U.S. destroys Iraq mobile missile launchers U.S. Air Force jets destroyed two Iraqi mobile surface-to-surface missile launchers Friday, taking less than 30 minutes to accomplish a task that eluded coalition forces throughout the first Persian Gulf War.
Gordon Trowbridge | Air Force Times | March 22, 2003 | 4:51 pm
Iraqis fire on U.S. troops moving toward Baghdad U.S. and British troops faced stiffer than expected resistance Saturday from Iraqi forces determined to slow their drive to Baghdad. Nowhere was that more evident than in As Samawah, where the 3rd Infantry Division’s 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment fought a daylong battle with Iraqi troops at a canal crossing near the southern bank of the Euphrates River. By day’s end, the squadron had killed at least 40 Iraqi troops and was in control of the bridge.
Sean D. Naylor | Army Times | March 22, 2003 | 5:09 pm
Baghdad braced for ground troops, more ‘shock and awe’ The lights were on Saturday in Baghdad. Iraq’s government-run Internet was functioning. Local and international phone lines worked intermittently. It was a far cry from the destruction of Iraq’s infrastructure during the initial days of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, but on this first morning following Friday’s American-made "shock and awe," Iraqi civilians rose warily, certain the worst was yet to come.
For carrier's aviators, unrelenting 'hammer time' arrives Like their boss' boss' boss said the other day, hammer time has come to the 5,500 souls aboard this ship in the Persian Gulf. For much of Saturday, fighter jets roared off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier and joined the already crowded skies over Iraq.
The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News | March 22, 2003 | 8:19 pm
U.S. soldier held in attack on 101st An Army sergeant from Fort Campbell was detained as a suspect in a nighttime grenade attack here that killed one soldier from the 101st Airborne Division and injured 13 others, Army officials said.
The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle | March 23, 2003 | 5:45 am
1 dead, U.S. soldier detained in attack on 101st leaders An American soldier hurled a pair of grenades into his unit‘s Camp New York, Kuwait, command post early Sunday morning, killing one soldier and wounding 15, U.S. military spokesmen said.
Matthew Cox | Army Times | March 23, 2003 | 9:26 am
Al-Jazeera broadcast depicts injured, dead U.S. POWs Several people were identified on the Arab television network Al-Jazeera as U.S. soldiers captured by the Iraqi army. Five more people, apparently dressed in American uniforms, were shown dead on a concrete floor in the videotaped broadcast.
Robert Hodierne | Army Times | March 23, 2003 | 1:19 pm
John Bebow | The Detroit News | March 23, 2003 | 5:07 pm
Analysis - As casualties and challenges mount, are Americans prepared? Dead American soldiers and live POWs on television, a suspected case of fratricide in the vaunted 101st Airborne, hundreds of thousands of anti-war demonstrators around the globe. Even as public opinion marshals around President Bush, the march toward Baghdad has been tempered with its first trying moments.
Chuck Raasch | GNS | March 23, 2003 | 5:14 pm
Iraq gives 'barbarous' treatment to POWs, ex-prisoners say The U.S. soldiers captured by Iraqi forces could face beatings and humiliation. But just as agonizing, say former prisoners of war, is the isolation and the thoughts of what the family back home must be enduring.
Iraqi surrenders critical to ground war As U.S.-led coalition troops advance toward Baghdad, American military planners are banking heavily on Iraqi soldiers surrendering in large numbers to keep both coalition and enemy casualties to a minimum.
Gordon Trowbridge | Army Times | March 23, 2003 | 5:48 pm
Pentagon still searching for Iraqi weapons cache as danger grows Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Sunday that the Pentagon had seen no evidence so far that Iraq had used weapons of mass destruction, but cautioned that the danger to U.S. and coalition soldiers would grow as they get closer to Baghdad.
Derrick DePledge | GNS | March 23, 2003 | 6:33 pm
Southern Iraq city sees intense fighting Fighting between U.S. and Iraqi forces continued to rage Sunday along the banks of the Euphrates River as U.S. Marines and the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) tried to maintain the momentum of their high-speed assault toward Baghdad.
Sean D. Naylor | Army Times | March 23, 2003 | 7:21 pm
Accused soldier ‘was never like that,’ mother says Shock, surprise and complete disbelief are the reactions of those who knew the U.S. soldier accused of a fatal grenade attack on command tents at a 101st Airborne Division base in Kuwait yesterday.
The (Nashville) Tennessean | March 23, 2003 | 7:30 pm
Texas woman says son is one of captured soldiers The mother of Army Spc. Joseph Hudson, a Fort Bliss soldier who was taken prisoner by the Iraqis, clutched a picture of her son at her home while neighbors showed up Sunday afternoon to express their support.
The (Nashville) Tennessean | March 24, 2003 | 5:19 pm
1st Marine Division plows its way into position The entire 1st Marine Division, moving as one massive convoy to push the war closer to Baghdad, snaked into central Iraq on a 24-hour push that ended here early Monday morning.
C. Mark Brinkley | Marine Corps Times | March 24, 2003 | 5:32 pm
U.S., British forces press toward Baghdad British Royal Marines worked to gain control of Iraq’s largest southern town on Monday as U.S. Marines and soldiers continued sweeping north up the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys toward Baghdad.
Robert Hodierne | Military Times | March 24, 2003 | 5:34 pm
Coalition forces face trial by fire in Baghdad Coalition leaders and generals all had the same message following a weekend of tough fighting in southern Iraq: Brace for heavier casualties, especially as the battle moves on to heavily fortified Baghdad. The U.S.-led assault on the city could begin within days.
John Yaukey | Gannett News Service | March 24, 2003 | 6:41 pm
William H. McMichael | Navy Times | March 24, 2003 | 6:55 pm
Fate kept Marines out of firefight All day Sunday, word filtered back from the front lines: Casualties were mounting from a bloody firefight between Marines and Iraqi troops somewhere north of the town of An Nasiriyah. The four Marines aboard an M1A1 Abrams tank called "Pale Rider" should have been there.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | March 24, 2003 | 7:02 pm
Kirk Moore | Asbury (N.J.) Park Press | March 25, 2003 | 6:29 am
Missing, captured include soldiers from across U.S. While Fort Bliss, Texas, officials on Monday provided no further information on the 10 to 12 soldiers missing, captured or killed on Sunday by Iraqi troops, details about the men and women who made up part of Fort Bliss' 507th Maintenance Company were slowing being revealed.
El Paso Times | March 25, 2003 | 6:30 am
101st soldiers say goodbye to fallen comrade Hugs mixed with handshakes Monday for the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait after a short, somber memorial service for the officer killed in Sunday's grenade attack.
The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle | March 25, 2003 | 6:31 am
U.S. troops strive to maintain momentum The U.S. Marines' war plan has emphasized a rapid advance toward Baghdad, relying on intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and psychological warfare. Maintaining the attack's momentum is essential, commanders say, despite the problems caused for the Marines in southern Iraq by pockets of resistance and a vulnerable supply line.
USATODAY.com | March 25, 2003 | 6:37 am
Doctors might be treating Saddam in bunker CIA operatives and Army commandos who are hunting for Saddam Hussein believe that the Iraqi leader could be in a Baghdad bunker receiving medical attention from military doctors, U.S. intelligence and military sources said Monday.
Coalition troops prepare for Iraq's most loyal soldiers The impending ground battle between coalition forces and the elite Medina Division of Iraq's Republican Guard south of Baghdad promises to give war planners their first glimpse of how tenacious Saddam Hussein's most loyal forces are likely to be and their willingness to use chemical weapons.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | March 25, 2003 | 5:44 pm
Iraqis destroy 2 Abrams tanks; loss is first in its 20-year history Two American M1A1 Abrams tanks were destroyed Tuesday by fire from what officers believe was an Iraqi truck-mounted anti-tank gun. It was the first time an Abrams has been destroyed by enemy fire in its 20-year history.
Sean D. Naylor | Army Times | March 25, 2003 | 5:59 pm
Bush steps back into public eye for first time since war's start For the first time since he ordered the start of war in Iraq last week, President Bush is stepping out from the private confines of the White House and Camp David to meet with military brass and rank-and-file troops and to rally support for the campaign against Saddam Hussein.
Mike Madden | GNS | March 25, 2003 | 6:15 pm
U.S. officials ready to provide humanitarian aid to Iraq The largest disaster relief team in U.S. history is being assembled to coordinate humanitarian aid in Iraq and is prepared to move into the country within 24 hours of receiving the go-ahead from military authorities.
Sergio Bustos and Derrick DePledge | GNS | March 25, 2003 | 7:07 pm
Squadron's rookies see plenty of action during battle Capt. Clay Lyle's voice on the radio gave no hint of the violence that was about to erupt. ``We're in contact,'' Lyle said calmly. His words marked the first moments of a 24-hour running battle between his troops and Iraqi adversaries along the Euphrates river.
Sean D. Naylor | Army Times | March 25, 2003 | 7:08 pm
Grenade attack claims second victim A Boise, Idaho,-based Air National Guard major died Tuesday of injuries he suffered in a grenade attack on officers´ tents in Kuwait on Sunday.
Bush appearances aim to rally public Faced with the prospect of a messier war in Iraq than might have been anticipated, President Bush is appearing in public more to rally fighting forces and bolster the confidence of the public and allied nations.
British ship to deliver much-needed supplies to southern Iraq The Bush administration Tuesday blamed Iraq for cutting off electricity and water to that nation's second largest city, Basra, as British forces pledged to deliver water and other aid there despite fighting in the area.
USATODAY.com | March 26, 2003 | 6:23 am
Basra uprising could be model for Baghdad British forces at the gates of Basra waged fierce battles with more than 1,000 Iraqi militia fighters, supporting what they said appeared to be civilian unrest developing against Saddam Hussein in the key southern city.
USATODAY.com | March 26, 2003 | 6:23 am
Clash with Republican Guard part of 'largest battle' A 3rd Infantry Division tank company team fought and destroyed an Iraqi Republican Guard force at point-blank range Tuesday night about 80 miles southwest of Baghdad.
Sean D. Naylor | Army Times | March 26, 2003 | 10:29 am
Bush rallies military, projects confidence in victory against Iraq President Bush used a visit Wednesday to the U.S. military's nerve center here conducting the war on Iraq to rally the troops, thank coalition partners, provide a progress report to the American people and assure Iraqi citizens they soon will be free.
Richard Benedetto | GNS | March 26, 2003 | 2:06 pm
William H. McMichael | Navy Times | March 26, 2003 | 3:10 pm
Saddam still controls much of crumbling regime With U.S. troops approaching Baghdad, there can be little doubt that Saddam Hussein is a doomed man. Yet despite his potentially frail condition, he continues to wield considerable influence and authority over his crumbling regime and terrified population, confounding U.S. war planners and changing their strategies.
John Yaukey | GNS | March 26, 2003 | 5:43 pm
Treatment was bad, but improved for female POW in first gulf war It wasn't the sexual assault or mock execution that Army Major Rhonda Cornum recalls as the worst part of being a prisoner of war. It was the theft of her wedding ring, snatched from a chain around her neck.
Greg Barrett | GNS | March 26, 2003 | 6:01 pm
Feared Fedayeen among most loyal to Saddam, might engage in suicide bombings Until the war began, few Americans had heard of the Fedayeen Saddam, the paramilitary extremists loyal to Saddam Hussein who have led much of Iraq's defenses in the first week of the war. But their actions, which include the threat that some would engage in suicide bombings - could have a great effect on the war in coming days.
Chuck Raasch and John Yaukey | GNS | March 26, 2003 | 6:18 pm
Pentagon probing Iraqi actions in 507th ambush The Pentagon is investigating the death and disappearance of soldiers from the 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company at Fort Bliss, Texas, focusing on whether Iraqi soldiers executed those killed, officials said.
Sergio Bustos and Billy House | GNS | March 26, 2003 | 8:35 pm
Troops in civilian clothes taking over homes Hundreds of Iraq's Republican Guard soldiers, paramilitaries and suspected intelligence operatives are taking off their uniforms and moving into Baghdad neighborhoods in preparation for a street-by-street fight for the Iraqi capital, residents there said Wednesday.
USATODAY.com | March 27, 2003 | 5:30 am
Bliss unit faced Iraqi tanks after wrong turn The 507th Maintenance Company based out of Ft. Bliss, Texas, ran into a heavily armed Iraqi combat unit, which included two tanks and automatic weapons, when it made a wrong turn Sunday, a U.S. lawmaker said Wednesday.
Laura Cruz | El Paso Times | March 27, 2003 | 5:33 am
Iraq blames residential blast on coalition Two explosions that Iraq blamed on U.S. cruise missiles ripped through a Baghdad market Wednesday, killing 15 people and providing a chilling preview of what could happen when U.S. forces actually enter the Iraqi capital.
Hungry mouths still praise Saddam Thirsty but defiant Iraqis greeted the first aid convoys into southern Iraq Wednesday by chanting praise for Saddam Hussein and mobbing trucks loaded with food and water.
U.S. troops get hold of a crucial airfield Paratroopers from the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade have seized an airfield in northern Iraq near Bashur, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
U.S. battles militia en route to Baghdad U.S. and British forces fought pockets of Iraqi troops in scattered actions Thursday over a 200-mile stretch from the Persian Gulf to 50 miles outside of Baghdad.
Robert Hodierne | Military Times | March 27, 2003 | 6:13 pm
Soldier photographed carrying Iraqi child surprised at fame The war in Iraq is only a week old and one photograph already has become an icon: A young, grimy soldier in full battle gear, a look of deep concern on his face, carrying a wounded Iraqi child to safety.
Robert Hodierne | Military Times | March 27, 2003 | 6:42 pm
In Nasiriyah, a surreal battle rages U.S. Marines, who entered this southern Iraqi town Sunday to seize a pair of bridges needed to ferry troops and supplies north toward Baghdad, have been fighting pitched battles with Iraqi guerrillas who wear no uniforms and respect no laws of war.
USATODAY.com | March 28, 2003 | 5:48 am
Allied officials: Iraqi troops coerced to fight Some Iraqi fighters taken prisoner by coalition forces have told their captors that they and their families were threatened with death if they did not help defend Saddam Hussein's regime, allied officials said Thursday. (With link to audio report.)
William H. McMichael | Navy Times | March 28, 2003 | 1:27 pm
Crucial U.S. air base opens in southern Iraq The opening of the first U.S. air base in southern Iraq on Friday will help shorten supply lines to soldiers and Marines advancing on Baghdad.
Gordon Trowbridge, C. Mark Brinkley | Army Times | March 28, 2003 | 4:02 pm
Coalition troops seek to reclaim momentum The looming U.S. attack against positions south of Baghdad defended by the Republican Guard's elite Medina Division has two objectives: crack Iraq's most tenacious troops and take back some of the momentum lost over the last week.
C. Mark Brinkley | Marine Corps Times | March 29, 2003 | 3:26 pm
Iraqi ultralight flights raise fears of chemical, suicide attacks At least two Iraqi ultralight aircraft have flown over U.S. Army positions here, raising fears that Iraq may use the single-pilot planes to drop chemical or biological weapons or launch suicide attacks.
Sean D. Naylor | Army Times | March 29, 2003 | 4:42 pm
Sean D. Naylor | Army Times | March 29, 2003 | 6:10 pm
Big question remains: Will Saddam use weapons of mass destruction? In a war that top U.S. and British military officials insist is going mostly as expected, one of the biggest wild cards is whether Iraqi President Saddam Hussein still has the capability, or the will, to launch a chemical or biological attack against his neighbors or coalition forces surging toward Baghdad.
Derrick DePledge | GNS | March 29, 2003 | 6:15 pm
U.S. forces fight an ugly resistance U.S. forces continued to pound Republican Guards divisions outside Baghdad and militia units in the south as Iraqi resistance took an ugly turn.
USATODAY.com | March 29, 2003 | 6:22 pm
Coalition forces prepare for coup de grace Coalition forces in Iraq are now positioning to secure a noose around Baghdad in preparation for an assault expected to be the war’s coup de grace.
Baghdad bombings continue as allied forces face 'dirty' tactics As the bombardment around Baghdad continued into the city's pre-dawn hours, U.S. forces began coming to grips with what military officials describe as an elaborate set of Iraqi "dirty" tactics.
USATODAY.com and Army Times | March 30, 2003 | 8:18 am
Crew reflects on first Abrams tank deaths No enemy fire ever had destroyed an Abrams tank, and no crew member had ever died fighting from one. But last week two of the 60-ton behemoths were destroyed by enemy fire and although those crew members survived, another Abrams crew has died in combat.
C. Mark Brinkley | Marine Corps Times | March 30, 2003 | 2:00 pm
Arab-American commander could play critical role once war ends In the battle for territory in Iraq, Army Lt. Gen. John Abizaid is one of the top U.S. military commanders. In the battle for public opinion once the war ends, he could be even more important.
Mike Madden | GNS | March 30, 2003 | 2:11 pm
Few signs of erosion in war support despite casualties, cost Most Americans see the war in Iraq tied to national security and remain supportive of U.S. military action there regardless of reports that the fighting is bloodier, costlier and more difficult than planned, according to a Saturday-Sunday USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup poll.
