Article Analysis: For Family in Iraq, Drop in Deaths is Not Enough

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/world/middleeast/03iraq.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

This is a very straightforward article that begins with a hard news lede, giving readers the most newsworthy information first. It provides the who, what, and when: The number of combined military and civilian deaths in Iraq for October hit the lowest monthly level since May 2004, the United States military said Sunday.

The second paragraph is more like backup to the lede, and ends with a smooth transition into the main point of the article: the family that the article focuses on: The announcement was further evidence of a decline in violence since a significant troop increase last year, but the tragedy of one family in Kirkuk is a reminder of just how dangerous life in Iraq continues to be.

Next, the reader gets a look into the life of Khudaer Muhammad Abdullah and the loss of his young children and friends in a grenade explosion. The article transitions well into a narrative and dramatic telling of the incident through Abdullah's point of view. The writer varies sentence length in telling the story, and both summarizing and using quotes from Abdullah's story.


The article transitions from Abdullah's story to the overall issue of violence in Iraq, providing a quote from Brig. Gen. David G. Perkins, who talks about the positive partnership between the Iraqi security forces and the Iraqi people. The article ends with a negative example of more people being killed in Karama from a roadside bomb, based on a statement from the Kurdistan Workers' Party. The ending doesn't provide a lot of closure; I almost think a quote from a specific member of the party would have made a stronger ending.