s reaction to what President Obama had to say?
   a. He agreed with the President’s removal of troops
   b. He was critical of what the President had to say
   c. He spoke favorably of the President’s decisions regarding both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
   d. He blamed the President for sending troops to the Middle East in the first place