Our Military...

JOB WELL DONE!

Iraqi citizen kisses poster of President Bush after military forces take over Baghdad.

Saddam Hussein Falls to U.S. Forces.

United Justice Special Report

Iraq War News

· The proud and the under-rewarded in Iraq. Lance Corporal (Billy W.) Peixotto was incredible. He was slowing the blood flow with one hand, laying fire on the enemy with the other and directing fire from a radio another Marine held for him.

What does he get in return? A $5 scrap of metal embellished with a small red ribbon - the exact same medal awarded Jessica Lynch for being knocked out in a truck crash while attempting to flee a similar enemy ambush, and the same given to an Air Force colonel for keeping good records.

· Major Iraqi Nuclear Plants Looted. A major radioactive waste site in Iraq has been looted and U.S. officials have little idea whether nuclear material is missing, according to a news report. more...

· Plans grow for patriotic rally. A caravan led by Philadelphia-based radio talk show host Glenn Beck will travel through the United States’ heartland the week leading to the Memorial Day weekend rally in Huntington. Country music star Tracy Byrd will give a 30-minute concert at the Huntington rally scheduled to be held at Marshall University Stadium. more...

· US pulls out of Saudi Arabia. The United States has said that virtually all its troops, except some training personnel, are to be pulled out of Saudi Arabia. more...

· GIs Return Fire on Iraqi Protest; 15 Claimed Dead. American soldiers opened fire on an Iraqi protest after being fired upon in a town 30 miles west of Baghdad, a U.S. officer said Tuesday, with the director of Fallujah General Hospital claiming 13 Iraqis killed and 75 injured. more...

· Iraqis target Gen. Franks for war crimes trial. Iraqi civilians are preparing a complaint to present in court in Belgium accusing allied commander Gen. Tommy Franks and other U.S. military officials of war crimes in Iraq, according to the attorney representing the plaintiffs. more...

· Bush Aims to Say Military Part of War Over Next Week, Aides Say. President George W. Bush intends to use a speech aboard a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier next week to declare that the military phase of the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq has come to an end, two administration officials said. more...

· U.S., Iraqis Seek Justice System to Try War Criminals. As the U.S.-led coalition continues to round up top members of Saddam Hussein's regime, American and Iraqi officials are hammering out exactly how to prosecute Saddam loyalists accused of participating in brutal war and humanitarian crimes. more...

· New Clues in Missing-Pilot Case. American investigators may be one step closer to determining the fate of Navy pilot Scott Speicher, who has been missing in Iraq since the first Gulf War. more...

· Scientists: Bacteria Destruction Ordered In Iraq. Six Iraqi scientists working at different Baghdad research institutions were ordered to destroy some bacteria and equipment and hide more in their homes before visits from U.N. weapons inspectors in the months leading up to the war, the scientists told The Associated Press. more...

· Terrorist devices, chemical weapons found in Iraq. more...

· Rebuilding to Begin as Gen. Garner Lands in Baghdad. Retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Jay Garner arrived in Baghdad Monday for his first postwar visit as U.S. forces and Iraqi police kept the peace in a city still largely without power, clean water or a clear political direction.

Garner, who is leading reconstruction efforts in Iraq, is expected to arrange for an interim civil authority in Baghdad. An Iraqi opposition figure who proclaimed himself mayor days ago and said he had formed a municipal government is not recognized by the United States, Reuters reported. more...

· Armed Marines Guard $1 Billion in Gold. U.S. Marines with machine guns and tanks stood watch Friday over what they estimated was $1 billion in gold -- safeguarding bank vaults that withstood direct rocket-propelled grenade hits by robbers determined to fight their way in. more...

· 'We Would Like to Thank Americans.' Showing the camaraderie that helped get them through their ordeal, seven American POWs who were rescued in Iraq waved at well-wishers Friday from a balcony at this military medical facility and said they couldn't wait to get home. more...

· Saddam's Brother Caught. US Special Forces have captured Saddam Hussein's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Central Command says. Al-Tikriti was arrested in Baghdad after a tip-off, Centcom said. more...

· U.S. soldier alive after being shot eight times. A teenage US soldier has told of his relief to be alive after being shot eight times by Iraqi snipers. Private Michael Wayne Meyer, 18, of Austin, Texas, says he has no regrets about not making it all the way to the Baghdad. more...

· Freed POWs Stick Together. The seven American POWs rescued in Iraq had vastly different backgrounds and responsibilities within the armed forces. Thrown together by adversity, they are now inseparable. "They became a team. They want to stay together as a team. The military has sayings for that -- `You never leave your wingman.' `You never leave your buddy,"' said Col. Mark McGuire. more...