Richard Benedetto | GNS | March 30, 2003 | 9:39 pm
Top general sees 'tough war' ahead Allied forces now control 40 percent of Iraq and face an enemy that has been unable to mount a "militarily significant" counterattack, the U.S. military's top general said Sunday. But he cautioned that the most difficult part of the war — an assault on Baghdad — still lies ahead.
USATODAY.com | March 30, 2003 | 11:54 pm
Iraqi tactics have U.S. rethinking strategy Iraqi forces have spent the past six months preparing for a guerrilla-type war designed to bog down coalition forces by using small groups of paramilitary soldiers who seek refuge in cities and towns, military analysts say.
USATODAY.com | March 30, 2003 | 11:56 pm
Attack on Republican Guard may be days away Despite widespread reports of a lengthy pause in the ground war in Iraq, a massive attack on Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard could be just a few days or at most a week away, military officials say.
Kosovo-style routine sinks in for 101st Airborne regiment They have been on the ground almost a week, but so far, the war in Iraq for many Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division, feels deceptively like peacekeeping in Kosovo.
Matthew Cox | Army Times | March 31, 2003 | 12:28 pm
John Bebow | The Detroit News | March 31, 2003 | 1:57 pm
U.S. losing battle worldwide on public relations front Through Arabic satellite TV channels, radio stations and newspapers, the Bush administration's message about the Iraq war - that it's a noble venture to disarm a dictator and free the Iraqi people - is reaching the Arab and Muslim world. It's just that almost no one believes it.
'Intense fighting' in Najaf Troops of the 101st Airborne Division pressed their attack against the city of Najaf on Monday, closing in from the north and south and suffering casualties. One soldier was killed.
USATODAY.com | March 31, 2003 | 10:06 pm
Prewar predictions coming back to bite Armchair generals and media critics aren't the only people whose comments are giving heartburn to administration officials defending the progress of the war with Iraq. The officials also face questions about their own remarks made before the fighting began.
44 Iraqis die as 101st raids training camp In the deadliest battle they have seen since the war in Iraq began, soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Brigade killed 44 Iraqi soldiers in a firefight at a military training camp Monday.
The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle | April 1, 2003 | 11:22 am
Navy fliers rescued after plane slides off carrier Two fliers ejected from an S-3B Viking aircraft that slid off a slippery flight deck Tuesday. Both men were safely recovered by a search-and-rescue helicopter and are listed in good condition.
William H. McMichael | Navy Times | April 1, 2003 | 1:56 pm
Navy pilot avoids close call in Persian Gulf Lt. j.g. Ken Velez's EA-6B Prowler, which can jam and destroy enemy radars, was enforcing an ``area of protection'' early Tuesday. Iraqi gunners were complicating things, coming close to hitting the U.S. aircraft.
William H. McMichael | Navy Times | April 1, 2003 | 2:14 pm
Pace to Baghdad quickens for Marine artillery regiment After several slow days, the more than 50,000 Marines in Iraq are back on the hunt. Marines spent Monday and Tuesday pushing en masse more than 40 miles north along a major highway leading to Baghdad.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | April 1, 2003 | 3:49 pm
Lawmakers invoke troops to justify almost everything Members of Congress have gone out of their way to support the troops since U.S. and British forces began dropping bombs on Baghdad nearly two weeks ago. But business as usual is continuing in wartime Washington as well.
Mike Madden | GNS | April 1, 2003 | 4:57 pm
Search on for clues of war crimes against Fort Bliss soldiers An elite team of military investigators was dispatched to southern Iraq this week to determine if Iraqi soldiers tortured or executed members of the 507th Maintenance Company that were ambushed March 23, officials said Tuesday.
Sergio Bustos | GNS | April 1, 2003 | 5:18 pm
Public opinion intensifies on both sides of war The American public's support for the war has not wavered below 70 percent since the war began March 19, according to USA TODAY-CNN-Gallup Polls. But opposition in many Arab and European countries has remained intense.
Chuck Raasch | GNS | April 1, 2003 | 5:37 pm
Helicopter base takes shape in Iraqi desert It's the beginning of a war here, or at least it feels like it, as Marines arrive from ships in the Persian Gulf to build a new forward operating base on this remote piece of desert.
Gordon Lubold | Marine Corps Times | April 1, 2003 | 6:10 pm
U.S. ground forces push toward Baghdad The ground campaign for Baghdad is at hand. The Army's 3rd Infantry Division clashed Tuesday with Iraq's Republican Guard near Karbala, southwest of Baghdad, in the first major ground assault against the troops charged with defending Baghdad.
John Yaukey | GNS | April 1, 2003 | 9:04 pm
Marines ferry supplies for war-torn Nasiriyah U.S. Marines began efforts to deliver humanitarian relief Tuesday to the besieged city of Nasiriyah, scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the war. The deliveries are part of the coalition's strategy to win over the population throughout Iraq as troops continue to battle paramilitary forces.
USATODAY.com | April 1, 2003 | 10:05 pm
Photojournalist Molly Bingham safe, out of Iraq Freelance photographer Molly Bingham, a Louisville, Ky., native, had been missing in Iraq a week ago. She and three other journalists were freed Tuesday after being held in an Iraqi prison for seven days.
The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal | April 2, 2003 | 5:39 am
Iraq gets sympathetic press around the world While overwhelming coverage of the conflict in Iraq wouldn't surprise most Americans, the tone of these reports might. Channel-surf from Britain's BBC to Germany's ZDF, or flip through newspapers from Spain to Bangkok, and one finds stories that tilt noticeably against the war and in favor of besieged Iraqi civilians.
USATODAY.com | April 2, 2003 | 5:40 am
Rescued: W.Va. soldier found alive Relief and gratitude were the order of the day when the folks around Palestine and Elizabeth, W.Va., got word Tuesday night that Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch had been rescued.
The Huntington (W. Va.) Herald-Dispatch | April 2, 2003 | 5:44 am
Statement fuels speculation on Saddam's fate Saddam Hussein has appeared on Iraqi television twice since the war began, but it isn't clear when the taped appearances were actually recorded. U.S. intelligence officials say they cannot confirm whether Saddam is dead, but many officials believe he is in a bunker and may have been injured during a March 19 attack on a residential compound in which he was hiding.
USATODAY.com | April 2, 2003 | 5:59 am
Strain of Iraq war showing on Bush, those who know him say The public face of President Bush at war is composed and controlled. But choreographed glimpses of Bush's commander-in-chief persona don't tell the whole story. Behind the scenes, aides and friends say, the president's role is more complicated and his style more emotional.
USATODAY.com | April 2, 2003 | 5:59 am
War critics rile Rumsfeld, Myers The U.S. military's top two officials sharply denounced public criticism of the Iraq invasion plan Tuesday. In private, the war's top general sharply rebuked a senior battlefield commander for telling reporters that Pentagon planners failed to anticipate the fierce level of Iraqi resistance.
USATODAY.com | April 2, 2003 | 6:01 am
Air campaign shifts aim to Guard A U.S.-led air campaign designed to shock and awe the Iraqi regime has evolved into a struggle to hunt and destroy Iraq's surprisingly tenacious military.
USATODAY.com | April 2, 2003 | 6:03 am
Strategic Najaf 'very much contained' U.S. Army forces pushed into central Najaf on Tuesday, and military officials said they were close to securing the strategically important city.
USATODAY.com | April 2, 2003 | 6:04 am
Colleges offer financial aid to rescued POW When Uncle Sam is through with Jessica Lynch, West Virginia’s two largest universities want her. Marshall University and West Virginia University officials are offering her financial assistance to attend their respective schools and pursue her dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher.
The Huntington (W. Va.) Herald-Dispatch | April 2, 2003 | 3:06 pm
Marines in Kut say Republican Guards have stopped fighting In a classic decoy maneuver, U.S. Marines surrounded the Baghdad Division of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard in this strategic city during the predawn hours of Wednesday.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | April 2, 2003 | 4:02 pm
Rescued F-14 pilots eager to get back to work The first two American fighters pilots to bail out over Iraq during the current war are safely back on their carrier, only slightly bruised and ready to fly again.
Mark D. Faram | Navy Times | April 2, 2003 | 4:58 pm
Taking Karbala Gap key to U.S. drive to Baghdad U.S. soldiers encountered minimal opposition Wednesday as they raced through the Karbala Gap in Iraq. Taking the gap was vital for the U.S. military because it offers the most direct access to Baghdad, 50 miles north.
Robert Hodierne and Riad Kahwaji | Military Times | April 2, 2003 | 5:39 pm
Senate approves pre-paid calling cards for troops The Senate on Tuesday approved the ``Troops Phone Home Free Act of 2003,'' which would allow U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to receive monthly pre-paid phone cards worth $40 so that they can call home.
Sergio Bustos | GNS | April 2, 2003 | 6:26 pm
Troops to face most dangerous unknown: Baghdad As U.S. troops prepare to take Baghdad, topple its government and round up its thugs, war planners must make a key strategic calculation they have already botched once: estimate the resistance.
John Yaukey | GNS | April 2, 2003 | 6:31 pm
German protesters remember Dresden, reject war with Iraq Germany's opposition to the war in Iraq is in part a reflection of the country's struggle to come to terms with its wartime experiences. The images of Baghdad in flames bring back memories of the ruin of Dresden in 1945.
William Boston | The Detroit News | April 2, 2003 | 6:46 pm
U.S.-led forces push closer to Baghdad from 2 directions U.S. ground forces pushed closer to Baghdad from two directions Wednesday, successfully attacking with little resistance divisions of Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard on their march to Iraq's capital city.
Sean Naylor and William McMichael | Military Times | April 2, 2003 | 6:50 pm
Rescued soldier's hometown celebrates Pfc. Jessica Lynch's family, friends and community back home in tiny Palestine, W.Va., celebrate her rescue from Iraqi captors.
TV's armchair generals draw unfriendly fire When Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers blasted TV's so-called armchair generals Tuesday for second-guessing the Pentagon, it got the attention of network brass.
Soaring temperatures an added issue as soldiers approach Baghdad As coalition troops move within striking range of Baghdad, they will face the challenge of hot temperatures that will blast the terrain for the remainder of the week. They'll also have to face them while wearing stifling chemical-protection suits.
USATODAY.com | April 3, 2003 | 5:58 am
Fight makes infantrymen of everyone Rescued POW Jessica Lynch, like other logistics troops, had to make a fast switch from ferrying what the Army calls "beans, bullets and Band-Aids" to a combat role. Wednesday, two Marines who also usually run supplies and were attacked in a similar situation — but weren't taken prisoner — talked about their experiences while recovering in Germany.
USATODAY.com | April 3, 2003 | 5:59 am
Journalists describe Iraq prison days Four journalists released after a week in an Iraqi jail said Wednesday they were repeatedly interrogated, often while blindfolded. But they said they had been "humanely" treated, while they heard other prisoners scream at night as they were beaten.
USATODAY.com | April 3, 2003 | 6:04 am
Iraq may be sacrificing civilians to probe U.S. forces The Battle of the Najaf Agricultural Institute has taken a horrifying turn. The institute, a large educational complex on this city's southwest edge, is near what has become known as Checkpoint Charlie. Every night, Iraqi fighters sacrifice a man to get a fix on the U.S. Army position so they can strike with rockets or mortar shells.
USATODAY.com | April 3, 2003 | 6:09 am
Path to Baghdad stays intact U.S. forces saved a key bridge over the Euphrates River on Wednesday, then crossed it as they continued to close in on Baghdad.
Lull over, allies surge forward through Guard Attacking with unexpected suddenness, U.S. ground forces moved toward the gates of Baghdad on Wednesday, leaving a trail of burning Republican Guard armor in their wake and girding for the dirty, dangerous work of taking the Iraqi capital block by block.
USATODAY.com | April 3, 2003 | 6:11 am
War planners may be vindicated War planners in the United States and Britain made two key assumptions about a war here — the Iraqi regular army wouldn't put up much of a fight and the Iraqi people would greet coalition forces as liberators. As the war enters its third week, there are growing signs that those assumptions may be proved accurate — a development that, if true, could speed coalition efforts to remove Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power and smooth efforts to install democracy in Iraq.
USATODAY.com | April 3, 2003 | 6:13 am
Idling truck yields Iraqi bodies, hand tools Five Marines and their Iraqi-American translator discover an Iraqi Army truck early Thursday morning. Two young men and an older one with male-pattern baldness lie in a line in their olive uniforms.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | April 3, 2003 | 2:14 pm
Analysis: Iraq provides new view of battlefield The war in Iraq won't require the same sort of creature-comfort sacrifices that bound the American people together in World War II and other conflicts. So what will hold the nation together?
Chuck Raasch | GNS | April 3, 2003 | 3:24 pm
U.S. forces swarm Baghdad airport Meeting only light resistance, U.S. forces swarmed over Baghdad's international airport. Coalition commanders said Saddam Hussein's government was losing control of its military and the country.
USATODAY.com | April 3, 2003 | 3:55 pm
Soldiers' moms bond while tending injured sons Two Texas mothers of soldiers severely injured in Iraq described Thursday how one raced into a minefield to try to help his injured friend, only to hit a mine himself.
Susan Roth | GNS | April 3, 2003 | 4:19 pm
There is little doubt that U.S. can take Baghdad, but at what cost? With images of the apocalyptic urban warfare in Stalingrad and Grozny to sober them, American troops surrounding Baghdad are hoping they won't have to revisit some of the darkest chapters in modern military history.
USATODAY.com | April 3, 2003 | 5:20 pm
Experts say Saddam could escape Saddam Hussein's regime may be doomed but if the dictator is still alive, able to move and inclined to flee, he has a legitimate chance of escaping Baghdad, say military and Middle East experts.
Battle aid station waiting for action On a day when front-line troops confronted Iraq's Republican Guard, hospitals back home certainly encountered more trauma than the Battle Aid Station at 1st Marine Division Headquarters.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | April 3, 2003 | 6:26 pm
Friendly fire might have caused crash Military officials at the war's command center in Qatar acknowledge that friendly fire could have brought down one of two U.S. aircraft that crashed in Iraq this week.
Alex Neill | Military Times | April 3, 2003 | 6:32 pm
Francis Donnelly, Max Ortiz | The Detroit News | April 3, 2003 | 6:50 pm
Congress passes war spending package Congress passed bills Thursday night providing nearly $80 billion to begin paying for the Iraq war, but Senate Democrats lost their bid to add billions for homeland security to cash-strapped states and cities.
John Machacek | GNS | April 3, 2003 | 7:11 pm
Relief efforts are making progress, U.S. says The Bush administration says it is making progress in providing food and other relief to Iraqis, but fighting still prevents most aid from reaching those in need.
USATODAY.com | April 3, 2003 | 7:43 pm
Iraqi lawyer's courage led Marines to Lynch The daring rescue that freed American POW Jessica Lynch on Tuesday originated with a tip from a genial Iraqi lawyer who couldn't stomach seeing a woman hit.
USATODAY.com | April 3, 2003 | 8:25 pm
U.S. cavalry regiment closes on Baghdad After several encounters Thursday between the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) and Iraqi forces, troops with the division's 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment settled into positions about six miles west of Baghdad.
Sean D. Naylor | Army Times | April 3, 2003 | 8:32 pm
Remains found at Iraqi hospital to be flown to U.S. Human remains recovered at the Iraqi hospital site where U.S. forces rescued Pfc. Jessica Lynch will be flown to Dover Air Force Base to determine identification and perhaps clear up questions about the fate of some of her fellow soldiers.
Alex Neill | Military Times | April 3, 2003 | 8:56 pm
Captured mechanics weren't lost, congressman says Soldiers with the 507th Maintenance Company did not take a wrong turn March 23 when Iraqi soldiers ambushed them near Nasiriyah, a congressman who talked with two sergeants in the trapped vehicles says.
Sergio Bustos | GNS | April 3, 2003 | 11:07 pm
Suicide bombers eager to enlist in support of Iraq Radical groups throughout the Islamic world say thousands of soldiers of "jihad" — holy war — are traveling to Iraq to battle what they see as invaders and occupiers of sacred Muslim land. Many, they say, are suicide bombers.
USATODAY.com | April 4, 2003 | 5:29 am
Rescued soldier doing well after first surgery The rescued American prisoner of war, Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, emerged from spinal surgery Thursday in "good spirits" and prepared for surgery today on her legs, her parents said.
USATODAY.com | April 4, 2003 | 5:33 am
Analysis - Huge disparity apparent between U.S., Iraqi forces When Army Lt. Col. Tom Wall fought the Iraqis during the Gulf War in 1991, his commanding officer likened the enemy to a peewee football team playing in the NFL. "They were overmatched in every conceivable aspect of the game," Wall recalls. "Size, speed, knowledge, experience." More than a decade later, as U.S. forces close on Baghdad, the disparity between the two armies has grown.
USATODAY.com | April 4, 2003 | 5:35 am
HQ applauds Marines' advance to Baghdad Applause erupted inside a classified command post in southern Iraq as officers watched a live video feed showing Iraqi artillery pieces being destroyed one after the next as U.S. troops entered the outskirts of Baghdad.
