New Battle Field, Old War

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/world/asia/27afghan.html?_r=1&hp

 "American and Afghan Troops Begin Combat for Kandahar" by ROD NORDLAND
Published: September 26, 2010



This article is about a new conquest that the American troops are facing in this late stage of the war. The head line is longer than average. The headline properly fits the article because it clearly states what the article is going to be about. Which is the the fighting that is taking place in Kandahar to rid it of its Taliban strong hold. For this reason alone the headline fits. The lead is longer than average, as is the head line. The lead contains thirty-seven words. This makes the lead very boring. If I was not interested in the war it self i would not want to read the Article. The lead works at the same time because it gives a good description of what the article will be focusing on. Which is the fighting of the Taliban by American and Afghan troops in order to flush out the Taliban. There are few sources  for this Article, but these sources are very reliable. One source is General Josef Blotz, "a NATO spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul". I would believe he would be most reliable as far as the war in the Middle East because the bases of the war was national security. Another source of this article was the Chief of Police in the Zhari district. He would also be reliable because he must be aware of all fighting going on in his district. The last source was Colonel Rafael Torres. He also belongs to the "ISAF". The general and colonel are military ranking titles. This gives them good credit in dealing with the war when their words are read in a news paper. Other good sources would have been General Colon Powell, the Secretary of Defense, or the Commander in Chief/President of The United States of America. This article could have been written in an exciting way. Combat and shoot outs should be exciting things to read about. The tone could have been more lively. It could also speak of how this would be one of the last battles in this war being as troops have been being pulled out of the Middle East periodically due to President Obama's ending of the war. This would have added more spunk and made the article a bit more interesting. What made this article news worthy was its timeliness. It took place recently. It also has to do with a war that is currently ending. It falls under the category of human interest. People want to know what is going on with their nation and country.  I believe the story was detailed and gave a lot of information. It was very informative, but it was delivered in a boring way. It was giving fact by fact but with out an intriguing delivery. I picked this article because I wondered why there would still be fighting when the war is suppose to be over. I was also wondering why this operation would be taking place so late in the war. Maybe these are the last efforts being made before the U.S. fully disengage from a war that should have never taken place.

And lastly....
Write a brief personal response to story. Why did you select this article?