· Rumsfeld: U.S. Forces Shut Down Illegal Oil Pipeline. U.S. military engineers have reported that they shut down a pipeline used for illegal oil shipments from Iraq to Syria, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said. more...

· Syria Next? Syrians join Iraq 'jihad.' Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of volunteers have crossed into Iraq since the war there started. There are reports that they are still fighting American forces in areas abandoned by Iraqi troops. more...

Powell: No Military Action Planned for Syria. Trying to calm a charged atmosphere, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday the United States has no plans to go to war with Syria or anyone else to bring democracy to a totalitarian state. more...

· Saddam's son had photos of Bush twins. U.S. soldiers made an unusual discovery in the palace of one of Saddam Hussein's sons in Baghdad - photos of President Bush's twin daughters. more...

· War 'close to end' after Tikrit seized. US Central Command says the war in Iraq is "coming to a close" after US troops took control of the northern city of Tikrit, the hometown of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. more...

· POWs on day their lives took a wrong turn. The US Army convoy took the wrong turn just after dawn on March 23. It had wandered into the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah by mistake and suddenly it seemed that every Iraqi was shooting at it. Specialist Shoshana Johnson, of the 507th Maintenance Company, said: "We got turned around and then lost and we rolled into Nasiriyah before it was secure and when we rolled in there was an ambush waiting for us." more...

· Seven Missing U.S. Soldiers Found Alive in Iraq. U.S. Marines have found seven missing U.S. troops on the road between Baghdad and Tikrit and they appear to be healthy, Gen. Tommy Franks said Sunday. An Iraqi tipped off the Marines who were near Samarra and were closing in on Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein, that they would shortly "come in contact with a number of Americans." more...

· Russia spied on Blair for Saddam. Top secret documents obtained by The Telegraph in Baghdad show that Russia provided Saddam Hussein's regime with wide-ranging assistance in the months leading up to the war, including intelligence on private conversations between Tony Blair and other Western leaders. more...

· Iraqi Police, Marines Plan Joint Patrols. The U.S. military and the Iraqi police said Saturday they have agreed to joint patrols to restore order in Baghdad. more...

· Saddam's 'Love Shack.' US troops have discovered what they described as Saddam Hussein's "love shack" in Baghdad. Reports said the secret hideaway resembled "a playboy's fantasy straight from the 1960s." Troops said it reminded them of the Austin Powers spy spoofs. more...

Palace of Saddam's Son Reveals Love of Fast Life. His personal zoo has lions, cheetahs and a bear. His storehouse has $1 million in fine wines, liquor and heroin. His house has Cuban cigars, cases of champagne and downloaded pictures of prostitutes. more...

· Marines Find Cache of Suicide Vests. U.S. marines have found an enormous cache of homicide bomb vests in an elementary school in central Baghdad. On the floor of the science classroom -- with a picture of Saddam Hussein on the green chalk board -- there lay nearly 50 black leather vests each packed with C4 explosives and ball bearings. more...

· Bush Sr. no longer doormat in Baghdad hotel. At the Al-Rashid Hotel, President Bush the elder — father of the current American chief executive who ordered this year's invasion of Iraq — is a doormat no more. U.S. soldiers visited the battered Al-Rashid hotel on Thursday night wielding hammers and chisels, and dug out the intricate tile mosaic of the former president that was used for years as a state-sponsored insult. In its place, they laid a portrait of Saddam Hussein. more...

· Iraqi Leaders Are Nowhere To Be Seen.
Forces May Be Protecting Figures Near Syria Border.

Secret CIA and military teams in Iraq and surveillance devices set up to monitor Saddam Hussein's inner circle reported yesterday that nearly the entire Iraqi leadership had vanished. more...

· U.S. Distributes Iraqi Most-Wanted List. The U.S. military has issued a most-wanted list in the form of a deck of cards, and Saddam Hussein is the ace of spades in the pack of 55 top figures in his toppled regime. more...

· Saddam's Palaces Are Tasteless and Tacky. With its gold-plated faucets and bidets, marble-covered walls and man-made waterfalls, some of Saddam Hussein’s palaces have proven just as lavish as many imagined. more...

For Sale: Fixer Upper. Saddam Hussein's luxury yacht the al Mansur. The yacht was heavily bombed by U.S. aircraft while moored in Basra, southern Iraq.

· Underground Nuclear Facility Found in Iraq. U.S. officials are investigating a massive underground nuclear facility that was discovered below the Al Tuwaitha complex of the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission in a suburban town south of Baghdad. more...

