rajpurkar/squad huggingface dataset:
Title: John_Kerry

On April 18, 1985, a few months after taking his Senate seat, Kerry and Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa traveled to Nicaragua and met the country's president, Daniel Ortega. Though Ortega had won internationally certified elections, the trip was criticized because Ortega and his leftist Sandinista government had strong ties to Cuba and the USSR and were accused of human rights abuses. The Sandinista government was opposed by the right-wing CIA-backed rebels known as the Contras. While in Nicaragua, Kerry and Harkin talked to people on both sides of the conflict. Through the senators, Ortega offered a cease-fire agreement in exchange for the U.S. dropping support of the Contras. The offer was denounced by the Reagan administration as a "propaganda initiative" designed to influence a House vote on a $14 million Contra aid package, but Kerry said "I am willing..... to take the risk in the effort to put to test the good faith of the Sandinistas." The House voted down the Contra aid, but Ortega flew to Moscow to accept a $200 million loan the next day, which in part prompted the House to pass a larger $27 million aid package six weeks later.

Question: When did Kerry visit Nicaragua?
Answer: April 18, 1985

Question: Who did Kerry visit Nicaragua with?
Answer: Senator Tom Harkin

Question: Where was Tom Harkin from?
Answer: Iowa

Question: Who did Kerry visit in Nicaragua?
Answer: Daniel Ortega

Question: What was criticized about Ortega's administration?
Answer: strong ties to Cuba and the USSR and were accused of human rights abuses
Title: John_Kerry

Meanwhile, Kerry's staff began their own investigations and, on October 14, issued a report that exposed illegal activities on the part of Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, who had set up a private network involving the National Security Council and the CIA to deliver military equipment to right-wing Nicaraguan rebels (Contras). In effect, North and certain members of the President's administration were accused by Kerry's report of illegally funding and supplying armed militants without the authorization of Congress. Kerry's staff investigation, based on a year-long inquiry and interviews with fifty unnamed sources, is said to raise "serious questions about whether the United States has abided by the law in its handling of the contras over the past three years."

Question: Who did Kerry's staff expose in an Oct 14 report?
Answer: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North

Question: Who had Oliver North been supporting?
Answer: right-wing Nicaraguan rebels (Contras)

Question: What crime had Kerry said North committed?
Answer: illegally funding and supplying armed militants without the authorization of Congress

Question: Who were the Contras?
Answer: right-wing Nicaraguan rebels

Question: What government agencies worked with North?
Answer: the National Security Council and the CIA
Title: John_Kerry

The Kerry Committee report found that "the Contra drug links included..... payments to drug traffickers by the U.S. State Department of funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras, in some cases after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges, in others while traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies." The U.S. State Department paid over $806,000 to known drug traffickers to carry humanitarian assistance to the Contras. Kerry's findings provoked little reaction in the media and official Washington.

Question: Who was the State Department giving money to?
Answer: drug traffickers

Question: How much money did the State Department give the traffickers?
Answer: over $806,000

Question: Where had the money given to drug traffickers come from?
Answer: funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras

Question: What was the response to Kerry's accusation of funding traffickers?
Answer: little reaction in the media and official Washington
Title: John_Kerry

During their investigation of Noriega, Kerry's staff found reason to believe that the Pakistan-based Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) had facilitated Noriega's drug trafficking and money laundering. This led to a separate inquiry into BCCI, and as a result, banking regulators shut down BCCI in 1991. In December 1992, Kerry and Senator Hank Brown, a Republican from Colorado, released The BCCI Affair, a report on the BCCI scandal. The report showed that the bank was crooked and was working with terrorists, including Abu Nidal. It blasted the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the Customs Service, the Federal Reserve Bank, as well as influential lobbyists and the CIA.

Question: Where is the BCCI based?
Answer: Pakistan

Question: What bank helped Noriega?
Answer: Bank of Credit and Commerce International

Question: When was BCCI shut down?
Answer: 1991

Question: Who collaborated in the report about BCCI?
Answer: Kerry and Senator Hank Brown

Question: What was the BCCI report called?
Answer: The BCCI Affair
Title: John_Kerry

In 1996, Kerry faced a difficult re-election fight against Governor William Weld, a popular Republican incumbent who had been re-elected in 1994 with 71% of the vote. The race was covered nationwide as one of the most closely watched Senate races that year. Kerry and Weld held several debates and negotiated a campaign spending cap of $6.9 million at Kerry's Beacon Hill townhouse. Both candidates spent more than the cap, with each camp accusing the other of being first to break the agreement. During the campaign, Kerry spoke briefly at the 1996 Democratic National Convention. Kerry won re-election with 53 percent to Weld's 45 percent.

