Given the question: Given the following passage  "Near East (French: Proche-Orient) is a geographical term that roughly encompasses Western Asia. Despite having varying definitions within different academic circles, the term was originally applied to the maximum extent of the Ottoman Empire. The term has fallen into disuse in English, and has been replaced by the term Middle East.",  answer the following question. Note that the answer is present within the text.  Question: Where is Iraq?
The answer is:
Middle East