· Arabs Shocked; Won't Believe Al-Jazeera anymore. "We discovered that all what the (Iraqi) information minister was saying was all lies," said Ali Hassan, a government employee in Cairo, Egypt. "Now no one believes Al-Jazeera anymore." more...

Some news anchors glum amid Iraqi jubilation. The press did not question the raising of the American flag over Iwo Jima back in 1945. But only minutes after President Saddam Hussein's statue toppled before overjoyed Iraqis, NBC's Kelly O'Donnell asked Central Command spokesman U.S. Navy Capt. Frank Thorpe whether it was appropriate for Marine Cpl. Edward Chin to briefly cover the statue's face with a U.S. flag. more...

'Hanoi Jane' fears 'entire world' will now unite against U.S. Jane Fonda told a Canadian audience that she fears the U.S. campaign in Iraq will turn people all over the world against America. "What it's going to mean for (America's) stability as a nation, for terrorism, for the economy - I can't imagine," Fonda said Tuesday. "I think the entire world is going to be united against us." more...

· Baghdad falls to U.S. forces. The government of Saddam Hussein has lost control over Baghdad, with the advance of U.S. forces into the center of the capital. U.S. tanks drove unhindered into public squares on the eastern bank of the Tigris for the first time. more...

· Baghdad Battle is Won. American tanks have reached the centre of Baghdad for the first time. Journalists at the Palestine Hotel where most of the international media is based watched the tanks roll up and park outside. "It's an extrordinary sight," said Sky's David Chater who has been at the hotel for more than eight weeks, "and a very welcome one. We can now say what we feel and what we like." more...

Iraqis Celebrate in Streets. The US military today said that Saddam Hussein's regime is over as jubilant Iraqis greeted American troops mopping up fading resistance in Baghdad. more...

· BBC says Iraqi bomb, not US tank probably killed journalists. The BBC's defence correspondent Andrew Gilligan has cast doubt on whether the missile that killed two journalists in Baghdad today was fired by a US tank, speculating that Iraqi soldiers may have launched the lethal attack. more...

· Saddam: Dead Or Alive? Even as a lot of Iraqis celebrate in Baghdad -- convinced that Saddam Hussein's regime has fallen - nobody knows for sure where he is. more...

· British intelligence: Saddam survived attack. Saddam Hussein survived an attack on a building in Baghdad in which he was reported to have been meeting his sons Uday and Qusay on Monday afternoon, British intelligence sources said last night. "He was probably not in the building when it was bombed," a well-placed source said. The source added it was believed that President Saddam had been in the building earlier. more...

· President Bush Designates a POW Day. President Bush designated Wednesday as a day of national recognition for former U.S. prisoners of war and pledged to work for the safe return of Americans captured in the Iraq war. more...

· Fighting Continues After U.S. Tries to Kill Saddam. "There's a strong chance we got Saddam and probably both sons," senior U.S. officials told Fox News. The officials said the CIA provided the intelligence that led to the strike, and it was not immediately clear whether any leadership targets were killed or wounded.

A coalition A-10 "warthog" warplane went down near Baghdad. The pilot ejected safely and was recovered near the airport. A Central Command official said it appears that the plane was shot down by an Iraqi missile. more...

· Airstrike may have killed Saddam. A U.S. Air Force warplane dropped four 2,000 pound bombs Monday, leaving a 60 foot deep crater at a residential complex where “extremely reliable” intelligence indicated that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and one or both of his sons were attending a meeting, senior administration officials told NBC News. The sources would not rule out the possibility that Saddam could have moved before the bomber struck, but they said it was likely that he and his sons were dead. more...

'This Is the Big One.' A U.S. B-1 bomber that aimed to kill Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Baghdad dropped four satellite-guided bombs only 12 minutes after receiving orders that "this is the big one," the plane's weapons officer said. more...

DNA test on bunker body. The ruins of the restaurant where Saddam Hussein may have died will be searched for DNA material that may identify him. The same process is already under way with what is believed to be the remains of Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan Al Majid - known as "Chemical Ali." more...

· New Products Aim to Save Lives on the Battlefield. Bleeding to death has been the number one cause of death among injured soldiers on the battlefield since the Civil War, but medical research is utilizing everything from shrimp shells to volcanic matter to clot wounds and save lives. more...

· Antiwar protesters try to block war supplies shipment at Oakland port. Police opened fire with non-lethal projectiles at an anti-war protest at the Port of Oakland on Monday, injuring at least a dozen demonstrators and six longshoremen standing nearby. more...

· U.S. missile hits Al-Jazeera office in Baghdad. A US missile hit the Baghdad offices of Al-Jazeera television early today, wounding a cameraman and leaving a correspondent missing, the Qatar-based Arabic news network said. more...