Question: Who ran against Kerry in 1996?
Answer: William Weld

Question: When Weld was re-elected governor, how much of the vote did he get?
Answer: 71%

Question: When was Weld re-elected governor?
Answer: 1994

Question: What did Kerry and Weld agree to limit their campaign spending to?
Answer: $6.9 million

Question: Who broke the agreed-upon spending cap?
Answer: Both candidates
Title: John_Kerry

Kerry said that he had intended the remark as a jab at President Bush, and described the remarks as a "botched joke", having inadvertently left out the key word "us" (which would have been, "If you don't, you get us stuck in Iraq"), as well as leaving the phrase "just ask President Bush" off of the end of the sentence. In Kerry's prepared remarks, which he released during the ensuing media frenzy, the corresponding line was "... you end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush." He also said that from the context of the speech which, prior to the "stuck in Iraq" line, made several specific references to Bush and elements of his biography, that Kerry was referring to President Bush and not American troops in general.

Question: What was Kerry supposed to say when he 'botched a joke'?
Answer: "... you end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush."

Question: Who was Kerry saying was stuck in Iraq?
Answer: President Bush and not American troops in general

Question: What mistake did Kerry make in the joke?
Answer: inadvertently left out the key word "us"
Title: John_Kerry

Kerry "has emerged in the past few years as an important envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan during times of crisis," a Washington Post report stated in May 2011, as Kerry undertook another trip to the two countries. The killing of Osama bin Laden "has generated perhaps the most important crossroads yet," the report continued, as the senator spoke at a press conference and prepared to fly from Kabul to Pakistan. Among matters discussed during the May visit to Pakistan, under the general rubric of "recalibrating" the bilateral relationship, Kerry sought and retrieved from the Pakistanis the tail-section of the U.S. helicopter which had had to be abandoned at Abbottabad during the bin Laden strike. In 2013, Kerry met with Pakistan's army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to discuss the peace process with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Question: Who did the Washington Post say Kerry was an envoy for?
Answer: Afghanistan and Pakistan

Question: When did the Washington Post say Kerry was important envoy?
Answer: May 2011

Question: How, in May 2011, did the WaPo describe Bin Laden's killing?
Answer: perhaps the most important crossroads yet

Question: What did Kerry get from the Pakistanis?
Answer: the tail-section of the U.S. helicopter which had had to be abandoned at Abbottabad during the bin Laden strike

Question: Who was Pakistan's army chief in 2013?
Answer: Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
Title: John_Kerry

Most analyses place Kerry's voting record on the left within the Senate Democratic caucus. During the 2004 presidential election he was portrayed as a staunch liberal by conservative groups and the Bush campaign, who often noted that in 2003 Kerry was rated the National Journal's top Senate liberal. However, that rating was based only upon voting on legislation within that past year. In fact, in terms of career voting records, the National Journal found that Kerry is the 11th most liberal member of the Senate. Most analyses find that Kerry is at least slightly more liberal than the typical Democratic Senator. Kerry has stated that he opposes privatizing Social Security, supports abortion rights for adult women and minors, supports same-sex marriage, opposes capital punishment except for terrorists, supports most gun control laws, and is generally a supporter of trade agreements. Kerry supported the North American Free Trade Agreement and Most Favored Nation status for China, but opposed the Central American Free Trade Agreement.[citation needed]

Question: Who said Kerry was the 'top Senate liberal'?
Answer: the National Journal

Question: When was Kerry called the 'top Senate liberal'?
Answer: 2003

Question: What was Kerry's actual career voting rank for 'liberalness'?
Answer: 11th most liberal

Question: What trade agreement did Kerry support?
Answer: North American Free Trade Agreement

Question: What trade agreement did Kerry oppose?
Answer: Central American Free Trade Agreement
Title: John_Kerry

In the lead up to the Iraq War, Kerry said on October 9, 2002; "I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security." Bush relied on that resolution in ordering the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Kerry also gave a January 23, 2003 speech to Georgetown University saying "Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator; leading an oppressive regime he presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real." Kerry did, however, warn that the administration should exhaust its diplomatic avenues before launching war: "Mr. President, do not rush to war, take the time to build the coalition, because it's not winning the war that's hard, it's winning the peace that's hard."

Question: When did Kerry say he intended to support the Iraq War?
Answer: October 9, 2002

Question: When did Bush declare the Iraq war?
Answer: 2003

Question: Who did Kerry say we should disarm?
Answer: Saddam Hussein

Question: When did Kerry speak at Georgetown University?
Answer: January 23, 2003
Title: John_Kerry

Kerry chaired the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs from 1991 to 1993. The committee's report, which Kerry endorsed, stated there was "no compelling evidence that proves that any American remains alive in captivity in Southeast Asia." In 1994 the Senate passed a resolution, sponsored by Kerry and fellow Vietnam veteran John McCain, that called for an end to the existing trade embargo against Vietnam; it was intended to pave the way for normalization. In 1995, President Bill Clinton normalized diplomatic relations with the country of Vietnam.

