I found several  parts of the Hidden Pentagon Records Reveal Patterns of Failure in Deadly Airstrikes by the New York Times exciting and particularly captivating.  One part of the text that stood out to me is when it reads, “In November 2015, after observing a man dragging an “unknown heavy object” into an ISIS “defensive fighting position,” American forces struck a building in Ramadi, Iraq. A military review found that the object was actually “a person of small stature” — a child — who died in the strike.” This segment immeidately caught my emotions and also reinforced an interesting theme that was obvious throughout the beginning of the piece. Many of the stories in the beginning being depicted struck my emotions early on and made me think. Specifically, the story of American forces striking a building in Ramadi, Iraq. only to realize that the “unknown heavy object” being dragged by a man was a child who ended up dying in the strike. That story grabbed my immediate attention and provided an opportunity to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. Using these examples of innocence and depicting how they are being affected severely by the consequences of war is a captivating tactic in the article. It immediately pulls on the reader’s affections especially while they go about reading the rest of the passage. I also think the emphasis on this information being top secret and explicitly found only at the Pentagon archive emphasizes the seriousness of the situation and the severity of these innocent lives lost. It also introduces the importance and significance of the article early on.

The transition in this piece is also incredibly compelling. It draws the line between how not a single record provided includes a finding of wrongdoing or disciplinary action and how these records clearly outline the issue through personal, first-hand events documented in these records.

“To understand how this happened, The Times did what military officials admit they have not done: analyzed the casualty assessments in the aggregate to discern patterns of failed intelligence, decision-making, and execution.” This makes me wonder- did they not purposefully do this because they feared what they would find? Were they afraid that they would realize more innocent lives were being taken than they realized?

I felt that the New York Times article “Airstrikes Allowed America to Wage War with Minimal Risk to its Troops” took a different approach. The article explicitly reads, “Sawsan had been staying with her grandparents for a week when the whole family sat down to dinner on March 5, 2016. All told, there were 21 people around the table.” This quote emphasizes just how quickly these lives change for those affected. To go from being able to sit at the dining room table with all of your family members to suddenly being under attack and receiving several strikes is such a dramatic difference that it has such a traumatic impact.

Upon visiting The Sola Foundation’s website, I found their mission statement inspiring. I especially liked the idea of cultivating meaningful connections and conversations on a small scale, hoping to broaden to more Afghans not explicitly located in Philadelphia. “Our mission is centered on empowering and mobilizing the Afghan community in Philadelphia to cultivate a meaningful connection with the global Afghan community.” Reading about this organization before reading the Missouri piece offered an enjoyable transition . I feel like many of the stories we are reading related to immigration are detailed descriptions of suffering or outlining/bringing attention to struggles that are leaving immigrants behind others. However, these articles highlighting positives and programs being put in place were much more positive and offered a different perspective/light.

Especially in the case of reading Sidiquis’ program and her work,  I found that her efforts in helping refugees and immigrants settle safely and effectively were both impressive and inspiring. I also found the emphasis on tolerating new Americans and “embracing them, embracing who they are” important. I think this point of the argument makes it explicit just how important it is to avoid having these immigrants shape shift and dissociate from their culture and where they are coming from. A follow-up quotation emphasizing that ‘Immigrants and refugees revitalize every community that they resettle because they bring something different” was also interesting.This quote emphasizes the importance of keeping the individual and embracing them for who they are, given that, as this quote explains, each individual has contributions that can be beneficial.