Search results for

The Pentagon reveals that U.S. forces attacked a convoy of vehicles near the Iraq-Syria border last week. U.S. officials say the attacks targeted "someone" associated with Saddam Hussein's regime, but will not confirm reports from a British newspaper suggesting Saddam himself may have been in the convoy. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.

Looting and sabotage since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime have left Iraq's oil fields in disrepair, hampering U.S. efforts to resume oil exports quickly to fund reconstruction efforts. U.S. officials expect that Iraq will begin exporting 700,000 barrels a day in August, far less than its pre-war capacity. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson.

Three days after the U.N. Security Council lifts sanctions on Iraq, the U.S.-appointed interim oil minister says the country will restore pre-war oil production and begin exporting within the next few weeks. In Baghdad, Iraqis express anger at the shortage of gas and complain that much of the existing oil is being smuggled out of the country. Hear NPR's Nick Spicer.

U.S. military officials hold the first discussion about creating a new Iraqi government. Eighty representatives of Iraqi society participate -- half from within, half from opposition groups abroad. Meanwhile, in Kut, an anti-American tribal leader occupies city hall in defiance of U.S. Marines. Hear from NPR's Mike Shuster and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

U.S. officials in Iraq begin the process of identifying former high-level members of the Baath Party, who are to be excluded from government jobs. But U.S. civilian administrator Paul Bremer says that de-Baathification is a "difficult problem" and that the help of ex-Baath Party members may be needed to restore the country's civil administration. Hear NPR's Guy Raz.

Hundreds of identical letters have been sent to newspapers from U.S. soldiers in Iraq, extolling the successes of American forces there. The U.S. military says the letters are part of a spontaneous grassroots campaign, but many soldiers say they didn't write the missives that bear their names. NPR's Adam Hochberg reports.

The House approves President Bush's $87 billion request for new spending in Afghanistan and Iraq. The funds, aimed mostly at supporting U.S. troops in those countries, are likely to pass in the Senate Friday night. The lopsided vote in favor of the aid request belies weeks of debate over the spending measure and the U.S. presence in Iraq. NPR's David Welna reports.

Italy's top officials attend a funeral in Rome for a security agent killed in Iraq Friday. He died trying to shield a freed Italian hostage, when U.S. forces fired on their vehicle. The United States says its troops gave warning signals, but the hostage contests the U.S. version of events. An investigation is under way.

President Bush takes his Social Security tour to the Federal Bureau of Public Debt in West Virginia to illustrate his concerns about the program. The bureau holds U.S. Treasury bonds backing the $1.7 trillion Social Security trust fund, which Bush says represents "I.O.U.s" — not real money.

On a campaign trip through the Midwest, President Bush defends his decision to invade Iraq, saying it was justified despite that no weapons of mass destruction have been found. Before a crowd of supporters in Marquette, Mich., the president emphasized that the U.N. Security Council and other U.S. leaders had found Iraq to be a threat. Hear NPR's Andrea Seabrook.