Flashback: November 13, 2001 - The Kabul, Afghanistan office of the Arab satellite TV channel al-Jazeera was destroyed by what it claims was a U.S. missile. more...

· Half of U.S. Troop Deaths Said Accidental. Since the war began in Iraq, one American soldier has been electrocuted, at least two others have drowned and nine more have died in automobile wrecks. All appear to be victims of accidents, which so far are responsible for about half the fatalities among U.S. troops sent to the Middle East for the war. more...

· BUSTED: U.S. Finds Missiles with Chemical Weapons. U.S. forces near Baghdad found a weapons cache of around 20 medium-range missiles equipped with potent chemical weapons, the U.S. news station National Public Radio reported on Monday. more...

· Troops relax at Saddam's Palace. US forces today smashed their way into central Baghdad, seizing Saddam Hussein's main presidential palace and killing hundreds of Iraqi troops in fierce firefights. more...

· Iraqis celebrate freedom. JUBILANT Iraqis celebrate their new-found freedom yesterday — by tearing down a statue of hated tyrant Saddam Hussein. Hundreds begged US troops to help tie a rope around the 17ft high bronze figure and take a blowtorch to its ankles. more...

· In Denial: Iraq's Information Minister Tell's Iraqis - 'Siege?'.. 'What Siege?' With U.S. tanks rolling into central Baghdad, Iraq's information minister denied in a rooftop news conference Monday that the Americans were in the city, declaring: "Be assured Baghdad is safe, secure and great." more...

· Allies Clamp Down on Urban Fronts. As aerial assaults on Iraq's capital continued Monday, U.S. troops barreled through the heart of Baghdad just after dawn with a dramatic show of force designed to prove the coalition could enter the Iraqi capital with impunity. more...

· 'Chemical Ali' Found Dead in Basra. Ali Hassan al-Majid, dubbed "Chemical Ali" by opponents of the Iraqi regime for ordering a poison gas attack that killed thousands of Kurds, has been found dead, a British officer said. more...

· US moves to encircle Baghdad. American troops have strengthened their positions around Baghdad amid fierce fighting on the outskirts of the city. more...

· First U.S. aircraft arrives at Baghdad Airport. The first American plane landed at Baghdad airport and U.S. forces finished surrounding the Iraqi capital Sunday as Saddam Hussein's regime continued to crumble. more...

· NBC's Bloom Dies. David Bloom, NBC's embedded reporter with the Army's Third Infantry Division in Iraq, died last night of a pulmonary embolism. He was 39. more...

Complete Coverage of David Bloom death. more...

· Marchers Protest Ban on Yellow Ribbons in N.J. Town. Unhappy with the mayor's policy banning yellow ribbons on municipal property, ralliers marched through town Saturday, tacking the offending emblems on everything from the front door of the town hall to the mayor's car. more...

· Iraq gives up its grim secrets. Abandoned warehouse is a tomb for hundreds of tortured and executed Iraqis. The coffins are laid out in neat rows in an abandoned warehouse. In each lies a crumpled bag of bones, old and dusty but still recognisably human. Out of the open end of one sack, a skull can be seen buried in the fragments of skeleton. Its eye sockets are empty. Its teeth are smashed. Two ribs point out like accusing fingers. more...

· First American Journalist, Michael Kelly, Mourned. When the head of the Washington Post Writers Group syndicate last spoke with Michael Kelly on Wednesday, he told him: "Mike, be careful." Kelly replied: "I'm fine." He wasn't for long. It was reported today that The Washington Post/WPWG columnist was killed in a Humvee accident while embedded with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq. Kelly, 46, was the first American journalist to die in the war. more...

· Fallen Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The official list of American servicemen killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom (updated daily). more...

List of captured and missing American troops. more...

· Coalition discovers 'suspicious' chemical site near Baghdad. U.S. troops found thousands of boxes of white powder, nerve agent antidote and Arabic documents on how to engage in chemical warfare at an industrial site south of Baghdad, a U.S. officer said more...

· Car Explodes in Iraq, Killing Three Coalition Soldiers, Pregnant Woman. A car exploded near a coalition checkpoint in western Iraq, killing three coalition soldiers, a pregnant woman and the car's driver, U.S. Central Command said Friday. more...

· Soldier's baby is named 'Freedom' An Army officer will be coming home to Freedom. Jessyca Hurter figured Freedom was the perfect middle name for her new baby. more...

· U.S. troops face little resistance in fight over Baghdad airport. U.S. forces fought for Baghdad airport early on Friday in the first ground attack on the Iraqi capital since the start of the 16-day war aimed at toppling President Saddam Hussein. Military sources said that 320 Iraqi troops were killed in the gunfights taking place at the airport. more...

