Militants Turn to Small Bombs in Iraq Attacks

The New York Times article "Militants Turn to Small Bombs in Iraq Attacks" interested me because I wasn't sure what the story would entail. The "sticky bombs", though violent and potentially fatal, are creative and becoming more and more of a threat. The lead picqued my curiosity because it was an attention-grabber. In my opinion, though some my differ, this was a startling lead because of its bluntness.

The story did live up to my "expectations". I didn't really have any going into the story because I had never heard of "sticky bombs", but it the article was informative and helpful. It discussed what these bombs are, how they are made, the increasing dependency on them and what they can do.

The main point of the story focused on how these bombs are becoming more popular and the devastation such a small device can cause. The story was organized in an A to Z structure - beginning with their use of attacks in Iraq and ending with their frighteningly effective development.

Points that were logically linked throughout the story were:

• A description of what the bombs look like and emphasis on their size ("no bigger than a man's fist")


• How these bombs are made and their point of origin (surprisingly, during World War II)


• Statistics of how many people have been wounded or killed as a direct result of these bombings since 2004


• Worries of locals who are constantly suspicious of everyone around them


• The development of the bombs and their popularity among terrorists

These points were logically linked because smooth transitions were made into each paragraph. If there was a quote from a villager who questions all customers in his store, it would be followed up with an example of how it's possible for "customers" to place bombs.

Something incredibly interesting that I learned from this story, that stuck with me throughout reading it was the use of these bombs are a sign of weakness within Iraqi militants. According to the article, "paradoxically, the bombs are also a sign that terrorists are finding it harder to move freely." My only question after reading this article was how the U.S. forces in Iraq are cooperating with the Iraqi government to try to end these bombings.