USATODAY.com | April 4, 2003 | 5:43 am
101st Airborne's 'Eagles' destroy Saddam statue The rebirth of the city of Najaf, Iraq, began Thursday morning with soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division distributing food and blankets and blowing up a large statue of Saddam Hussein before a cheering crowd.
The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle | April 4, 2003 | 7:06 am
Floating hospital is equipped for trauma, surgery By the end of the war's first week, the USNS Comfort would receive a total of 40 patients, including 20 patients with combat-related injuries. The patients include American and coalition soldiers, Iraqi soldiers, Iraqi civilians and Iraqi freedom fighters.
Janet Boivin | The Nursing Spectrum | April 4, 2003 | 1:12 pm
Drills prepare ship's team for decontamination needs As officer in charge of the ship's chemical patient decontamination team, Ensign Gary Hardy trains with his team members daily, recognizing that as U.S. and coalition soldiers move closer to Baghdad, the threat of Saddam Hussein's use of weapons of mass destruction grows.
Janet Boivin | The Nursing Spectrum | April 4, 2003 | 1:19 pm
Treating Iraqi prisoners can take emotional toll Lt. Cmdr. Mary Brantley, RN, MSN, assistant division officer of the ICU, was taken aback when she realized one of her first patients wounded in the opening hours of the war was not an American or coalition soldier. Instead, her patient was an Iraqi soldier - an enemy prisoner of war.
Janet Boivin | The Nursing Spectrum | April 4, 2003 | 1:29 pm
Postwar plans test U.S. relationships The United States is trying to round up countries to help rebuild Iraq once the fighting is over - a task severely hampered by the splits that formed when the Bush administration decided to act without U.N. support.
Jon Frandsen | GNS | April 4, 2003 | 4:25 pm
Marines ride cover fire north to Baghdad outskirts U.S. Marines rode a dramatic barrage of artillery fire to within 10 miles of Baghdad's city limits Friday. As combat teams from the 1st Marine Division pushed north, artillery units from the 11th Marine Regiment poured 155 mm high-explosive rounds onto targets outside the city.
C. Mark Brinkley | Marine Corps Times | April 4, 2003 | 4:57 pm
Infantry forces wage fierce battle at airport In some of the fiercest tank-on-tank fighting the 3rd Infantry Division has seen in this war, a cavalry troop destroyed part of a Republican Guard battalion late Friday, flanking the forces assaulting Saddam Hussein International Airport.
Sean D. Naylor | Army Times | April 4, 2003 | 6:54 pm
Akbar charged with murder Sgt. Hasan K. Akbar, a soldier assigned to the 326th Engineering Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division, has been charged with two counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder for a grenade and shooting attack in Kuwait on March 23.
Leon Alligood | The Tennessean | April 4, 2003 | 11:18 pm
Recovered bodies ID'd as missing Bliss soldier The seven missing Fort Bliss, Texas, soldiers from the 507th Maintenance Company ambushed March 23 are dead, the Department of Defense and U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes said late Friday.l
El Paso Times | April 5, 2003 | 6:04 am
U.S. forces advance on Baghdad U.S. forces carried the war in Iraq into Baghdad this week, setting the stage for a final push that could lead to victory.
GNS | April 5, 2003 | 6:54 am
Airport secure, U.S. plans to use it as base for future government A U.S. military commander described plans to set up a provisional government at the main commercial airport in Baghdad, as the U.S. Central Command announced that Army forces had formally secured the facility.
Gordon Lubold | Marine Corps Times | April 5, 2003 | 1:55 pm
U.S. tanks roll into the heart Baghdad A column of American tanks rolled into the heart of Baghdad Saturday as a direct challenge to the Saddam Hussein regime. The U.S. forces came under fierce assault by suicide attackers and soldiers firing AK-47 assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades.
USATODAY.com | April 5, 2003 | 4:43 pm
Republican Guard out of sight, but are they just laying low? U.S. commanders on the ground are nearly ready to declare the Iraq campaign a military success. Yet as U.S. forces prepare to move on to the "nation-building" phase of this war, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard remains a puzzle.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | April 5, 2003 | 4:46 pm
Rescued POW Lynch puts a face on women in combat The rescue Tuesday of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, of Palestine, W.Va., and the reports that she courageously fought the Iraqis who ambushed her company have again turned attention toward the role women play in military conflict.
The Huntington (W. Va.) Herald-Dispatch | April 5, 2003 | 4:54 pm
Iraqi war crimes won't go unnoticed President Bush on Saturday accused Iraqi soldiers of war crimes in what he described as "acts of cowardice and murder."
The (Huntington, W. Va.) Herald-Dispatch | April 5, 2003 | 6:21 pm
101st Airborne faces urban warfare in Karbala While others wonder whether they will have to battle in the streets of Baghdad, soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division fought block by block in Karbala, Iraq, Saturday.
Matthew Cox | Army Times | April 5, 2003 | 7:18 pm
Families of 507th grieve for loved ones Families of the 507th Maintenance Company soldiers killed in the March 23 ambush at Nasiriyah, Iraq, closed ranks Saturday and took time to grieve for their loved ones.
Charles K. Wilson | El Paso Times | April 5, 2003 | 10:23 pm
The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle | April 6, 2003 | 11:28 am
Marines battle awkward protection gear while fighting Iraqi forces The April 4 slip-and-fall injury of a Marine corporal produced yet another strike against the Mission-Oriented, Protective-Posture suits, designed to keep the troops fighting here, less than 10 miles from downtown Baghdad, safe from chemical and biological weapons.
C. Mark Brinkley | Marine Corps Times | April 6, 2003 | 1:35 pm
In Iraq, some heroes challenge old conventions American soldier Jessica Lynch and an Iraqi man known only as Mohammed had little in common except their humanity. Yet together, they have drawn a portrait of unexpected heroism in the early days of the Iraq war.
Chuck Raasch | GNS | April 6, 2003 | 2:19 pm
As Bush and Blair meet again, focus turns to sticky postwar questions As he meets Monday in Northern Ireland with Prime Minister Tony Blair, George W. Bush presides over two dangerous conflicts: the war now centering in Baghdad and the one soon to follow in securing a new peace in Iraq.
Chuck Raasch | GNS | April 6, 2003 | 3:10 pm
Marines destroy suspected terrorist training camp Marine artillery batteries lit up the early Sunday morning darkness, pouring heavy fire to help coalition forces seal off Baghdad and capture what the U.S. military command described as a training camp for foreign terrorists.
C. Mark Brinkley | Marine Corps Times | April 6, 2003 | 4:53 pm
U.S. forces circle Baghdad U.S. forces completed the encirclement of Baghdad on Sunday as elements of the 3rd Infantry Division moved northwest of the city to cut the last avenue of escape from the Iraqi capital.
Sean D. Naylor, Matthew Cox | Army Times | April 6, 2003 | 6:20 pm
Residents of POW's hometown ready to celebrate her return Most of the media is gone, and Palestine, W.Va., residents have resumed normal activities. But foremost in many minds is the return of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch and the celebration that will follow.
Christina Redekopp | The Herald Dispatch | April 6, 2003 | 7:25 pm
Soldiers enjoy a meal on Saddam's son U.S. troops have not yet cooked Saddam Hussein's goose, but they've eaten a lot of his son Odai's chicken - found on an unguarded estate west of Baghdad.
Sean D. Naylor | Army Times | April 6, 2003 | 7:35 pm
Meeting shows how Marines, Iraqis hope to build a nation Miles from the main roads outside Baghdad, an impromptu weekend meeting between foreign fighters and local Shiite farmers was precisely how Marines wanted to lay the foundation for nation-building in Iraq.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | April 6, 2003 | 7:44 pm
Army declines to send reservist-congressman Steve Buyer wanted to serve his country in Iraq. He had his duffel packed with the things he remembered needing on his first tour of duty in the Persian Gulf 12 years ago. But hours before Buyer was due to ship out, his country said: No thanks. One thing on his résumé gave the Army pause. Buyer is a congressman.
USATODAY.com | April 6, 2003 | 8:35 pm
Public shows steady support for war Public support for the war in Iraq is holding steady at 71% as coalition forces prepare to capture Baghdad, a new USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll shows. At the same time, public optimism is growing as coalition forces continue their advance.
USATODAY.com | April 6, 2003 | 8:37 pm
U.S. forces solidify hold on Baghdad, call for immediate surrender U.S.-led forces tightened their grip on Iraq's capital Sunday after a weekend of furious fighting that left thousands of Iraqi casualties. U.S. officials said the coalition had nearly sealed off all roads from Baghdad and repeated their calls for an immediate surrender.
USATODAY.com | April 6, 2003 | 8:40 pm
Pride of Fort Bliss rides on the Patriot missile Fort Bliss' image and capability, built on a newer version of the missile brought into combat in Desert Storm, have been praised from El Paso to the front lines.
Charles K. Wilson | El Paso Times | April 6, 2003 | 10:01 pm
Special Forces, 101st troops arrest Baath Party leader Troops with the 101st Airborne Division worked with U.S. Special Forces on Sunday to take into custody one of President Saddam Hussein's top Baath Party intelligence officers, Gen. Othman Ali.
Chantal Escoto | The Leaf-Chronicle | April 6, 2003 | 10:10 pm
Controversial exile to help allies An Iraqi exile who has support at the Pentagon for his efforts to topple Saddam Hussein, but who has fallen out of favor with the State Department and CIA, says he has gathered 700 fighters in southern Iraq to join the battle against the dictator.
Analysis - Iraqis unable to stop U.S. troops' armored onslaught The 3rd Infantry Division's devastating armored swing through southwestern Baghdad this weekend was designed to glean information about enemy defenses and convey a message: Resistance is futile.
USATODAY.com | April 7, 2003 | 6:08 am
Covert troops fight shadow war off-camera As U.S. air and ground forces blast into Baghdad, dozens of CIA paramilitaries and thousands of U.S. special operations troops are waging a hidden war in Iraq's shadows.
USATODAY.com | April 7, 2003 | 6:10 am
Soldiers face tough choices when the enemy is a child Pfc. Nick Boggs never thought he'd have a problem killing the enemy. Then he came to fight in Iraq, where children race onto battlefields to pick up weapons. For Boggs, it was the toughest decision of his life, as he pointed his machine gun at a 10-year-old boy.
Matthew Cox | Army Times | April 7, 2003 | 1:29 pm
Lynch could head back to U.S. soon Former prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch could be back in the United States this week. Marie Shaw, spokeswoman for Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, said Monday that Lynch will have no more surgeries until she returns to the United States.
Jim Ross | The (Huntington, W.Va.) Herald Dispatch | April 7, 2003 | 4:29 pm
Marines continue push into Baghdad Marines continued their push into the Iraqi capital on Monday, entering Baghdad from the east. Tanks, backed up by a rain of artillery and hellfire missiles, moved in first. They took out heavy Iraqi armor. Waves of U.S. infantry followed, moving into buildings to search for Iraqi fighters.
USATODAY.com | April 7, 2003 | 4:30 pm
U.S. attack on palaces hits Saddam's center of gravity By the time U.S. forces arrived Monday to take control of the Old Presidential Palace in the heart of Baghdad, the Iraqi soldiers had fled. The bedrolls they had used, perhaps as recently as the night before, had been abandoned beneath open windows. And the huge complex of ballrooms and receptions areas remained almost unscathed by the heavy coalition bombing of the city.
USATODAY.com | April 7, 2003 | 4:42 pm
If war in Iraq drags on, U.S.-Pakistan relations may sour Relations between the United States and its key ally in the anti-terrorism campaign, Pakistan, could suffer if more civilians are killed in the war with Iraq, analysts say.
Raju Chebium | GNS | April 7, 2003 | 5:29 pm
Battle's outcome haunts soldiers Pfc. Nick Boggs never thought he'd have a problem killing the enemy. Then he came to fight in Karbala, Iraq, where young children race onto battlefields to pick up weapons.
Matthew Cox | Army Times | April 7, 2003 | 5:43 pm
U.S. forces try to avoid house-to-house fighting in Baghdad Baghdad is being entered at will by U.S. forces. Now comes the tough part in the war's coup de grace battle for Saddam Hussein's seat of power: figuring out how to take Baghdad without fighting house to house.
John Yaukey | GNS | April 7, 2003 | 5:53 pm
Inside the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission War thundered just two miles away, but inside the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission compound, Marines on patrol got their first glimpse of Iraq's wealth after weeks of rolling through mile after mile of poverty.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | April 7, 2003 | 6:30 pm
Iraqi expatriates help find answers to rebuilding questions For Ramsey Jiddou, rebuilding Iraq has nothing to do with power struggles and everything to do with power grids and water pipes and waste treatment plants - the things he can fix. Jiddou, a former Iraqi government official, is working with the Bush administration on plans for a postwar Iraq.
Jennifer Brooks | The Detroit News | April 7, 2003 | 7:22 pm
Franks awards Bronze Medal to 2 101st Airborne troops U.S. war commander Gen. Tommy Franks visited the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Monday to present two soldiers with Bronze Star medals for their heroic actions during recent firefights here.
Chantal Escoto | The (Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle | April 7, 2003 | 8:41 pm
Najaf residents welcome U.S. troops For the Swadee family, life under Saddam Hussein has been miserable, they said. But when they see the U.S. troops roam the streets of their city, they say it is almost too good to be true, and they hope the Americans will stay.
The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle | April 7, 2003 | 9:03 pm
Was 'Chemical Ali' killed? U.S. hopeful but unsure Ali Hassan al-Majid is Saddam Hussein's cousin, his most brutal henchman and the commander of Iraq's ragged military forces in the south. He is also the man who won't stay dead. Monday afternoon, U.S. officers here backed away from earlier British claims that al-Majid had been killed in a Saturday air attack on a house in Basra.
Mommies marching off to war The confirmed death of Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa, mother of two preschool children and the first U.S. female fatality in the Iraqi war, has rekindled a simmering controversy over women's greater presence in dangerous military jobs.
USATODAY.com | April 8, 2003 | 6:05 am
Saddam's spokesman staying on message Pay no attention to U.S. tanks rolling through Baghdad, Mohammad Saeed al-Sahhaf, Iraq's information minister tells foreign journalists, even as black smoke from fighting rises in the background. "The infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gates of Baghdad," he said at one news conference. "We slaughtered them." Who is this guy, and does he think he is fooling anybody?
USATODAY.com | April 8, 2003 | 6:06 am
Analysis - U.S. hits no coherent Baghdad defense A week ago, U.S. forces were 50 miles from Baghdad, and planners were bracing for lengthy urban battles and possible chemical weapons attacks. Now U.S. tanks are rumbling past some of Saddam Hussein's most ornate palaces in the city center, and it looks as if the end of his regime is near.
USATODAY.com | April 8, 2003 | 6:14 am
U.S. gears up to unmask illegal arms The fits-and-starts search for Iraq's chemical and biological weapons turned up new leads Monday, but proof of a banned arsenal remained elusive.
USATODAY.com | April 8, 2003 | 6:16 am
Saddam targeted in Baghdad bombing attack U.S. warplanes destroyed a Baghdad home where Saddam Hussein and 20 members of his ruling party, including at least one of his sons, were said to be meeting Monday in a move to decapitate the besieged regime.
USATODAY.com | April 8, 2003 | 6:17 am
Marines find bloodstained U.S. uniforms U.S. Marines raiding an Iraqi military prison in Baghdad found bloodstained uniforms belonging to at least two American prisoners-of-war, officers at Marine combat headquarters in Central Iraq said Tuesday.
USATODAY.com | April 8, 2003 | 6:19 am
Troops get psychological with Iraqi fighters U.S. Army Airborne Sgts. Jeremy Gray and Daniel Voss are almost certain the cries of babies and screams of women will pierce the streets of Baghdad in coming days. They will create the terror as part of the Airborne's 305th Psychological Operations Co.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | April 8, 2003 | 2:03 pm
One A-10 pilot ejects, another nurses plane home An Air Force fighter pilot ejected safely on Tuesday after his A-10 Thunderbolt was brought down by ground fire while supporting ground troops fighting in Baghdad. In a dramatic feat of piloting on Monday, another A-10 pilot guided her badly damaged fighter in a difficult, hourlong flight back from Baghdad.
Gordon Trowbridge | Air Force Times | April 8, 2003 | 2:44 pm
Veterans split over Iraq war, but united on respect for troops Persian Gulf War veterans Michael Woods and Charles Sheehan-Miles remember the stinging sandstorms, the blinding smoke, the sound of artillery fire. And they hope the war with Iraq will end soon and the soldiers will come back to their families. But they part company when it comes to whether the war is right or wrong.
Baghdad endgame pits U.S. forces against 'irregulars' The endgame on Baghdad began taking shape this week as the hit-and-run-strikes U.S. troops used to enter the capital, draw out resistance and then leave became hit-and-stay maneuvers, marking the start of a campaign to occupy key targets.
