Jolie: Well, I in my research before I came here, I looked at the numbers and there are over 4 million people displaced and of the 2 million internally displaced it’s estimated that 58 percent are under 12 years old. So it’s a very high number of people in a very, very vulnerable situation and a lot of young kids. So far the different U.S. officials I’ve met with and different local people I’ve met with all have shared concerns and very, very strongly you know they have spoken out about the humanitarian crisis but um, but there seems to be a block in.

I’m not good at policy and fixing all this and saying what’s wrong but I do know that for example U.N.H.C.R. needs to be more active inside Iraq. In order for that to happen, they need they feel strongly about having some better protection … better security in talking with the U.S. officials, they’re willing to give that security to the extent that they can give it.

And so you know I don’t have the answers but I know that this is one thing that needs to be addressed and solved because there does need to be a real presence here to help count the people and register the people. Also even just the government here needs to empower the prime minister … here needs to empower the government that deals with migration and displacement to be able to address the concerns for these people and that hasn’t happened in a significant way yet.

Her recent statements are neither pro-war or anti-war, she’s addressing a humanitarian crisis in the ME and Iraq. For either side to cherry pick her statements to support their side is a joke.

My visit left me even more deeply convinced that we not only have a moral obligation to help displaced Iraqi families, but also a serious, long-term, national security interest in ending this crisis. Today’s humanitarian crisis in Iraq — and the potential consequences for our national security — are great. Can the United States afford to gamble that 4 million or more poor and displaced people, in the heart of Middle East, won’t explode in violent desperation, sending the whole region into further disorder?

And here:

As for the question of whether the surge is working, I can only state what I witnessed: U.N. staff and those of non-governmental organizations seem to feel they have the right set of circumstances to attempt to scale up their programs. And when I asked the troops if they wanted to go home as soon as possible, they said that they miss home but feel invested in Iraq. They have lost many friends and want to be a part of the humanitarian progress they now feel is possible.

She’s obviously not going out on a limb to pontificate about military strategy or to politicize the issue (her credibility would crumble if she did), but she DID express geopolitical concerns there because the humanitarian needs and the geopolitical are closely related.

Some celebs like to posture and fancy themselves as more important or intelligent than they really are, or they join the latest fad of public opinion; others earn some measure of respect by actually lending their name to a cause and becoming involved enough to have some understanding of it. I’d definitely put Jolie in that category- from her writings, it’s apparent that she’s been blessed with intelligence as well as beauty. Doesn’t necessarily mean she’s Nobel Laureate material, but she has some heft behind her opinions.

AJ is doing some good in the world, but why the importance of her comments. I wonder what Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson have to say about Iraq? What is Paris Motel…

You know, those kind of comments anger me. Seriously. The comparison is way off.

I share your disrespect for Hilton and Lohan and Simpson, but show some respect for Jolie. I think she earned it, no?