Bomb kills dozens at iraqi funeral

I. Citation

Bomb Kills Dozens at Iraqi Funeral – NY Times

By Erica Goode and Graham Bowley

April 18, 2008

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/world/middleeast/18iraq.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin

II. Summary

This article basically describes that there is still a war going on in the Middle East. Earlier today, a Muslim Sunni extremist suicide bomber crashed a plane into a funeral tent in a village in Iraq. The funeral was for two nephews of a Sunni chieftain, Sheik Ibrahim Arif-al Azawi. True he is a Sunni, but he is part of the organization called the Sunni Awakening Council, who, with the help of America, is trying to control the extremists. They couldn’t stop the attack, today, or any of the 4 others this week. This suicide attack alone killed 40 people and injured 6. The Sunni extremists are doing this to prove that they can still do all this in defiance despite American and Iraqi forces.

III. Reactions

A) This article relates to the AP World History theme “impact of interaction among and within major societies” because it is showing all of the conflict going on in the Middle East, that not only Iraq but America as well is involved in. All of the fighting and suicide bombings are showing that interaction, organization, and control in this society is strained.

B) This conflict has been going on since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The suicide attacks have increased over the years and are very popular with the Sunni extremists, who are against the Sunni Awakening Council. This organization was formed to enforce security in the area.

C) The point of view for this article is actually two writers, a male and a female journalist. They are both Americans working for the New York Times, and therefore are outsiders.

D) This article should be approached with caution because both of the authors are American, and are probably for the Sunni Awakening Council and against the extremists. They could be making the attacks seem more numerous, deadly, and outrageous than they really were. There could be more of a story behind what was printed.

E) I would have wanted to hear from someone in the Sunni Awakening Council because they could tell us their view on these recent attacks, especially today’s, and what they plan to do to prevent extremist suicide bombings in the future.

F) My reaction to this article was mostly shock, for two reasons. First, I wondered how anyone could give up their lives to prove a point rather than try to settle it peacefully. Second, I was shocked that the council has not been very successful in stopping the attacks, like I thought they would. Once they saw that this was happening, they should have increased security and control.