John Yaukey | GNS | April 8, 2003 | 5:16 pm
Saddam's wealth stems from illicit oil sales, kickbacks, investigators say Prior to the war that began March 19, Saddam Hussein amassed a personal fortune that some say exceeds $10 billion through illegal oil sales, kickbacks on legal oil sales and imported goods such as cigarettes, and even by exploiting athletes' foreign currency exchanges, according to government and private industry reports.
Chuck Raasch | GNS | April 8, 2003 | 5:22 pm
Chaos reigns as Marines continue into Baghdad Marine commanders say the fight for Baghdad is going almost exactly according to plan. And as they advance, they notice that civil rule around the Iraqi capital now seems nonexistent.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | April 8, 2003 | 5:50 pm
Former POW doing well, but saying little about ordeal The family of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch says the former POW is doing well, but she has told them little about her ordeal and is not aware that her story has made national headlines.
The (Huntington, W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch | April 8, 2003 | 6:16 pm
Pilots scramble to fly flags for war mementos For the thousands of Marines and airmen who probably will never see battle in Iraq, there is an intense demand for a new, must-have war memento. American pilots here are fielding a barrage of requests from men and women on the ground who want their American flags flown on combat missions over Iraq as a keepsake of the war.
Gordon Lubold | Marine Corps Times | April 8, 2003 | 7:45 pm
Military fends off criticism after journalists killed U.S. officials reject allegations that the military is targeting journalists after U.S.-led forces fired on a Baghdad hotel where journalists are staying and bombed the Baghdad office of Arab TV station Al-Jazeera. Three journalists were killed.
Alex Neill and Riad Kahwaji | Military Times | April 8, 2003 | 8:38 pm
Opposition leader Chalabi stirs post-war politics Iraqi opposition leader Ahmed Chalabi has returned to his native country to pursue a vision of democracy that is closer than it has ever been to becoming reality.
USATODAY.com | April 8, 2003 | 10:12 pm
Leaders agree U.N. to play 'vital role' in Iraq Using identical words, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair both pledged Tuesday in Belfast, Northern Ireland, that the United Nations will play "a vital role" in postwar Iraq.
USATODAY.com | April 8, 2003 | 10:15 pm
3 soldiers die when Humvee falls into ravine Crammed into a dusty Humvee, the three soldiers, out of Fort Stewart, Ga., were carrying munitions and supplies to front-line forces in Baghdad when they plunged into a ravine while swerving to avoid mortars and military fire Friday and died, according to relatives briefed by the military.
Iraq's army in tatters as U.S. forces tighten grip The fate of Saddam Hussein remained a mystery Wednesday in the wake of the latest U.S. bid to kill him, but his army was in tatters as Iraq and its war-torn capital fell further under the control of U.S. troops.
USATODAY.com | April 9, 2003 | 6:24 am
Celebrations erupt in Iraqi cities Spontaneous celebrations broke out Wednesday in areas of Baghdad and northern Iraq among populations long-opposed to Saddam Hussein, but in other areas Iraqi government forces are still clashing with coalition troops.
U.S. commander: Saddam's government still exists Despite the collapse of organized Iraqi resistance in the streets of Baghdad, the commander of Marine Corps forces in Iraq says the government of Saddam Hussein still exists.
USATODAY.com | April 9, 2003 | 10:02 am
Saddam's fate a mystery after Baghdad bombing strike The fate of Saddam Hussein remained a mystery Tuesday in the wake of a U.S. bombing raid that obliterated a Baghdad residence where the Iraqi leader and at least one of his two sons were believed to be meeting.
USATODAY.com | April 9, 2003 | 10:09 am
Iraqi leadership tumbles into disarray Iraq's political and military leadership appeared to have been thrown into chaos Tuesday, a day after a U.S. airstrike on a residential neighborhood may have killed Saddam Hussein and other members of the country's senior leadership.
USATODAY.com | April 9, 2003 | 10:10 am
As Iraqis are liberated, Bush remains cautious On a day of liberation and vindication, the Bush administration tried to tamp down immediate expectations in Iraq. But the long-term vision beginning to emerge Wednesday was a different story.
Chuck Raasch | GNS | April 9, 2003 | 4:27 pm
Oil prices plunge but gas lags behind Oil prices have fallen 25 percent over the past month as the war in Iraq has progressed without the feared massive disruption to Middle East supplies, but U.S. drivers have seen little relief at the pump.
Doug Abrahms | GNS | April 9, 2003 | 5:07 pm
U.S. general: 'There is no (Iraqi) government left to speak of' Saddam Hussein's government lost Baghdad Wednesday as jubilant crowds tore down a 40-foot statue of the Iraqi leader and cheered once-feared U.S. forces, who appeared to have firm control of the heart of the Iraqi capital.
USATODAY.com | April 9, 2003 | 5:54 pm
Yellow ribbons, flag pins inundate rescued POW's home People from across the country have been sending gifts to the Elizabeth, W.Va., town hall in support of Pfc. Jessica Lynch, a prisoner of war who was rescued last week from a hospital in Iraq.
Jean Tarbett, Bob Withers | The Herald-Dispatch | April 9, 2003 | 6:48 pm
In Baghdad, focus turns to survival On Wednesday, residents in Saddam City were focused on survival. There is desperation beyond the wide smiles, thumb's-up signs and cheers from the people in this poorest section of Baghdad. Iraqi soldiers continue to fire mortars near their homes.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | April 9, 2003 | 7:33 pm
Iraqi Americans celebrate apparent fall of Saddam regime As statues of Saddam Hussein swayed and toppled in Baghdad, jubilant Iraqis took to the streets of Dearborn for a celebration that mirrored the street parties in their homeland.
Jennifer Brooks, Gregg Krupa | The Detroit News | April 9, 2003 | 7:39 pm
Poll - Most Americans would support U.S. taking postwar lead With an end to the war in Iraq in sight, Americans are basically split, 48 percent to 45 percent, over whether the United States or the United Nations should control the country until a new government is established there, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken Wednesday shows.
USATODAY.com | April 10, 2003 | 6:34 am
Analysis - Iraqi colonel's capture sped up taking of Baghdad As Army battle tanks from the 3rd Infantry Division were making the first main thrust into Baghdad last weekend, U.S. soldiers captured a senior Republican Guard commander who blundered into their advancing column. The Iraqi colonel's complete surprise at encountering the armored force gave U.S. commanders an important clue about the state of Saddam Hussein's Baghdad defenses: They were fatally disorganized.
Pockets of stubborn resistance dot Iraq Guerrilla skirmishes and battles are likely to continue across Iraq even after Baghdad is firmly under U.S. control, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
USATODAY.com | April 10, 2003 | 6:41 am
U.S. general: 'We have defeated Saddam militarily' Skirmishes between U.S. forces and holdout fighters flared around the capital Thursday, and a new round of looting began in the wake of the stunning collapse of the ruling regime. Kurdish and American forces were rapidly advancing in the strategic northern oil region, with media reporting that the city of Kirkuk had fallen.
USATODAY.com | April 10, 2003 | 6:42 am
Mom, Hopi, hero: Piestewa an icon Army Pfc. Lori Piestewa has become the nation's most recognizable Native American military icon since Ira Hayes helped raise the Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima.
Billy House, Mark Shaffer | The Arizona Republic | April 10, 2003 | 2:14 pm
U.S. takes over Iraqi media Iraqis who tuned their TVs Thursday to channels that once aired footage of Saddam Hussein and officials predicting doom for U.S. and British troops found a different sort of propaganda: taped messages of encouragement from President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
USATODAY.com | April 10, 2003 | 5:47 pm
Chaos, fighting test troops in Baghdad U.S-led forces struggled to bring order to chaos and looting in the newly liberated Iraqi capital Thursday as a suicide bombing seriously injured four Marines. In continued fighting, coalition forces targeted strongholds in northern Iraq, where Kurdish fighters took over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
USATODAY.com | April 10, 2003 | 5:48 pm
Bill would ease foreign-born soldiers' path to citizenship The estimated 37,000 foreign-born soldiers now serving in the U.S. military would find it easier to become citizens under a bill introduced Thursday in Congress by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Rep. Martin Frost, D-Texas.
Sergio Bustos | GNS | April 10, 2003 | 6:28 pm
Slovaks, relating to Iraqis' jubilation, greet country's leader Many Slovaks in Michigan remember what Slovakia was like when the Communists were in charge. So it was a poignant occasion Thursday when Rudolf Schuster, president of the Slovak Republic, came to visit just one day after the fall of Baghdad.
Karen Bouffard | The Detroit News | April 10, 2003 | 7:53 pm
Troops discover lab equipment, weapons at Karbala plant Troops with the 101st Airborne Division have unearthed 11 steel shipping containers, filled with sophisticated lab equipment, that were buried on the grounds of a chemical plant here.
Matthew Cox, Rob Curtis | Military Times | April 10, 2003 | 8:03 pm
Dearborn, Mich., Iraqis' joy turns to sorrow, suspicion For many in Dearborn's Iraqi community, the murders of two exiles who had returned to Najaf to help rebuild were an ominous sign that U.S. forces may not be able to deliver on their promise of peace.
Jennifer Brooks | The Detroit News | April 10, 2003 | 8:19 pm
Iraqis flee across desert borders In the half light of a new Iraq, the remote Tribeel Border Crossing in western Iraq is poised between two eras. At the entrance to the highway from Jordan to Baghdad, a huge statue of Saddam Hussein on horseback still stands proudly. Four Scud missiles, pointing westward towards Jordan and Israel, lie at the horse's hoofs.
Chantal Escoto | The Leaf-Chronicle | April 10, 2003 | 10:34 pm
Memorial planned for 507th's soldiers Families, friends, soldiers and thousands of community members will pay tribute Friday to the lives of nine Fort Bliss soldiers killed following a March 23 ambush in Iraq.
Laura Cruz | El Paso Times | April 10, 2003 | 10:36 pm
Iraqis may help U.S. locate POWs A U.S. general said Thursday that the opportunity to gain information on prisoners of war is improving daily.
Diana W. Valdez | El Paso Times | April 10, 2003 | 11:01 pm
Some see victory extending beyond Iraq The fall of Baghdad is a victory not only for the U.S. military but for an influential group of foreign policy hard-liners who have realized the first step in a bold plan to reorder the Arab world and global institutions.
USATODAY.com | April 11, 2003 | 6:51 am
Poll - Most Americans say they don't want or expect another war Two-thirds of Americans have little stomach for extending the Iraq war to other so-called rogue nations that might aid terrorists or develop weapons of mass destruction, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll shows.
War machine under pressure to produce peace and security Lawlessness, chaos and uncertainty have surged into the vacuum left by the coalition forces racing to Baghdad to strangle Saddam Hussein's regime. Now, a military machine crouched for combat has to pivot sharply to become a police force and, temporarily, a provider of basic services.
USATODAY.com | April 11, 2003 | 6:56 am
The Baghdad zoo welcomes visitors On the day after U.S. forces rolled into the heart of the Iraqi capital, Saddam Hussein's whereabouts remained unknown. But U.S. troops did discover his lions and cheetahs and bear — and a cache of weapons stashed inside a school. Such is life for U.S. forces. Wednesday's celebrations aside, Baghdad remains a virtual unknown. And behind every door, U.S. soldiers and Marines aren't certain what they'll find.
USATODAY.com | April 11, 2003 | 6:56 am
For Kurds, 'life just started today' Kurdish fighters danced in the streets of Kirkuk on Thursday and praised President Bush for driving the forces of Saddam Hussein out of their ancestral homeland.
USATODAY.com | April 11, 2003 | 7:04 am
Officials suspect Saddam might have been killed in bombing U.S. intelligence has no clear information on Saddam Hussein's whereabouts, but the betting in the Pentagon's executive offices is that the Iraqi dictator lies dead under a pile of rubble in Baghdad, according to defense and intelligence officials. What is left of the Iraqi regime's top leadership is believed to be in Tikrit, 100 miles north of Baghdad, the town that could be the next — and possibly the last — battleground of the war.
The (Huntington, W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch | April 11, 2003 | 11:53 am
'Friendly fire' incident leaves lasting impact It wasn't supposed to be this way. They weren't supposed to kill one of their own. But each night, soldiers in the Headquarters Company, 4/64 Task Force, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, go to sleep thinking about Capt. Ed Korn — a man they barely knew but now can never forget.
USATODAY.com | April 11, 2003 | 12:38 pm
U.S. issues most wanted Iraqi list U.S. military officials have issued a list of the 55 most-wanted Iraqi leaders, dead or alive. The list comes in the form of a deck of playing cards which will be dealt to thousands of coalition troops in Iraq.
USATODAY.com | April 11, 2003 | 12:39 pm
4th Infantry Division prepares to join war Leaders of the Army's 4th Infantry Division are preparing to join the war in Iraq, planning for an undisclosed mission that could run the gamut from combat to peacekeeping.
Gina Cavallaro | Army Times | April 11, 2003 | 1:42 pm
Analysis - Despite Democratic hopes, it may not be deja vu for this Bush in 2004 As the war with Iraq moves toward a possible conclusion, Democrats hope for a repeat of the 1992 postwar script in which a once-popular President Bush fell under the weight of economic concerns. But there are important differences that could make it harder for Democrats to beat George W. Bush in 2004.
Chuck Raasch | GNS | April 11, 2003 | 3:31 pm
Trade may be a casualty of war The war in Iraq has strained relations with the nation's top overseas trading partners and is causing economic ripples that U.S. and foreign businessmen are hoping won't have long-lasting effects.
Ana Radelat | GNS | April 11, 2003 | 4:22 pm
Prewar foes are at odds over postwar plans for Iraq Virtually every major player in the prewar debate that tore the United Nations Security Council apart and brought Bush administration titans nose to nose is back mixing it up with the same opponent over how to handle postwar Iraq.
State Department to direct humanitarian relief House-Senate negotiators agreed Friday to have the State Department oversee $2.47 billion for humanitarian relief efforts in Iraq as part of an $80 billion supplemental spending bill that also covers the cost of the war and homeland security.
Brian Tumulty | GNS | April 11, 2003 | 8:50 pm
Memorial honors 9 fallen 507th soldiers More than 1,000 people gathered at the Biggs Army Airfield deployment facility on Friday to pay tribute to the nine members of the 507th Maintenance Company killed March 23 in an ambush near the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah.
David Peregrino, Laura Cruz | El Paso Times | April 11, 2003 | 8:53 pm
Congress approves $79 billion for war, homeland security Congress approved a $79 billion spending bill Saturday to pay for the war in Iraq, homeland security and humanitarian relief that will be funneled through the State Department.
Brian Tumulty | GNS | April 12, 2003 | 4:54 pm
Anti-war movement faces test as war wanes The protest signs have changed, and on a sun-drenched Saturday afternoon at Freedom Plaza, so had the mood of many anti-war protesters. Instead of posters with the slogan "No Blood for Oil," a staple of demonstrations before the war with Iraq, organizers handed out placards that read, "Fight the New Colonialism," acknowledging that the peace movement must either evolve or fade away with the war it formed to stop.
Derrick DePledge and Mike Madden | GNS | April 12, 2003 | 6:03 pm
Saddam's science adviser surrenders Ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's top nuclear weapons expert surrendered to U.S. military officers Saturday.
USATODAY.com | April 12, 2003 | 6:40 pm
Soldiers set up headquarters at abandoned amusement park A week ago, foot soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were enduring bloody street fighting in Karbala. On Saturday, they were setting up temporary headquarters near the merry-go-round and Ferris wheel of an abandoned amusement park here. But members of the 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment quickly learned that this park isn't like the ones back home. Almost as soon as they got here, the manager took them to hidden caches of AK47 rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
Matthew Cox | Military Times | April 12, 2003 | 6:55 pm
Lynch's county basks in limelight from their hometown hero American flags line the streets of Elizabeth, a town of 2,600 people just a few miles from Pfc. Jessica Lynch's hometown of Palestine. Yellow ribbons are tied to doors, mailboxes and trees in the yards. The ribbons and flags were up before 19-year-old Lynch was declared missing after her supply unit was ambushed March 23. And the flags and ribbons will stay up until Wirt County's troops serving overseas, about 60 of them, are home.
Jean Tarbett | Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch | April 12, 2003 | 7:45 pm
Rescued prisoner of war returns to U.S. soil Rescued prisoner of war Jessica Lynch, a 19-year-old Army private from Palestine, W.Va., returned to the United States on Saturday for treatment at a military hospital here. Several family members and about 50 other injured soldiers were with Lynch on the military transport from Ramstein Air Base in Germany to Andrews Air Force Base.
Mike Madden | GNS | April 12, 2003 | 9:16 pm
U.S. POWs rescued, healthy Seven U.S. prisoners of war have been rescued alive and in good condition by U.S. Marines north of Baghdad, military officials confirmed Sunday.
Charles K. Wilson | El Paso Times | April 13, 2003 | 10:51 am
Soldier grazed by bullet wears war's reminder on sleeve The young soldiers in Iraq have fired their weapons in practice and have trained for wartime duties for months or years. Now the war is giving many of them a new and sometimes traumatic experience: being shot at.
