Search results for

Military analysts criticize the U.S. war plan as fierce Iraqi resistance slows the march toward Baghdad. Critics say U.S. commanders made a mistake by not sending more ground forces to Iraq. On Capitol Hill, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defends the war plan, saying the "outcome is assured" and the ruling regime will be removed. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.

Iraqi military officials in Baghdad promise more suicide attacks against U.S.-led forces, following Saturday's car bombing that killed four U.S. soldiers near the Iraqi city of Najaf. Iraq says it has given the equivalent of more than $30,000 to the family of the man who carried out the suicide attack. NPR's Liane Hansen talks to reporter John Laurence.

NPR's Juan Williams visits Rep. Max Burns, the freshman Republican congressman from Georgia. Burns says he supports President Bush's decision to attack Iraq. He also backs the president's proposed tax cut, yet Burns' constituents tell him their first priority is getting more jobs into south Georgia. Their conversation is part of an occasional series on how the congressman is adjusting to political life in Washington.

U.S. military officials reject reports that Iraqi resistance is stalling the drive to Baghdad, or slowing allied supplies. At a news briefing in Qatar, Maj. Gen. Victor Renuart says "there's no pause on the battlefield." In Nasiriyah, U.S. Marines defending two key bridges against Iraqi resistance shift tactics and push into the city. NPR's Mike Shuster reports.

Iraqi television broadcasts an alleged statement from Saddam Hussein, urging Baghdad's residents to fight U.S. forces with their hands if necessary. Hoping to avoid drawn-out urban warfare, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld appeals to Iraqi soldiers to surrender, saying they "can still survive and help to rebuild a free Iraq." NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Speaking to Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, President Bush says "a vise is closing" on Saddam Hussein's regime and that the United States "will not stop until Iraq is free." Bush also offers condolences to families of U.S. Marines killed in the war with Iraq. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards, NPR's Christopher Joyce and NPR's Don Gonyea.

Ten days into the war in Iraq, U.S. and British senior commanders insist their war strategy is working. Despite weather and logistics problems, commanders say the air campaign has weakened Saddam Hussein's grip on Iraq, and U.S.-led troops have suffered relatively few casualties. Hear NPR's Mike Shuster.

Iraq's information minister, reading a statement he said was from Saddam Hussein, calls for a holy war against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Meanwhile, Iraq's vice president insists the U.S. military has been unable to make progress in its march to Baghdad, and that Iraq has foiled U.S. war plans. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

Fierce battles erupt on two fronts in Iraq. About 50 miles south of Baghdad on the Euphrates River, a U.S. Army division seizes the river town of Hindiyah. Farther south, Marines struggle to hold bridges over the Tigris River and move forces north toward Baghdad. Hear NPR's Mike Shuster.

The small town of Conyers, southeast of Atlanta, has lost two soldiers in Iraq -- Pfc. Diego Rincon, 19, and Army Spc. Jamaal Addison, 22. Conyers has been growing because of its proximity to Georgia's capital city, but it still has a small-town personality -- and many people there have passionate feelings about the war, and the town's losses. Hear NPR's Kathy Lohr.