Question: What committee did Kerry chair in 1991-1993?
Answer: the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs

Question: What did the POW/MIA committee conclude about Vietnam POWs?
Answer: there was "no compelling evidence that proves that any American remains alive in captivity in Southeast Asia."

Question: When did Kerry sponsor a resolution to reopen trade with Vietnam?
Answer: 1994

Question: Who sponsored the resolution to reopen trade with Vietnam, along with Kerry?
Answer: John McCain

Question: When did Bill Clinton normalize relations with Vietnam?
Answer: 1995
Title: John_Kerry

In the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries, John Kerry defeated several Democratic rivals, including Sen. John Edwards (D-North Carolina.), former Vermont Governor Howard Dean and retired Army General Wesley Clark. His victory in the Iowa caucuses is widely believed to be the tipping point where Kerry revived his sagging campaign in New Hampshire and the February 3, 2004, primary states like Arizona, South Carolina and New Mexico. Kerry then went on to win landslide victories in Nevada and Wisconsin. Kerry thus won the Democratic nomination to run for President of the United States against incumbent George W. Bush. On July 6, 2004, he announced his selection of John Edwards as his running mate. Democratic strategist Bob Shrum, who was Kerry's 2004 campaign adviser, wrote an article in Time magazine claiming that after the election, Kerry had said that he wished he'd never picked Edwards, and that the two have since stopped speaking to each other. In a subsequent appearance on ABC's This Week, Kerry refused to respond to Shrum's allegation, calling it a "ridiculous waste of time."

Question: Where was John Edwards a senator?
Answer: North Carolina

Question: Where was Howard Dean a governor?
Answer: Vermont

Question: What was Wesley Clark's former job?
Answer: Army General

Question: Who won the 2004 Iowa Democratic Caucus?
Answer: John Kerry

Question: When did Kerry choose John Edwards to be his VP?
Answer: July 6, 2004
Title: John_Kerry

During his bid to be elected president in 2004, Kerry frequently criticized President George W. Bush for the Iraq War. While Kerry had initially voted in support of authorizing President Bush to use force in dealing with Saddam Hussein, he voted against an $87 billion supplemental appropriations bill to pay for the subsequent war. His statement on March 16, 2004, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it," helped the Bush campaign to paint him as a flip-flopper and has been cited as contributing to Kerry's defeat.

Question: Who did Kerry criticize during the 2004 campaign?
Answer: President George W. Bush

Question: Why did Kerry criticize Bush during the 2004 campaign?
Answer: for the Iraq War

Question: What had Kerry voted against after supporting the initial Iraq authorization?
Answer: an $87 billion supplemental appropriations bill to pay for the subsequent war

Question: What did Bush's campaign call Kerry for changing his mind about Iraq?
Answer: a flip-flopper
Title: John_Kerry

Kerry established a separate political action committee, Keeping America's Promise, which declared as its mandate "A Democratic Congress will restore accountability to Washington and help change a disastrous course in Iraq", and raised money and channeled contributions to Democratic candidates in state and federal races. Through Keeping America's Promise in 2005, Kerry raised over $5.5 million for other Democrats up and down the ballot. Through his campaign account and his political action committee, the Kerry campaign operation generated more than $10 million for various party committees and 179 candidates for the U.S. House, Senate, state and local offices in 42 states focusing on the midterm elections during the 2006 election cycle. "Cumulatively, John Kerry has done as much if not more than any other individual senator", Hassan Nemazee, the national finance chairman of the DSCC said.

Question: What was Kerry's PAC?
Answer: Keeping America's Promise

Question: What was the mission of Keeping America's Promise?
Answer: "A Democratic Congress will restore accountability to Washington and help change a disastrous course in Iraq"

Question: How many down-ballot candidates did Kerry help support?
Answer: 179

Question: How many states' down-ballot candidates did Kerry help support?
Answer: 42

Question: Which election did Kerry's PAC focus on?
Answer: the midterm elections during the 2006 election cycle
Title: John_Kerry

On December 15, 2012, several news outlets reported that President Barack Obama would nominate Kerry to succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, after Susan Rice, widely seen as Obama's preferred choice, withdrew her name from consideration citing a politicized confirmation process following criticism of her response to the 2012 Benghazi attack. On December 21, Obama proposed the nomination which received positive commentary. His confirmation hearing took place on January 24, 2013, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the same panel where he first testified in 1971. The committee unanimously voted to approve him on January 29, 2013, and the same day the full Senate confirmed him on a vote of 94–3. In a letter to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Kerry announced his resignation from the Senate effective February 1.