The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle | April 13, 2003 | 12:55 pm
Farmington (N.M.) Daily-Times | April 13, 2003 | 8:06 pm
Iraqis grapple with the future Now that American forces have taken control of Baghdad, they may have only one chance to hold the hearts and minds of Iraqis cheering along the city's streets.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | April 13, 2003 | 8:13 pm
Ecstatic family awaits return of freed POW Army Spc. Joseph Hudson's family watched his return to the United States from a television in the living room of his mother's home in Alamogordo, N.M.
David Peregrino | El Paso Times | April 13, 2003 | 8:41 pm
Families of soldiers killed in ambush rejoice for POWs The families of three 507th Maintenance Company soldiers who were killed March 23 in Iraq were happy the five POWs from Fort Bliss, Texas were safe, though some want more answers about how the incident happened.
Diana Washington Valdez | El Paso Times | April 13, 2003 | 8:47 pm
Home cooking, church friends await former POW News of Spc. Edgar Hernandez' release was met with celebration at his family's home, with yellow-ribboned cars passing by outside and members of the family's church congregating inside.
Maribel Villalva | El Paso Times | April 13, 2003 | 9:47 pm
Army town is elated as POWs of the 507th are freed After weeks of sorrow and worry, Fort Bliss, home of the 507th Maintenance Company, experienced elation Sunday as news spread rapidly across the post that the company's five remaining captured members were safe.
Laura Cruz | El Paso Times | April 13, 2003 | 9:54 pm
For families of freed POWs, an answer to their prayers Palm Sunday broke bright and blue for the families of five soldiers from the 507th Maintenance Company, their prayers answered before their eyes as the American prisoners were released after three weeks of captivity in Iraq.
Charles K. Wilson | El Paso Times | April 13, 2003 | 10:00 pm
Soldiers wounded in firefight south of Baghdad At least 16 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were wounded Sunday in Mahmudiyah when a motorist lobbed a grenade into a group of them and other attackers opened fire with rifles.
Rob Curtis | Military Times | April 13, 2003 | 10:09 pm
Soldiers get sick after eating breakfast Nearly 40 soldiers at Camp New Jersey in Kuwait were treated Sunday after breakfast for what officials believe may have been a bout of food poisoning.
Gina Cavallaro | Army Times | April 13, 2003 | 10:14 pm
Lynch, family say prayers answered with return of POWs Pfc. Jessica Lynch and her family rejoiced over the return of seven American prisoners of war as Lynch remained in satisfactory condition Sunday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
The (Huntington, W.Va) Herald-Dispatch | April 13, 2003 | 10:17 pm
N.J. family celebrates rescue of POW son James Riley was among seven captured U.S. soldiers found alive and well Sunday by Marines near Iraq President Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.
Jason Laughlin | (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post | April 13, 2003 | 10:24 pm
Soldier grazed by bullet wears war's reminder on sleeve Young soldiers in Iraq have fired their weapons in practice and have trained for wartime duties for months or years. Now the war is giving many of them a new and sometimes traumatic experience: being shot at.
Chantal Escoto | The Leaf-Chronicle | April 13, 2003 | 10:27 pm
Airmen crank up small radio station For the past five or six months, the airmen of the 332nd Expeditionary Communications squadron have, in their spare time, run the equivalent of a tiny FM radio station. It's all music, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Gordon Trowbridge | Air Force Times | April 13, 2003 | 10:33 pm
Trinket-maker shows patriotism with donations Lapel Pins & More, of Tucson, Ariz., sent 100 U.S. flag-yellow ribbon pins and assorted other pins to Wirt County, W.Va., for distribution to rescued POW Pfc. Jessica Lynch's family and town residents.
Irwin M. Goldberg | The Tucson Citizen | April 13, 2003 | 10:47 pm
Coalition troops face Gulf War syndrome risks Medical experts agree that while Gulf War syndrome is hard to define, veterans of the 1991 war with Iraq suffer from real illnesses that can be traced to their deployment.
Iraqi government falls, but full control evades U.S., British forces President Saddam Hussein's 24-year rule over Iraq came to an end this week, as the U.S. military seized Baghdad and Iraqis celebrated by tearing down statues and ransacking government buildings. A roundup of the week's other war-related events.
Mike Madden | GNS | April 13, 2003 | 10:58 pm
In wake of war, U.S. adversaries change their tone The U.S. military's rapid toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq seems to be unsettling some longtime U.S. antagonists, prompting signs of conciliation from "axis of evil" members Iran and North Korea, and even a modest new peace overture from U.S. ally Israel.
USATODAY.com | April 13, 2003 | 10:59 pm
Order slowly supplanting chaos in Baghdad Signs emerged Sunday that Baghdad was seeing an end to the looting spree that followed the collapse of the country's regime, and a return to some normalcy.
POW recovery caps off stellar day for coalition Seven smiling American soldiers were released by their Iraqi guards and flown to freedom in Kuwait on Sunday to cap off a stellar day for coalition forces that also included the capture of one of Saddam Hussein's half-brothers, Marines entering Tikrit and a lessening of the chaos in Baghdad.
USATODAY.com | April 13, 2003 | 11:06 pm
'You're all right,' mother tells released POW daughter The anxiety Claude and Eunice Johnson suffered since their daughter, Spc. Shoshana Johnson, was taken prisoner on March 23 turned to joy Sunday when they saw U.S. Marines escort her to safety.
Nadra Kareem | El Paso Times | April 13, 2003 | 11:32 pm
Returning POW will face onslaught of attention Jeffrey Zaun, a former Navy bomber pilot from Cherry Hill, N.J., who was among the first Americans captured by Iraq at the start of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, said returning POW Sgt. James Riley could be blindsided by the overwhelming attention.
Matt Katz | The (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post | April 13, 2003 | 11:36 pm
Iraqis pour out tales of Saddam's torture chambers The secrets of Saddam Hussein's reign of terror are beginning to emerge. Iraqi civilians who had longed feared speaking out about the alleged atrocities for fear of government retribution are revealing in detail what the Iraqi dictator and his regime inflicted on some of the country's 26 million people.
Lessons of recent history loom large in Iraq war The bitter lessons of urban combat learned from U.S. soldiers dying in the streets of Mogadishu in 1993 proved invaluable in preparing for the war against Iraq.
John Yaukey | GNS | April 14, 2003 | 6:35 pm
New Army units prepare for peacekeeping, rebuilding As combat winds down in Iraq, new Army units arriving here are gearing up for peacekeeping and rebuilding roles in a country torn by decades of war and neglect.
Mark D. Faram | Military Times | April 14, 2003 | 6:47 pm
War provides no clues to fate of missing aviator Overshadowed by the joyful news of the rescue of seven American POWs is the story of Lt. Cmdr. Scott Speicher of Jacksonville, Fla., a Navy pilot who disappeared in Iraq 12 years ago and whose fate remains a mystery.
Alex Neill | Army Times | April 14, 2003 | 7:44 pm
Lynch's extended family told to wait to visit Former prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch's extended family is told to wait before visiting her to give her a chance to build strength at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
Jean Tarbett | The (Huntington) Herald-Dispatch | April 14, 2003 | 8:39 pm
Syria said to be providing haven for Iraqi leaders At least one and perhaps more senior officials of Saddam Hussein's toppled regime have fled into Syria, U.S. officials charged Monday, prompting the Bush administration to threaten economic sanctions against Iraq's most friendly neighbor.
USATODAY.com | April 15, 2003 | 6:08 am
Baghdad works to restore semblance of normalcy Two days after the U.S. forces controlling Iraq's capital appealed on local radio stations for Iraqis to help restore order, several hundred people reported for work Monday at Baghdad's police college.
USATODAY.com | April 15, 2003 | 6:10 am
Reforms in Iraq can't be hurried, experts caution Experts who have worked to establish stable governments and a measure of freedom in difficult places predict that it will take years before national elections can be held in Iraq and even longer before U.S. and other troops can turn over the task of providing security to a reconstituted Iraqi force.
USATODAY.com | April 15, 2003 | 6:12 am
Ex-POWs fill in the details before heading home Seven American soldiers who were freed after three weeks in Iraqi captivity were debriefed by the military in Kuwait on Monday and could be flown back to the USA as early as Wednesday.
USATODAY.com | April 15, 2003 | 6:14 am
Focus in Iraq turns to rebuilding The Pentagon declared the war with Iraq effectively over Monday while Jay Garner, the retired U.S. general responsible for organizing a post-Saddam Hussein administration, said he is worried that his team's critical work is off to a slow start.
USATODAY.com | April 15, 2003 | 6:16 am
Planning starts today on interim Iraqi government U.S. officials Tuesday will lead the first in a series of meetings that will be held throughout Iraq in the hopes of creating within weeks an interim authority to govern the country. But before it began, the gathering was controversial and causing further rifts between Iraq's fractious ethnic, tribal and religious groups.
USATODAY.com | April 15, 2003 | 6:19 am
As war shifts focus, Bush turns attention to the home front On a day in which the income-tax deadline came and the war in Iraq seemed to be settling into a long-term slog, Bush used his bully pulpit to push another massive round of tax cuts he hopes will jump-start a troubled economy. The timing is aimed at the 2004 election, whose opening votes come in less than nine months.
Chuck Raasch | GNS | April 15, 2003 | 3:36 pm
Pilots knew importance of 'Chemical Ali' attack Air Force attack jets from a desert air base in the Persian Gulf region performed the April 6 attack on the home of Chemical Ali, the infamous relative of Saddam Hussein believed responsible for violent suppression of northern Iraq's Kurds. Mission planners received a request from the Air Force's campaign headquarters to make the attack, based on intelligence reports.
Gordon Trowbridge | Air Force Times | April 15, 2003 | 3:54 pm
Bob Withers | The (Huntington) Herald-Dispatch | April 15, 2003 | 8:17 pm
Families mourn 2 soldiers killed in Iraq grenade accident On Monday night, Army officials notified the families of Spc. Thomas Arthur Foley III, 23, of Fort Campbell, Ky., and Pfc. Johnny Brown, 21, of Troy, Ala., that the soldiers died in a grenade explosion near Baghdad.
Leon Alligood | The Tennessean | April 15, 2003 | 10:03 pm
Terror fugitive Abu Abbas caught in Baghdad Abu Abbas, the leader of a Palestinian terror group that hijacked a cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea in 1985 and killed an American passenger, has been captured by U.S. military forces in Baghdad.
USATODAY.com | April 16, 2003 | 6:21 am
Worry grows about uprising among Shiites in Iraq Before the Iraq war, Sunni Muslim leaders elsewhere in the Arab world warned that toppling Saddam Hussein might have unintended consequences. They feared it could strengthen radicals among the Shiite Muslims who are a majority in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Bahrain and eastern Saudi Arabia. Now that Saddam is gone, those predictions could be coming true.
General scolds officers after six soldiers die in accidents On Monday, six soldiers died, not at the hands of the enemy, but apparently because of safety problems. An infuriated Lt. Gen. William Wallace, the commander of U.S. Army forces in Iraq, warned his subordinates Tuesday that soldiers were getting lax now that the fighting has died down.
USATODAY.com | April 16, 2003 | 6:39 am
Meetings lay new Iraqi government's groundwork, but tensions run high The first meeting of Iraqi political and religious leaders on forming a government to replace Saddam Hussein's regime ended Tuesday with modest achievements: an agreement to meet again in 10 days and a vow by the United States not to rule Iraq.
USATODAY.com | April 16, 2003 | 6:44 am
Few leads in hunt for Saddam Although fighting in Iraq has tapered off, CIA paramilitaries and U.S. special operation forces are still trying to answer the biggest unresolved question of the war: Where is Saddam?
USATODAY.com | April 16, 2003 | 6:46 am
Honor guard provides proper welcome home The Dover Air Force Base's 45-member honor guard pursues its mission - the dignified transfer of the remains of soldiers killed in the war with Iraq - with precision and painstaking care.
Beth Miller | The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal | April 16, 2003 | 4:17 pm
Kevlar testimonial apparently a hoax According to a British tabloid, British Royal Marine Commando Eric Walderman wasn't wearing his Kevlar helmet in an Umm Qasr firefight in southern Iraq when it stopped four bullets.
Fred Biddle | The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal | April 16, 2003 | 4:23 pm
Ariz. family, mourning one son, searches for the other Scott Altman, 28, of Glendale, Ariz., died Sunday in a fatal plane crash during a flying lesson. His younger brother, Pfc. Matt Altman, is with the Army's 4th Infantry Division somewhere in the Middle East. Their father, Gary Altman, a Vietnam veteran, spent his 60th birthday Tuesday frantically calling anyone who could possibly help him track down his lone surviving son.
Joseph A. Reaves | The Arizona Republic | April 16, 2003 | 4:44 pm
Victims of first war with Saddam get measure of relief As the war in Iraq winds down, civilian captives of the first American conflict with Iraq 12 years ago have had to confront old nightmares. But Saddam Hussein's former government is paying for their suffering.
Chuck Raasch | GNS | April 16, 2003 | 4:49 pm
Special Forces team turns to delivering supplies in Iraq Rolling through Baghdad in Humvees bristling with .50-caliber machine guns, the commandos look mean and ready for combat. Today, however, their war wagon is not weighed down by extra ammunition, but by dozens of boxes of medical supplies headed for a city clinic.
Rob Curtis | Military Times | April 16, 2003 | 4:58 pm
Bonhomme Richard crew relishes beer day This week, the crew took a rest and popped open some frosty cold ones. It's a pleasure normally forbidden in the Navy, but one that's appearing more often as ships extend their deployments.
David Brown | Military Times | April 16, 2003 | 5:08 pm
Mich. imams call on U.S. to stop chaos in Iraq Despite the Bush administration's pledge to have Iraqis run their own nation as soon as possible, terror and chaos are impeding any push toward democracy, a group of Shiite Muslim religious leaders in Michigan say.
Darci McConnell | The Detroit News | April 16, 2003 | 6:02 pm
Terrorism alert level scaled back Stepped-up security measures put in place nationwide two days before bombs started falling on Baghdad on March 19 will be scaled back under a lowered terrorism threat level announced Wednesday.
USATODAY.com | April 17, 2003 | 6:50 am
Gangs in Iraq use chaos to their benefit The widespread looting that broke out in Baghdad after American forces entered and occupied the city April 9 has eased somewhat. But as the volume of looting has decreased, the level of violence and danger associated with it has risen. Now, it's not desperately poor people looking for necessities who are doing the stealing. It's mostly heavily armed men in disorganized but deadly gangs.
USATODAY.com | April 17, 2003 | 6:52 am
Baghdad hospitals can't keep up with wounded One week after the Iraqi capital fell to coalition forces, health workers and the International Committee of the Red Cross say the city is facing a medical disaster.
USATODAY.com | April 17, 2003 | 6:55 am
Bush asks U.N. to lift sanctions on Iraq President Bush said Wednesday that the Iraqi people "are now free" and called upon the United Nations to lift economic sanctions imposed nearly 13 years ago against Saddam Hussein.
USATODAY.com | April 17, 2003 | 6:59 am
U.S. troops accused in Mosul shootings At least three civilians died and 17 more were injured in Iraq's third-largest city Wednesday, demonstrating that volatile conditions remain for the U.S.-led coalition even after the swift fall of Baghdad. Some of the injured in Mosul said U.S. forces fired into a crowd, a charge U.S. officials denied.
USATODAY.com | April 17, 2003 | 6:59 am
Flexible war plan key to victory Coalition commanders adjusted their war plan at every phase. They put in more ground troops where needed to suppress opposition, or sped up the rate of advance when a push on the door revealed nothing on the other side.
USATODAY.com | April 17, 2003 | 7:02 am
Questions and answers on rebuilding Iraq The war in Iraq is largely won, but a military victory is only the first step of President Bush's ambitious plan to transform the country into a democracy and make it an example of political and economic freedom in a region that has known neither.
Jon Frandsen | GNS | April 17, 2003 | 2:41 pm
Americans split on what defines war victory Americans are somewhat split over whether the war in Iraq can be considered a victory if Saddam Hussein is not killed or captured, a new USA TODAY-CNN-Gallup Poll shows. Overall, 55 percent say it would be a victory even without evidence of Saddam's demise; 42 percent say it would not.
Richard Benedetto | GNS | April 17, 2003 | 2:53 pm
Iraq war showcases U.S. military's power After watching U.S. and British forces win an overwhelming military victory in the war in Iraq, Pentagon officials say the campaign may have been one of the most successful the United States has ever waged.
Mike Madden | GNS | April 17, 2003 | 5:47 pm
College president joins Iraq rebuilding team The Bush administration has selected Michigan State University President Peter McPherson, formerly the No. 2 official at the U.S. Treasury Department, to help rebuild Iraq's treasury department.
Sharon Terlep and Katherine Hutt Scott | GNS | April 17, 2003 | 6:10 pm
4th Infantry finally joins fighting The 4th Infantry Division finally is in the fight, killing some Iraqi troops, capturing others and taking control of an airfield north of Baghdad.
Alex Neill | Army Times | April 17, 2003 | 6:51 pm
Support for Lynch overwhelming hospital, post office Rescued POW Jessica Lynch may receive more gifts than she'll ever use when she finally returns home to Palestine, W.Va., but that isn't stopping the outpouring of support well-wishers are sending her way.
Tamara Endicott | The (Huntington) Herald-Dispatch | April 17, 2003 | 7:40 pm
Faster treatment, better gear save lives on the battlefield Doctors and military officials say several procedural changes and technological advances since the Persian Gulf War in 1991 have helped minimize the number of wounded troops in Iraq.
USATODAY.com | April 18, 2003 | 7:07 am
Finally free to speak, Iraqis raise their voices During decades of Saddam's iron-fisted rule, Iraqis who dared to discuss politics or to criticize the government risked imprisonment or death. But like wine from a bottle uncorked after years, Baghdad residents now pour into the streets to argue over politics with strangers.
USATODAY.com | April 18, 2003 | 7:10 am
FBI agents sent to Iraq to try to help recover antiquities More than two dozen FBI agents are being sent to Baghdad to help international law enforcement officials try to recover priceless antiquities and artifacts that were looted from Iraq's national museum during and after the battle for Baghdad.
USATODAY.com | April 18, 2003 | 7:13 am
Americans split over need to find Saddam Americans remain somewhat split over whether the war in Iraq can be considered a victory if Saddam Hussein is not killed or captured, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll shows.
USATODAY.com | April 18, 2003 | 7:14 am
U.S. chases regime leaders; 2nd Saddam relative taken U.S. forces captured a second half brother of Saddam Hussein on Thursday, as U.S. military and intelligence officials said they believe many of the former regime's leaders remain in Iraq and are planning their escapes.
USATODAY.com | April 18, 2003 | 7:15 am
Former POWs expected in U.S. Saturday Seven former prisoners of war - five soldiers from Fort Bliss' 507th Maintenance Company and two Fort Hood Apache helicopter pilots - are expected to arrive at Fort Bliss on Saturday.
Charles K. Wilson | El Paso Times | April 18, 2003 | 4:16 pm
Looting widespread, but fighting mostly over The United States all but declared victory in Iraq this week, as President Bush proclaimed Saddam Hussein's reign over and Army Gen. Tommy Franks, the war's military commander, made his first trip to Baghdad.
Mike Madden | GNS | April 18, 2003 | 4:33 pm
Analysis - Tough talk on Syria lays groundwork for Middle East peace Syria remains a pivotal player in Middle Eastern peace. Perhaps this is why the Bush administration has taken a sudden interest in the nation that supports some of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the region.
John Yaukey | GNS | April 18, 2003 | 4:47 pm
Lynch recovering from foot surgery Former prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch was in satisfactory condition Friday, a day after surgery to repair a bone in her right foot.
Bob Withers | The (Huntington) Herald-Dispatch | April 18, 2003 | 5:21 pm
Essay - War transforms U.S. troops into force for change Some Iraqis expressed gratitude the day Baghdad fell. Although coiled razor wire marks new military checkpoints at strategic sports throughout Baghdad, it must feel less harsh than the heavy hand of a tyrant.
Greg Barrett | GNS | April 18, 2003 | 5:34 pm
Military has made great strides in treating POWs Improvements the military has made in treating the psychological effects of war give a positive outlook for the Pfc. Jessica Lynch and other former prisoners of the Iraq war.
Jean Tarbett | The (Huntington) Herald-Dispatch | April 18, 2003 | 8:28 pm
Maribel Villalva | El Paso Times | April 18, 2003 | 8:34 pm
Ex-POWS returning to U.S. Saturday night The seven former U.S. prisoners of war, including five from Fort Bliss' 507th Maintenance Company and two Fort Hood Apache helicopter pilots from Fort Hood, Texas, are expected to arrive Saturday night at Biggs Army Airfield.
Charles K. Wilson | El Paso Times | April 18, 2003 | 10:20 pm
POWs hold key to what happened to those who died The return of the five former prisoners of war from the 507th Maintenance Company captured in an ambush March 23 may help bring closure to the families of nine other Fort Bliss soldiers killed in the same attack near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
El Paso Times | April 20, 2003 | 6:42 am
Loved ones rejoice in return of shy soldier Hernandez Spc. Edgar Hernandez, who left Fort Bliss two months ago as a shy soldier, was welcomed home Saturday by a screaming crowd of people who have become intimately familiar with him and other former prisoners of war.
El Paso Times | April 20, 2003 | 6:43 am
Family's anguish turns to sheer joy The homecoming Saturday of Pfc. Patrick Miller put his family at ease. Miller, 23, of Park City, Kan., was reunited with his mother, his wife, Jessa, and his two children after a plane carrying him and four other former prisoners of war from Fort Bliss' 507th Maintenance Company landed at Biggs Army Airfield.
El Paso Times | April 20, 2003 | 6:44 am
Hudson remains positive voice of ex-POWs Army Spc. Joseph Hudson was the voice of the seven former prisoners of war Saturday night after the 23-year-old from Alamogordo, N.M., and his comrades from the 507th Maintenance Company returned to Ft. Bliss, Texas.
El Paso Times | April 20, 2003 | 6:45 am
2,000 welcome ex-POWs as heroes They waited, they chanted, and waited some more. But four hours in the chilly wind seemed like a small price to pay for a piece of history. "It's not every day that we have POWs coming back to El Paso," said Northeast resident Misty Metz, who was among an estimated 2,000 men, women and children greeting the returning heroes Saturday evening on the tarmac of Biggs Army Airfield in Texas.
El Paso Times | April 20, 2003 | 6:46 am
El Paso celebrates return of Shoshana Johnson Spc. Shoshana Johnson, whose frightened face became seared into the world's consciousness after her capture March 23, showed nothing but joy on her return home Saturday.
El Paso Times | April 20, 2003 | 6:58 am
Former POW from New Jersey returns to U.S. Pennsauken, N.J., Sgt. James Riley was among seven former POWs who were greeted by family and well-wishers Saturday in Texas. Riley gave the crowds a restrained smile and a wave. It was a subdued reaction from the man whose three weeks of imprisonment in Iraq inspired powerful feelings in his hometown.
The (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post | April 20, 2003 | 6:59 am
Crowd cheers return of Ex-POWs to U.S. The journey is complete for five Fort Bliss soldiers who spent three weeks as prisoners of war in Iraq. They returned Saturday to a heroes' welcome by about 2,000 people under the lights of Biggs Army Airfield in Texas. The five were accompanied by two other former POWs, both of them Apache helicopter pilots, who flew on to Fort Hood.
El Paso Times | April 20, 2003 | 7:00 am
From life on the reservation to death in the Iraqi desert At a critical point three weeks ago, Lori Ann Piestewa found herself in Iraq with the 507th Maintenance Company because the poverty, lack of opportunity and sheer boredom of life in Tuba City, Ariz. left her few options when it came to feeding her ambitions and her children.
Pat Flannery and Betty Reid | The Arizona Republic | April 20, 2003 | 5:11 pm
Former POW Hernandez thanks prayerful supporters On Easter Sunday, a quiet and grateful Spc. Edgar Hernandez told members of the Chaparral Apostolic Church in Chapparal, N.M., that God had been with him every step of the way during his three weeks as a prisoner in Iraq.
Darren Meritz | El Paso Times | April 20, 2003 | 8:13 pm
Freed soldiers celebrate Easter with reunions Easter Sunday was a time of rest, family bonding and spiritual reflection for the five Fort Bliss, Texas soldiers who were held captive in Iraq.
Louie Gilot | El Paso Times | April 20, 2003 | 8:55 pm
N.J. soldier marks quiet holiday after return to Fort Bliss Former prisoner of war James Riley enjoyed a subdued Easter Sunday with his mother in El Paso, Texas, as they awaited word on when the Army sergeant can return to south New Jersey.
The (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post | April 20, 2003 | 10:08 pm
Syria promises not to harbor Iraqi leaders Syrian President Bashar Assad promised two U.S. congressmen Sunday that his nation would refuse haven to Iraqis wanted for war crimes and would expel any who enter his country.
USATODAY.com | April 21, 2003 | 6:54 am
Baghdad waits for darkness to lift Iraqi technicians and U.S. Army engineers moved closer to bringing electrical service back to Baghdad on Sunday, another step in the effort to restore this beleaguered city to normal life.
USATODAY.com | April 21, 2003 | 6:57 am
Fear of Saddam and his thugs lingers Although U.S. forces have overthrown his regime, Saddam continues to haunt many of Iraq's 26 million people. Most say they won't talk about him, even in private settings, until he has been caught or killed.
Global locator could speed recovery of downed pilots The new Global Personnel Recovery System would give rescue crews and ground controllers real-time information on the location of helicopter rescue units, plus a simple, secure-text messaging capability that already has proved its worth.
Gordon Trowbridge | Air Force Times | April 21, 2003 | 5:27 pm
Physical therapists dispense relief to aching fliers Air Force Maj. Laura Fields has one of the toughest jobs in the military: straightening out fighter pilots' spines, along with other joints and muscles that take a beating in modern jet cockpits.
Gordon Trowbridge | Air Force Times | April 21, 2003 | 5:43 pm
Chief briefer says West Point prepared him for spotlight In an exclusive interview, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks acknowledged the frustration with the information gap created by real-time war reporting. He also discussed his cadet leadership experience at West Point.
Alex Neill | Army Times | April 21, 2003 | 7:50 pm
Hunters assuming Saddam is alive, still inside country Nearly two weeks after the fall of Baghdad, former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is as elusive as ever. But U.S. officials say they are operating under the assumption that he and many other top leaders of his regime are still alive.
USATODAY.com | April 22, 2003 | 8:21 am
Baghdad's revived police force targets trust Hundreds of officers have heeded a plea from the U.S. military to return to work, especially to put an end to looting. But U.S. officials also want to use the officers to open a new chapter in Iraqi law enforcement, transforming cops from instruments of repression to keepers of the peace.
USATODAY.com | April 22, 2003 | 8:23 am
Abandoned weapons pour into black market The U.S. Army is sending troops to Iraq's abandoned military bases because the weapons left behind are flowing into the black market.
USATODAY.com | April 22, 2003 | 8:24 am
Garner: Objective is to 'give birth to a new system in Iraq' The man in charge of rebuilding Iraq got a firsthand look Monday at the task that faces his team of engineers and civil administrators. Retired Army lieutenant general Jay Garner promised an intense push to restore electricity, water and order, but cautioned, "It is going to take time."
USATODAY.com | April 22, 2003 | 8:25 am
As Iraqi Shiites gain clout, will U.S. interests suffer? Concern is rising that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq might wind up replacing Saddam Hussein's brutal dictatorship with a cleric-dominated government that would be intolerant of Iraq's ethnic diversity and opposed to the interests of the United States.
USATODAY.com | April 22, 2003 | 8:28 am
Lugar focuses on what happens next in Iraq Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, a Republican, repeatedly has warned that the Bush administration faces a potential backlash from lawmakers and the American people unless it is up front about what will be needed to keep Iraq stable after the war.
Maureen Groppe | GNS | April 22, 2003 | 3:44 pm
Medical emergencies, explosions just part of unit's day A badly burned cooking accident victim, suspicious locals with guns, and exploding ordnance punctuated an unusually busy day for Fox Company's 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment.
Gina Cavallaro | Military Times | April 22, 2003 | 5:25 pm
101st Airborne arrives in Mosul to restore order More than 5,000 troops from the 101st Airborne Division arrived Tuesday to take on the delicate task of establishing order in this unstable northern Iraqi town divided along ethnic, cultural and religious lines.
Rob Curtis | Army Times | April 22, 2003 | 6:20 pm
Freedom of religion fills streets of holy city of Karbala They came to worship and to celebrate their freedom, not to fight. After more than two decades of brutal repression under Saddam Hussein, Iraq's Shiite Muslims were free Tuesday to make their traditional pilgrimage to this sacred city south of Baghdad.
USATODAY.com | April 23, 2003 | 6:41 am
Kurds hope U.S. backs their role in new government Kurdish leaders meeting with U.S. envoy Jay Garner made it clear Tuesday that they expected help from the U.S. government to claim a role in a new Iraqi government.
USATODAY.com | April 23, 2003 | 6:43 am
France OKs end to Iraq sanctions France, in an unexpected move toward the U.S. position, called Tuesday for trade and economic sanctions against Iraq to be suspended, but ignificant disagreements remain within the 15-member security council about the role of U.N. arms inspectors in postwar Iraq.
USATODAY.com | April 23, 2003 | 6:43 am
After weeks, Baghdad gets back to bustling After cowering for weeks under a hail of bombs and during extensive arson and looting, hundreds of thousands of people have poured out of their Baghdad homes since Sunday. Streets, empty for weeks, have traffic jams again. Crowds pack markets, hunting for bargains, and throngs of demonstrators march downtown chanting for the U.S. troops occupying the city to go home.
USATODAY.com | April 23, 2003 | 6:45 am
Pentagon feeling pressure to find banned weapons in Iraq With no smoking-gun evidence to show for its efforts thus far, the Pentagon is ratcheting up the search for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction with a massive hunt that dwarfs any of the United Nations' efforts to find them.
John Yaukey | GNS | April 23, 2003 | 3:57 pm
Iraqi mother and son seek healing in United States Emotions and words have run loose for Ikbal Fartous since the day four years ago when an errant U.S missile killed her son Haider and left another, Mustafa, with severe shrapnel wounds. Now, Fartous and Mustafa are in the United States for treatment for his injuries.
Greg Barrett | GNS | April 23, 2003 | 7:35 pm
5 former POWs leave hospital in Texas The five former prisoners of war from Fort Bliss who were freed after three weeks of captivity in Iraq were released Wednesday from Beaumont Army Medical Center, where they underwent three days of medical checkups.
Diana Washington Valdez | El Paso Times | April 23, 2003 | 9:01 pm
Media vying for Texas woman's POW story Former prisoner of war Spc. Shoshana Johnson, wounded in both feet and held captive for 21 days by Iraqi forces loyal to Saddam Hussein, now has to face a hungry media.
Nadra Kareem | El Paso Times | April 23, 2003 | 10:46 pm
U.S. troops, journalists investigated for looting At least five U.S. troops are under investigation for allegedly skimming hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars from stashes of cash uncovered in Baghdad, Pentagon officials said Wednesday. Another servicemember is being investigated for shipping gold-plated ornamental weapons to the USA in an incident officials said is likely to lead to questioning of more troops.
USATODAY.com | April 24, 2003 | 6:55 am
Iran warned not to meddle in Iraqi politics The United States has warned Iran in recent days not to interfere as Iraq seeks to map out its political future, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Wednesday.
USATODAY.com | April 24, 2003 | 6:56 am
Lynch could be home June 1; 20th birthday is Saturday Saturday is Jessica Lynch's 20th birthday and a grocery store in Parkersburg, W.Va., is throwing the party — even though she won't be able to attend. The former POW is still recovering from her injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
The (Huntington, W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch | April 24, 2003 | 1:31 pm
War in Iraq goes into the textbooks with history-making strategy Military students will study Operation Iraqi Freedom as a precedent-setting success built on new tactics meant to exploit cutting-edge technology. The campaign is also likely to manifest itself conspicuously in future Pentagon budgets and development strategies as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pursues his controversial restructuring of the military by enhancing its lighter, faster elements.
John Yaukey | GNS | April 24, 2003 | 4:12 pm
Poll: Americans feel safer but worry about economy While most Americans are feeling safer after the way things have turned out in the war with Iraq, a USA TODAY-CNN-GALLUP Poll shows that there is continuing dissatisfaction with the economy and President Bush's stewardship on that front.
Richard Benedetto | GNS | April 24, 2003 | 5:15 pm
Texas lawmaker calls for probe of attack on convoy U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes said Thursday he plans to follow up on the Pentagon's investigation into the March 23 convoy ambush near Nasiriyah that resulted in the capture of six soldiers from Fort Bliss.
Diana Washington Valdez | El Paso Times | April 24, 2003 | 10:07 pm
Nation lavishes lopsided attention on female POWs Former POW Spc. Shoshana Johnson has been offered a scholarship to a culinary school, her own bakery, and is being courted by Oprah Winfrey and NBC's Stone Phillips. Pfc. Jessica Lynch was on the cover of People and Newsweek and had to ask well-wishers to stop sending gifts. But the men freed with them have gotten much less attention.
Louie Gilot | El Paso Times | April 24, 2003 | 11:51 pm
U.S. forces net public face of Saddam regime Tariq Aziz, the former deputy prime minister of Iraq and for years the public face of Saddam Hussein's regime, was taken into U.S. custody Thursday, becoming the 12th — and best-known — of 55 "most-wanted" Iraqis in U.S. hands.
USATODAY.com | April 25, 2003 | 7:03 am
Some Iraq government offices set to reopen Some Iraqi government ministries will resume operations next week under joint U.S. and Iraqi control, the American overseeing postwar reconstruction said Thursday.
USATODAY.com | April 25, 2003 | 7:04 am
Iraqis try to piece together lives on paper In Iraq, reams of official and classified documents are missing — papers that could reveal the secrets of a brutal regime and what happened to missing people.