Question: When was it reported that Kerry would become SoS?
Answer: December 15, 2012

Question: Who was Secretary of State before Kerry?
Answer: Hillary Clinton

Question: Who backed out of becoming SoS after Hillary?
Answer: Susan Rice

Question: Why did Rice withdraw?
Answer: a politicized confirmation process following criticism of her response to the 2012 Benghazi attack

Question: When was Kerry's appointment confirmed?
Answer: January 29, 2013
Title: John_Kerry

In the State Department, Kerry quickly earned a reputation "for being aloof, keeping to himself, and not bothering to read staff memos." Career State Department officials have complained that power has become too centralized under Kerry's leadership, which slows department operations when Kerry is on one of his frequent overseas trips. Others in State describe Kerry as having "a kind of diplomatic attention deficit disorder" as he shifts from topic to topic instead of focusing on long-term strategy. When asked whether he was traveling too much, he responded, "Hell no. I'm not slowing down." Despite Kerry's early achievements, morale at State is lower than under Hillary Clinton according to department employees. However, after Kerry's first six months in the State Department, a Gallup poll found he had high approval ratings among Americans as Secretary of State. After a year, another poll showed Kerry's favorability continued to rise. Less than two years into Kerry's term, the Foreign Policy Magazine's 2014 Ivory Tower survey of international relations scholars asked, "Who was the most effective U.S. Secretary of State in the past 50 years?"; John Kerry and Lawrence Eagleburger tied for 11th place out of the 15 confirmed Secretaries of State in that period.

Question: Who complained about how Kerry ran the State Dept?
Answer: Career State Department officials

Question: What was the complaint about how Kerry ran the State Dept?
Answer: power has become too centralized under Kerry's leadership, which slows department operations when Kerry is on one of his frequent overseas trips

Question: How had some State employees described Kerry?
Answer: having "a kind of diplomatic attention deficit disorder"

Question: Who published the Ivory Tower Survey?
Answer: Foreign Policy Magazine

Question: What was Kerry's ranking in the Ivory Tower Survey for effectiveness as SoS?
Answer: tied for 11th place out of the 15
Title: John_Kerry

In January 2014, having met with Secretary of State, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, Kerry said "We touched on just about every major issue that we are both working on, that are issues of concern to all of us. First of all, we talked at great length about Syria, and I was particularly appreciative for the Archbishop’s raising this issue, and equally grateful for the Holy Father’s comments – the Pope's comments yesterday regarding his support for the Geneva II process. We welcome that support. It is very important to have broad support, and I know that the Pope is particularly concerned about the massive numbers of displaced human beings and the violence that has taken over 130,000 lives".

Question: Who met Kerry in Jan 2014?
Answer: Archbishop Pietro Parolin

Question: What country did Kerry discuss with Parolin?
Answer: Syria

Question: What did the Pope express support for in Jan 2014?
Answer: the Geneva II process

Question: How many people did Kerry say had died in Syria as of Jan 2014?
Answer: over 130,000
Title: John_Kerry

Kerry said on September 9 in response to a reporter's question about whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could avert a military strike: "He could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week. Turn it over, all of it, without delay, and allow a full and total accounting for that. But he isn't about to do it, and it can't be done, obviously." This unscripted remark initiated a process that would lead to Syria agreeing to relinquish and destroy its chemical weapons arsenal, as Russia treated Kerry's statement as a serious proposal. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia would work "immediately" to convince Syria relinquish and destroy its large chemical weapons arsenal. Syria quickly welcomed this proposal and on September 14, the UN formally accepted Syria's application to join the convention banning chemical weapons, and separately, the U.S. and Russia agreed on a plan to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons by the middle of 2014. On September 28, the UN Security Council passed a resolution ordering the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons and condemning the August 21 Ghouta attack.

Question: Who was Syria's president in 2014?
Answer: Bashar al-Assad

Question: What did Kerry say Syria could do to avoid a military strike?
Answer: turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week

Question: Which country convinced Syria to actually give up its chemical weapons?
Answer: Russia

Question: What was Sergey Lavrov's position?
Answer: Russian Foreign Minister

Question: When did the UN Security Council order Syria's chemical weapons be destroyed?
Answer: September 28
Title: John_Kerry

In a speech before the Organization of American States in November 2013, Kerry remarked that the era of the Monroe Doctrine was over. He went on to explain, "The relationship that we seek and that we have worked hard to foster is not about a United States declaration about how and when it will intervene in the affairs of other American states. It's about all of our countries viewing one another as equals, sharing responsibilities, cooperating on security issues, and adhering not to doctrine, but to the decisions that we make as partners to advance the values and the interests that we share."

Question: Where did Kerry speak in Nov 2013?
Answer: the Organization of American States

Question: What did Kerry say had ended, in the Nov 2013 speech?
Answer: the era of the Monroe Doctrine

Question: When did Kerry speak to the OAS?
Answer: in November 2013