USATODAY.com | April 25, 2003 | 7:06 am
War Diary - Embedded in Iraq: Riding the Humvee with Col. Cowboy I felt a kind of grimy feng shui on every one of the 40 days I spent with U.S. Marines in Iraq and Kuwait. Finding bliss in the smallest pleasantries is a natural way to deal with corpses, filth, homesickness and flashes of terror in the war zone.
John Bebow | The Detroit News | April 26, 2003 | 7:53 pm
Rescued POW's hometown still in media spotlight Life never will be the same in tiny Palestine, W.Va. That's because Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, the former prisoner of war who celebrated her 20th birthday Saturday, lives here. And the media is in town awaiting her return.
Bob Withers | The (Huntington) Herald-Dispatch | April 26, 2003 | 8:22 pm
U.S. closes in on fugitives from many angles The hunt for Saddam Hussein and his top aides is a bizarre mix of chance encounters and intense searches fed by hundreds of tips. It's also a hunt marked by increasing pressure on families of the "most-wanted" Iraqi leaders.
USATODAY.com | April 27, 2003 | 10:24 pm
Former POW returns home to south New Jersey Sgt. James Riley, 31, returned to his parents' home in Pennsauken, N.J., shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday, five weeks after he was captured during an ambush of his Army supply convoy in Iraq.
The (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post | April 27, 2003 | 10:49 pm
Aziz says Saddam survived airstrikes mounted to kill him Iraq's former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz has told U.S. interrogators he saw Saddam Hussein alive after the two airstrikes mounted by coalition forces to kill him, a senior Defense official says.
USATODAY.com | April 28, 2003 | 8:07 am
Postwar force could be 125,000 Pentagon planners say a U.S. force of 125,000 soldiers is likely to be needed for at least a year to stabilize Iraq until a new Iraqi government can take charge and provide security. But the size of the postwar force in Iraq remains under discussion.
USATODAY.com | April 28, 2003 | 8:10 am
Rumsfeld and Franks praise, thank coalition troops Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Army Gen. Tommy Franks thanked the troops at the war command headquarters Monday and praised them for the speed and precision of the U.S. military campaign.
Alex Neill | Army Times | April 28, 2003 | 4:09 pm
Split between exiles, other Iraqis evident at summit A daylong meeting on a new Iraqi government Monday illuminated the divisions and obstacles ahead as Iraqis try to form a democracy after living for decades in a dictatorship and, for some, in exile.
USATODAY.com | April 29, 2003 | 9:39 am
Remains identified of war's last listed MIA Searchers found the remains of the last U.S. servicemember listed as missing in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Defense Department said Monday. Army Spc. Edward Anguiano, 24, was named as missing on March 30. His remains were found Thursday and were identified through DNA, military officials said
USATODAY.com | April 29, 2003 | 9:41 am
W. Virginians thankful Lynch tipster got asylum in U.S. West Virginians are happy that Iraqi lawyer Mohammed Al Rehaief, who helped U.S. commandos locate and rescue prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch of Palestine, W.Va., has been granted asylum in the United States.
Jean Tarbett, Dave Lavender | The Herald-Dispatch | April 29, 2003 | 10:14 pm
Iraqi lawyer who helped Lynch gets U.S. asylum An Iraqi lawyer who risked his life to help U.S. special operations troops find and rescue prisoner of war Jessica Lynch has been granted asylum in the United States along with his wife and 5-year-old daughter.
American businesses bringing aid to Iraq The U.S. Agency for International Development already has awarded contracts to more than a half-dozen American companies or institutes to help in Iraq's reconstruction.
GNS | April 30, 2003 | 5:23 pm
Bush to declare combat in Iraq over, but loose ends linger President Bush is expected to proclaim Thursday that major hostilities in Iraq are over. But some of the conflict's most important chapters still contain loose ends he would like wrapped up.
John Yaukey | GNS | April 30, 2003 | 5:31 pm
2 Iraqis killed as gunfire erupts at another protest U.S. soldiers shot dead two Iraqis during a protest Wednesday, one day after 13 Iraqis were killed by U.S. gunfire at a demonstration here. The Americans said gunmen in the crowd and posted on rooftops had shot at them with machine guns Tuesday.
Bush delivers cautious assessment of Iraq Although President Bush on Thursday declared an end to major hostilities in Iraq, his refusal to proclaim the end of the war shows there can be no official peace declaration against a continuing terrorism threat.
Chuck Raasch | GNS | May 1, 2003 | 5:39 pm
Much depends on restart of refinery Normal is a relative term in war-scarred southern Iraq, but this week signs emerged that life was becoming more tolerable in Basra.
USATODAY.com | May 2, 2003 | 7:12 am
U.S. troops clash with exile leader's militia Members of a militia assembled by U.S.-backed Iraqi exile leader Ahmad Chalabi got into a firefight with U.S. forces recently in a northwest suburb of Baghdad, and several Iraqis were wounded, U.S. Defense officials say.
USATODAY.com | May 2, 2003 | 7:18 am
9 1/2-month mission pushes sailors, families to the limit By now, 9 1/2 months and a war later, the men and women on the USS Abraham Lincoln just want off. But the admiral, the captain, the rest of the brass, even the hard-core Navy lifers all will follow Juan Angel. The 22-year-old machinist's mate from Fort Worth will be first to walk onto a pier Tuesday in Everett, Wash., when Lincoln arrives home.
USATODAY.com | May 2, 2003 | 7:20 am
War has impact not easily shared by troops They fought past suicidal gunmen, trekked across an explosives-rigged bridge at the Euphrates River and stormed the Baghdad airport. And then, after the capital fell, they absorbed friendly waves from the Iraqi people. But Pvt. Joshua Robinson and the other young men of the Army's Charlie Company, of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry, aren't sure how they'll share their vivid and sometimes bloody memories of war with their friends and relatives.
USATODAY.com | May 4, 2003 | 6:11 pm
Iraqi schoolchildren's return is lesson in perseverance Hakim Rizia returned to Baghdad College High School over the weekend for the first time since the war began. He found an al-Samoud 2 missile launcher parked in the schoolyard.
USATODAY.com | May 4, 2003 | 10:01 pm
U.S. to push lifting of U.N. sanctions this week The Bush administration expects to introduce a resolution to the United Nations Security Council this week that would lift U.N. sanctions against Iraq and phase out the U.N. oil-for-food program within a month. But such a move would likely reopen festering wounds from the council's bitter prewar debate.
USATODAY.com | May 5, 2003 | 10:48 am
Soldiers join black-market fuel duty, humanitarian mission Here in Iraq, sitting atop one of the world's largest petroleum reserves, the aftermath of war means that for many, the only source of gasoline and propane is the black market. And the very U.S. soldiers sent to break up the black market soon would find that they, too, had to turn to the illegal traffickers for fuel.
Rob Curtis | Military Times | May 5, 2003 | 5:26 pm
Most-wanted deck has card dealers flush with orders The five Army intelligence specialists behind the playing cards that show the 52 most-wanted Iraqis never imagined their creation would become this year's hottest collecting craze and a gold mine for companies selling Internet knock-offs. If they had, they might have kept a few decks.
USATODAY.com | May 5, 2003 | 8:51 pm
U.S. opens centers to hear, solve Iraqi complaints A U.S. tank crushed Hasan Hadi Abid Muhammed’s car. Now he wants someone to pay. Muhammed sought compensation from the Civil Military Assistance Center, a place where Iraqis can voice their complaints about coalition forces.
USA TODAY.com | May 5, 2003 | 10:52 pm
U.S. chief in Iraq replaced The White House hopes the appointment of L. Paul Bremer, who served in various posts during a 23-year State Department career, as the senior civilian in charge of rebuilding Iraq will quicken efforts to create a new government and bring aid into the country.
USATODAY.com | May 6, 2003 | 11:37 pm
Iraqi POWs rejoice over end of captivity Two hundred Iraqi POWs were released Tuesday from the Camp Bucca detention facility in southern Iraq. More than 6,700 prisoners of war — both civilian and military — have been released from the sprawling compound during the past two weeks.
USATODAY.com | May 6, 2003 | 11:46 pm
U.S.' new transition chief 'brings a lot to the table' Bureaucratic sharp elbows L. Paul Bremer gained as assistant to Secretary of State George Shultz during the Reagan administration should help Bremer, 61, as he tries to reconcile conflicting views both in Washington and in Baghdad and begins his new post as top civil administrator for Iraq.
USATODAY.com | May 6, 2003 | 11:55 pm
Hostility toward U.S. troops is running high in Baghdad Having easily won the war for Iraq, the United States has yet to win the peace. Iraqis say they view the U.S. military occupation with suspicion, anger and frustration. Many even say life was in some ways better under the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Possible mobile arms lab studied If the trailer turns out to be a weapons lab, it will be the first major piece of evidence to support U.S. allegations that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction.
USA TODAY.com | May 8, 2003 | 8:45 am
Doctors say former POW Lynch has no memory of ambush Rumors that amnesia caused Pfc. Jessica Lynch to forget what happened on March 23, when her 507th Maintenance Company convoy was attacked, have prompted her to speak out. Doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center say she does not have amnesia, but simply has no recollection of any events that may have occurred from the start of the ambush until she awoke in an Iraqi hospital.
The Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch | May 8, 2003 | 7:43 pm
Two U.S. soldiers slain in Baghdad Two U.S. soldiers were killed in separate attacks Thursday, the first such targeted killings of American servicemen since the days immediately following Baghdad's fall a month ago.
USATODAY.com | May 9, 2003 | 11:33 am
U.S., Britain seek to run Iraq for 1 year U.S. officials believe that the proposal to immediately lift sanctions would give a significant economic boost to the soon-to-be formed interim government in Iraq.
USATODAY.com | May 9, 2003 | 11:35 am
U.S. 'mayor of Baghdad' steps down A top U.S. official leading the reconstruction of postwar Iraq has been asked to step down amid complaints that the U.S. administration is working too slowly toward peace and stability.
USATODAY.com | May 11, 2003 | 10:47 pm
'Dr. Germ' surrenders to U.S. troops Pentagon officials said they hoped the two latest key figures from Saddam Hussein's toppled government taken into custody by the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq will provide them with details on Saddam's suspected weapons programs.
USATODAY.com | May 12, 2003 | 8:47 pm
U.S. reports recovery of Iraqi assets The bulk of the money from a $1 billion heist of the Iraqi central bank undertaken by one of Saddam Hussein's sons just before the war began likely never left the country and has been recovered by U.S. forces.
Glenn Blain | GNS | May 14, 2003 | 6:41 pm
Congress steps up criticism of rebuilding in Iraq Members of Congress stepped up criticism of the administration for not acting quicker to clamp down on increasing lawlessness in Iraq, but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the Pentagon still is deciding how many troops are needed.
Weapons search could take years The search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction could take years to complete, a senior Pentagon official told Congress Thursday.
USATODAY.com | May 16, 2003 | 12:25 am
Basra: 'Day by day, life is for the better' Long plagued by poverty and often targeted for retribution by Saddam Hussein's regime, Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, is showing signs of revival.
USATODAY.com | May 19, 2003 | 11:45 pm
Lynch on road to full recovery, physician says Pfc. Jessica Lynch is expected to make a full recovery and is progressing well through physical and occupational therapy, said Dr. Greg Argyros, the physician heading up a team working with the former prisoner of war at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch | May 22, 2003 | 7:17 pm
Army posthumously promotes female POW killed in Iraq The Army on Thursday announced that Lori Piestewa has been promoted, posthumously, from the rank of private first class to Army specialist. Meanwhile, a U.S. lawmaker says an "after-action" report into what happened to the Tuba City, Ariz., native and other members of the 507th Maintenance Unit is complete.
Arizona Republic | May 22, 2003 | 7:33 pm
Emotional reunion for Piestewa, Lynch families In a bittersweet and intensely private reunion, Pfc. Jessica Lynch was visited Saturday by the mother, father, and two young children of her fallen friend and comrade, Army Spc. Lori Piestewa.
Billy House | Arizona Republic | May 24, 2003 | 6:09 pm
Arlington ceremony honors Indian soldier killed in Iraq WASHINGTON - More than 400 people turned out on Memorial Day to salute Army Spc. Lori Piestewa, many of them bringing gifts, songs they'd written, and other tributes to the fallen soldier's family.
Billy House | The Arizona Republic | May 26, 2003 | 11:22 pm
Army opens probe into 507th ambush Brig. Gen. Howard Bromberg, commander of the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command at Fort Bliss, Texas, has ordered a ``commander's inquiry,'' into the March 23 ambush in Nasiriyah, Iraq, that made Pfc. Jessica Lynch and five other soldiers from her unit prisoners of war.
Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch | May 27, 2003 | 9:16 pm
'Saddam generation' waking up After 24 years of Saddam's suffocating tenure, Iraq's youth are waking up from an almost-comatose state.
USATODAY.com | May 28, 2003 | 12:26 am
Iraq war's widows learn to cope They are young women. And they are all widows. As the servicemen and women who fought the Iraq war trickle home, Latricia Bellard, Jill Kiehl and Shauna O'Day are among the dozens whose spouses will not be returning.
USATODAY.com | May 28, 2003 | 10:25 pm
On Cairo's streets, anxiety, anger toward U.S. More than six weeks after the fall of Baghdad, the Arab world is still spinning in shock. A chronic mood of uncertainty, fear and rage as thick as the layer of dust that permanently coats this city at the heart of the Middle East has settled over the region.
USATODAY.com | May 28, 2003 | 11:11 pm
Lynch family thanks community upon return home The parents of rescued prisoner of war Jessica Lynch, returning home for daughter Brandi's high school graduation, thanked their community and the nation Thursday for the support the family has received over the past two months.
The (Huntington, W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch | May 29, 2003 | 5:40 pm
Relief for U.S. troops lacking The Pentagon's search for troops from other nations to replace U.S. soldiers in the force that is stabilizing postwar Iraq has fallen short of expectations, and U.S. officials face the prospect of keeping more U.S. forces in Iraq than they had hoped, diplomats and military officials say.
Bush's war doctrine questioned The Bush administration's policy of taking pre-emptive military action against dangerous nations faces growing scrutiny from members of Congress who voted for war in Iraq but now wonder why Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction have not been found.
USATODAY.com | June 5, 2003 | 11:24 pm
Bush to troops: Mission accomplished President Bush ended his trip to Europe and the Middle East on Thursday reveling in the approving roar of troops at Camp As Sayliyah.
Modest former POW basks in glow of congressional tribute The Congressional Black Caucus honored former prisoner of war Shoshana Johnson in a rousing and emotional tribute Thursday. The event attracted dozens of congressional staffers, U.S. Army officials and a gaggle of reporters and photographers who packed a large room in the Rayburn House Office Building.
Sergio Bustos | GNS | June 12, 2003 | 7:55 pm
Iraqis in custody say Saddam survived Iraqi officials in U.S. custody have told coalition investigators that Saddam Hussein and his sons survived the March 19 and April 7 airstrikes on residential compounds where the CIA believed they were meeting, and that they are still in Iraq, senior U.S. military officials here say.
USATODAY.com | June 12, 2003 | 10:34 pm
Uranium reports doubted early on Almost a year before President Bush alleged in his State of the Union address that Iraq tried to buy uranium ore in Africa — seeming proof of an Iraqi effort to build a nuclear bomb — the CIA gave the White House information that raised doubts about the claim.
USATODAY.com | June 12, 2003 | 10:43 pm
Short conflict, less ammo kept war cost down A short conflict that used fewer missiles, sparked fewer oil field fires and created fewer refugees than anticipated produced a lower-than-expected financial cost for the major combat in Iraq.
USATODAY.com | June 12, 2003 | 10:57 pm
Weak spy network hurt U.S. hunt for arms in Iraq Slightly more than a year before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the CIA launched a major effort to rebuild its network of Iraqi agents, which had been badly depleted by repeated purges.
John Diamond | USA TODAY | June 16, 2003 | 10:43 pm
Broad purges wiped out most Iraqis helping CIA In the 12 years between the two wars the United States fought against Iraq, Saddam Hussein waged a bloody and largely successful campaign to find and kill Iraqis spying for the CIA.
John Diamond | USA TODAY | June 16, 2003 | 10:45 pm
No. 4 most-wanted Iraqi captured U.S. forces have captured Saddam Hussein's presidential secretary and No. 4 on the Pentagon's most-wanted list of Iraqi leaders.
Tom Squitieri | USA TODAY | June 18, 2003 | 10:33 pm
Iraq work puts Bechtel in spotlight The decaying opulence of Saddam Hussein's former palace grounds in Baghdad is home to a squadron of Bechtel engineers camped out Beverly Hillbillies-style in a collection of two-bedroom portable homes. "This place is surreal," says Thor Christiansen, a Bechtel project manager. Almost as surreal has been the growing interest in Bechtel.
USATODAY.com | June 19, 2003 | 10:55 pm
U.S.: Weapon search has barely begun President Bush is not worried about charges that he exaggerated the threat of Iraq's weapons, in part because he believes the search has barely begun, senior administration officials say.
USATODAY.com | June 19, 2003 | 10:59 pm
Pressure mounts on Bush to open up Iraq intelligence probe The Bush administration and key congressional Republicans have thus far managed to keep the investigation of intelligence used to justify pre-emptive war against Iraq behind closed doors on Capitol Hill. But there are signs the pressure for a more public airing of the intelligence is having an effect.
John Yaukey | GNS | June 20, 2003 | 4:16 pm
U.S. to rebuild Iraqi army The Iraqi army, gutted by U.S. forces during three months of war and officially disbanded only weeks ago, soon will be rebuilt by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, officials said Monday.
Christian Lowe | Marine Corps Times | June 23, 2003 | 5:50 pm
Steven Komarow | USA TODAY | June 23, 2003 | 11:22 pm
Rumsfeld downplays reports convoy attack targeted Saddam The Defense Secretary said Tuesday that he had "no reason to believe" Saddam Hussein or any senior Iraqi officials were killed in a U.S. strike on a convoy near the Syria-Iraq border last week.
USA TODAY | June 24, 2003 | 10:44 pm
Lugar says U.S. efforts lagging in Iraq A day after returning from viewing reconstruction efforts in Iraq, the Senate's leader on foreign relations, Richard Lugar, said the United States has to ``fundamentally correct'' its ability to help nations like Iraq rebuild and become working democracies.
Maureen Groppe and Erin Kelly | GNS | June 25, 2003 | 5:57 pm
Buying own gear is common for troops Col. Mike Smith, a senior officer in the Army unit that equips front-line soldiers, was not surprised when an internal "lessons learned" study of equipment used in the war in Iraq turned up a long list of gear so ill-regarded by soldiers that they spent their own money to modify or replace it.
USATODAY.com | June 25, 2003 | 11:27 pm
Iraqi people paying for Saddam loyalists' attacks Paul Bremer, the top U.S. administrator in Iraq, blames rogue elements of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's Baath Party for a recent rash of attacks on U.S. forces and Iraqi infrastructure, which he says are hurting the Iraqi people.
Christian Lowe | Marine Corps Times | June 26, 2003 | 4:50 pm
Dan Vergano | USA TODAY | June 29, 2003 | 10:57 pm
Humanitarian groups alarmed by water emergencies in Iraq On May 15, the newly arrived chief of the U.S.-led civilian authority described Basra's water quality as good. The pronouncement was in stark contrast with comments from World Health Organization and UNICEF officials who at that moment were warning of waterborne epidemics in Iraq's second-largest city.
Attacks, weapons controversy eroding public confidence The failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the recent spate of deadly attacks on U.S. troops there is sharply eroding public confidence in the war effort, a USA TODAY-CNN-Gallup Poll shows.
Richard Benedetto | GNS | June 30, 2003 | 10:42 pm
U.S. forces capture Iraqis suspected of leading attacks U.S. forces in a series of predawn raids on Tuesday captured two top Baath Party leaders suspected of organizing attacks against coalition troops and the sabotage of Iraqi infrastructure. The raids in this town south of Saddam's birthplace of Tikrit came on the third day of a major counter-insurgency push dubbed Operation Sidewinder.
Christian Lowe | Marine Corps Times | July 1, 2003 | 6:13 pm
U.S. in a race to head off guerrilla war Guerrilla-style attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq have increased. Since May 1, when President Bush declared major combat operations over, 25 U.S. soldiers have been killed in hostile action. To counter the attacks, U.S. forces are using a two-pronged strategy they have favored since the early days of the Vietnam War.
USATODAY.com | July 2, 2003 | 11:35 pm
Photographer seeks out subject of picture made famous at war‘s start The image of the small boy, wounded in an American attack, in the arms of a clean-cut American medic who carried him to safety appeared on front pages around the world. Army Times photographer Warren Zinn, who took the photo, went back to the now sleepy village over the weekend to find out the human costs of America's war in Iraq.
Christian Lowe | Marine Corps Times | July 6, 2003 | 6:24 pm
Marine whose unit helped rescue Lynch killed in crash A Marine whose unit was involved in rescuing Army Pvt. Jessica Lynch died in a weekend car crash after returning home for the first time since fighting in Iraq, authorities said.
Paul Alongi | The Greenville (S.C.) News | July 7, 2003 | 7:12 pm
Abizaid known for bravery, brains The new commander of U.S. military operations in the region that includes Iraq comes to the job with unusual credentials. Army Gen. John Abizaid, who replaced Gen. Tommy Franks on Monday as head of U.S. Central Command, is a fluent Arabic speaker who studied at the University of Amman in Jordan and has an advanced degree from Harvard.
USATODAY.com | July 7, 2003 | 11:47 pm
Former NFL player back safely from Middle East Former Arizona Cardinal football player Pat Tillman and his brother Kevin have returned stateside from Operation Iraqi Freedom and have been selected by the Army to participate in a three-month-long elite Ranger training regimen.
Tim Tyers | The Arizona Republic | July 8, 2003 | 5:38 pm
Bush defends prewar uranium claim The president said he is "absolutely confident" in his actions despite the discovery that one claim he made about Saddam Hussein's weapons pursuits was based on false information. He made the claim in his State of the Union address.
Judy Keen | USA TODAY | July 9, 2003 | 10:26 am
Number of troops in Iraq expected to remain steady The U.S. force size in Iraq likely will remain at about 145,000 for ``the foreseeable future,'' possibly scaled back only by several thousand as foreign troops rotate in this summer, the war's top two commanders said Wednesday.
John Yaukey | GNS | July 9, 2003 | 5:11 pm
Army report sheds little light on women soldiers' actions An official Army report on the Iraqi ambush of the 507th Maintenance Company pays scant attention to any individual actions taken by Pfc. Jessica Lynch or Spc. Lori Piestewa.
Billy House | The Arizona Repubic | July 9, 2003 | 9:06 pm
Allies balk at sending troops The Pentagon is beginning to bring some of the longest-serving ground troops home from Iraq but is having trouble with its long-term plan to replace American troops with soldiers from other nations.
USATODAY.com | July 9, 2003 | 11:40 pm
White House downplays role of faulty report The Bush administration defended on Wednesday its decision to go to war against Iraq and downplayed the role of discredited intelligence in the decision.
USATODAY.com | July 9, 2003 | 11:48 pm
Angry Iraqi leaders anxious to fill political vacuum The disconnect between what some Iraqi leaders believe they had been promised in postwar Iraq and the reality of founding a democracy there is at the core of increasingly strained relations with the United States. Even members of the seven leading Iraqi exile groups that argued for the U.S.-led invasion feel a sense of betrayal.
Greg Barrett | GNS | July 10, 2003 | 3:11 pm
Kerry says Bush bungled Iraq war Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry accused President Bush Thursday of bungling the occupation of Iraq and demanded he seek international help in bringing order to the country. Kerry warned that America was now perceived as ``an occupying power'' and that Iraqi resistance could grow if a broader coalition does not become involved.
Jon Frandsen | GNS | July 10, 2003 | 6:38 pm
Powell: Critics of Bush reaching Secretary of State Colin Powell defended the Bush administration Thursday against intensifying criticism of the use of bogus intelligence to help make the case for war on Iraq. But he was pressed to explain how the tainted evidence made it into President Bush's State of the Union address.
USATODAY.com | July 10, 2003 | 11:13 pm
Spouses, kids endure own agonies of war After Lydia Teutsch puts her two daughters to bed each night, the young captain's wife tidies up her home. Her husband, Christian, is in Iraq, and she knows that at any hour, a casualty officer and chaplain could arrive with terrible news.
USATODAY.com | July 10, 2003 | 11:17 pm
Senators' call for NATO in Iraq will be hard for Bush to ignore The Senate's striking 97-0 resolution asking the president to approach NATO for help on the ground in Iraq with a peacekeeping force similar to the one deployed in the Balkans takes the debate over involving NATO from Sunday talk shows and editorial pages and drops it square on the desk of President Bush.
John Yaukey | GNS | July 11, 2003 | 5:55 pm
Uranium case riddled with questions Sixteen words in President Bush's State of the Union address alleging that Iraq tried to buy uranium in Africa have exploded six months later into a controversy over the Bush administration's case for war in Iraq.
Tenet taking the hit on Iraq CIA Director George Tenet's hold on power, already weakened by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has reached its most tenuous point now that he has been blamed for President Bush's unsubstantiated charge in his State of the Union address that Iraq sought to buy uranium for nuclear weapons from Africa.
USATODAY.com | July 14, 2003 | 11:56 pm
Key lawmakers predict Saddam's arsenal will be found Reps. Porter Goss, R-Fla., and Jane Harman, D-Calif., leading members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, predicted evidence of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction program will be found, but warned that the findings might not be what Americans expect.
John Yaukey and Larry Wheeler | GNS | July 15, 2003 | 5:33 pm
Bob Withers | Huntington Herald-Dispatch | July 16, 2003 | 12:02 am
Justice Dept. delegation to Iraq couldn't work or talk Members of an American delegation sent to Iraq to begin restoring that nation's civilian justice system made little progress and were restricted from publicly discussing their work, said a federal judge who was part of the group.
USATODAY.com | July 16, 2003 | 11:27 pm
Senate committee to widen its intelligence inquiry The Senate Intelligence Committee indicated Wednesday that it will widen its investigation into President Bush's disputed charges last January about Iraq's attempts to buy uranium in Africa, going beyond the CIA's responsibility to examine the White House's role in the controversy.
USATODAY.com | July 16, 2003 | 11:29 pm
A gung-ho young soldier falls victim to a Baghdad sniper Army Spc. Jeffrey Wershow never let his guard down. His buddies nicknamed him "The General" because he strode about with a sense of purpose and confidence. Wershow, 22, was a stickler for rules and regulations. So it was a shock on July 6 when the aspiring politician from Gainesville, Fla., was gunned down on the campus of Baghdad University after buying a 7-Up.
USATODAY.com | July 16, 2003 | 11:59 pm
U.S. troops in Iraq facing guerrilla warfare The new commander of U.S. forces in Iraq said Wednesday that coalition troops are facing a "classical guerrilla-type campaign" from insurgents whose tactics are growing more sophisticated.
USATODAY.com | July 16, 2003 | 11:59 pm
Thoughts of family sustained 507th soldier during ambush Army Sgt. Matthew Rose is among the first members of Fort Bliss' 507th Maintenance Company to talk openly about events that led to the deadly March 23 attack on U.S. soldiers during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He said he thought only of his wife and six children during the ordeal.
Laura Cruz | El Paso Times | July 17, 2003 | 1:26 pm
Senate probe on Iraq intelligence aims at White House staff Pressure mounted on President Bush Thursday to clear up how questionable intelligence about Iraq made its way into his State of the Union speech, and a key Senate committee chairman said he would ask some of Bush's top national security advisers to testify about their role.
Jon Frandsen and John Yaukey | GNS | July 17, 2003 | 7:15 pm
Congress gives Blair a cheering-up In his country, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is in political trouble. His appearances at Parliament's "question time" have provoked angry heckling from legislators on the left and right. But when he appeared before a joint session of Congress on Thursday, the British leader got a reception that can only be described as rapturous.
USATODAY.com | July 17, 2003 | 11:43 pm
Acts of sabotage declining, U.S. administrator says Despite deadly attacks on U.S. forces, the top civilian administrator in Iraq said Thursday that the number of attempts to sabotage power lines, pipelines and other infrastructure have decreased over the past six weeks.
USATODAY.com | July 17, 2003 | 11:44 pm
Soldiers, families speak out Military towns are known as much for their stoicism as their patriotism. So it's a little unsettling to residents here, home to Fort Stewart and the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, that some soldiers in Iraq and their wives here at home are publicly unburdening their anxieties and frustration.
USATODAY.com | July 17, 2003 | 11:47 pm
Gunnery sergeant's enterprise prospers in Karbala Gunnery Sgt. Brian Davis didn't expect his deployment to Iraq to be his first venture into small business. But with creature comforts hard to come by in this town about 50 miles south of Baghdad, Davis' duties include improving the quality of life for his Marines with Headquarters and Support Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines.
Christian Lowe | Marine Corps Times | July 18, 2003 | 5:48 pm
Well wishes - and lots of mail - will greet Lynch Vast throngs of people are expected to line the streets of Elizabeth and Palestine, W.Va., Tuesday to welcome Pfc. Jessica Lynch home, but some of the residents have tackled large numbers for four months now - specifically, the mountains of mail addressed to Lynch.
The Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch | July 18, 2003 | 6:43 pm
When Lynch goes home, it'll be to a much bigger place Well wishers at Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch's home when she gets there Tuesday might want to watch her facial expressions closely. She will see - for the first time - a family home that has virtually doubled in size and now features handicap-accessibility.
Bob Withers | The Huntington Herald-Dispatch | July 18, 2003 | 7:32 pm
Americans eager to hear Lynch speak Former POW Jessica Lynch breaks her silence Tuesday. She's expected to arrive by helicopter in her home of Wirt County, W.Va., and give a statement before riding with a motorcade to her newly remodeled home. The statement will be the first that she's made aloud, and Americans everywhere are eager to hear what she'll say.
Jean Tarbett | Huntington Herald-Dispatch | July 19, 2003 | 7:43 pm
Lynch may affect perception of women in combat As former POW Jessica Lynch prepares to return home to West Virginia Tuesday - after more than three months of treatment and physical and occupational therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center - the impact of her story on the future of women in the military has yet to be crafted.
Jean Tarbett | Huntington Herald-Dispatch | July 19, 2003 | 7:49 pm
Rescued POW Lynch awarded medals for Iraq actions Wounded Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, the first rescued prisoner of war in Iraq, was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and POW medals Monday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
GNS | July 21, 2003 | 9:10 pm
Lynch's friends line streets Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 20, is the POW whose capture and rescue made her the most famous face of the Iraq war. Questions remain about the details of her ordeal in Iraq. But the people here who prayed for Lynch after her capture and during her recovery say that doesn't diminish her courage.
USATODAY.com | July 21, 2003 | 11:44 pm
War in Iraq's aftermath hits troops hard More than three months after Baghdad fell, American soldiers are not being treated like liberators. Instead, they are mired in a guerrilla war, according to Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of U.S. forces in the region.
USATODAY.com | July 21, 2003 | 11:47 pm
Piestewa's brother remembers his lost sister The shiny watch made it back from Iraq, but Wayland Piestewa's sister, Lori, did not. Wayland pulled the watch from his pocket and showed it to a group of 50 high school journalism students - the first time he has shown it to anyone outside his family.
Kristen Go | The Arizona Republic | July 22, 2003 | 1:31 pm
Rescued POW Lynch returns to W.Va. Wounded Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, the first rescued prisoner of war in Iraq, returned Tuesday to her native West Virginia. She began her first public comments with words of thanks.
The (Huntington, W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch | July 22, 2003 | 3:49 pm
Killing Saddam's sons good news for Bush, troops Odai, the drug-using sadist, and Qusai, the merciless military commander being groomed to rule Iraq, struck almost as much terror in Iraqis as their father Saddam Hussein. Confirmation that both sons were killed Tuesday after a firefight north of Baghdad comes as much needed good news for both Baghdad and Washington.
John Yaukey | GNS | July 22, 2003 | 10:37 pm
The media came - and Lynch's hometown was ready About 50 media personnel arrived on Sunday to prepare for Tuesday's coverage of former POW Jessica Lynch's homecoming. By mid-afternoon Tuesday, more than 350 media personnel had gone through a West Virginia Division of Tourism check-in point.
The (Huntington, W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch | July 22, 2003 | 10:39 pm
Appalachian culture mistrusts outside media Since the capture, rescue and recuperation of renowned Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, the Lynch family has remained relatively quiet. Experts who have studied Appalachian culture point to a community mindset that results in a fear of being misrepresented by ``outsiders.''
The (Huntington, W.Va) Herald-Dispatch | July 22, 2003 | 10:44 pm
Sons followed father's cruel path The announcement that the two brothers had been killed in a six-hour firefight with U.S. forces in Mosul on Tuesday was the most powerful sign since the fall of Baghdad that the circle was closing on Saddam's regime.
Lynch family celebrates homecoming as media seeks story Jubilation was the order of the day along Mayberry Run Road when former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch arrived at her newly renovated home in Palestine, W.Va. News media outlets hope to land an interview.
The Herald-Dispatch | July 23, 2003 | 8:06 pm
Pentagon unveils troop rotation plan The Defense Department said Wednesday that it will bring home long-serving Army and Marine troops from Iraq by October, replacing them with fresh U.S. and international troops who could serve there for up to a year.
USATODAY.com | July 23, 2003 | 11:03 pm
Questions dog White House days It's not over yet. The White House can't seem to put an end to questions about disputed intelligence on Iraq's nuclear weapons program. The issue dominated the daily White House news briefing again Wednesday.
USATODAY.com | July 23, 2003 | 11:14 pm
9-11 report has Washington pondering its place in the world The capital of the free world is torn by two competing world views: one that positions the United States as sole protector of its destiny, and another that says the United States cannot - and should not - go it alone. Never was that more apparent than on Thursd