· Hornet hit by Patriot Missile. A US fighter bomber may have been shot down in a friendly fire incident. Reports from Washington claim the F/A-18 Hornet was shot down by a Patriot missile. Earlier it was thought the plane was downed by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile. A Black Hawk helicopter was also hit by small arms fire - but new US reports claim mechanical failure may have caused the crash. more...

· Concert-goers jam exits after anti-Bush display. Incensed fans walked out of Pearl Jam's concert Tuesday after lead singer Eddie Vedder impaled a mask of President Bush on a microphone stand, then slammed it to the stage. more...

· Columbia Professor calls for defeat of U.S. Troops. NicholasDe Genova, an assistant professor at Columbia University, told a campus "teach-in" that he wanted to see the U.S. defeated in Iraq and suffer "a million Mogadishus" — a reference to the 1993 Somalia ambush that left 18 Americans dead. De Genova and his wife were "fearing for their lives" and in hiding after receiving some 1,000 threatening phone and e-mail messages. more...

· Try Arnett for treason, senator says. Correspondent Peter Arnett should be "tried as a traitor" for remarks he made in an interview with Iraqi state television, Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky. more...

Anti-war slurs could be found at a cemetery for 11,000 British troops

AdAge: Sick French Ads Depict Dead Journalists. A shocking French ad campaign that portrays famous French journalists as murder victims to drive home the dangers journalists face and the importance of defending press freedom may be adapted to run in the U.S. and around the world. The ads, for French journalists' group "Reporters without Borders," say: "Start fighting for press freedom before you lose it." more...

· Baghdad Division of Republican Guard Destroyed. American forces, which crossed the Tigris River in the drive toward the Iraqi capital, destroyed the Baghdad Division of Iraq's Republican Guard, the U.S. Central Command said. more...

· Sick Joke: Caller shocks family with 'news' of military death. A man called Danny Hogg's house and said that Hogg's nephew Wayne, who is in the Army, was dead. The caller said "we need to let you know Wayne died two days ago." more...

· Baghdad battle tonight. American forces were racing towards Baghdad today after stunning successes on two fronts in a "rolling attack" on the Republican Guard. Military chiefs in Qatar were predicting that allied forces could even seize the chance to reach the outskirts of the capital tonight, depending on the strength of Iraqi opposition. more...

· Special forces rescue US POW. A US Army servicewoman - missing for a week in Iraq and presumed dead - has been rescued alive but badly injured. more...

· Eleven Bodies Found in POW Rescue Raid. Eleven bodies -- at least some of them believed to be Americans -- were found with prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch when she was rescued in a U.S. commando raid on an Iraqi hospital, a military spokesman said. more...

· Where's Saddam? Everyone is asking. Pentagon officials insist they don't know whether Saddam Hussein has survived two weeks of bombing. In case he's alive, however, they appear to be trying to bait him into showing himself. more...

French Smear British Dead. Anti-war slurs could be found at a cemetery for 11,000 British troops who gave their lives defending France. The graveyard in Northern France was smeared in red paint with the words: "Dig up your rubbish. It’s fouling our soil," "Death to the Yankees" and "Saddam Hussein will win and spill your blood." more...

· Dead US soldier hung on public display by Iraqis. US Marines moved into the southern Iraqi town of Shatrah today to recover the body of a dead comrade which had been hanged in the town square, officers said. more...

· Analysis: Republican Guard's last stand. The war entered its decisive phase Tuesday as midday temperatures in central Iraq soared toward 100 degrees and US forces advanced into Iraq's so-called Red Zone around Baghdad. more...

· Jordan foils two terror plots against U.S. military. Authorities have foiled two alleged Iraqi terror plots, including a plan to contaminate water supplies to Jordanian and U.S. troops on the border with Iraq, diplomats said Tuesday. more...

· Rescue effort for Bliss unit left 9 Marines dead, 8 missing. U.S. Marines were sent to rescue wounded members of the 507th Maintenance Company on March 23, the day the Fort Bliss unit was attacked in Iraq, but nine of the Marines who took part in the rescue effort were killed and eight others are missing. more...

· Tobacco Shortage Makes Marines Irritable. There is a war on, and danger lurks ahead, and the Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry are getting desperate — for tobacco. more...

· Van wouldn't stop after warnings. U.S. troops killed seven Iraqi women and children at a checkpoint Monday when the van they were riding in would not stop as ordered, a military official said. more...

· NBC fires war journalist Peter Arnett. NBC said it was wrong for him to give an interview with state-run Iraqi TV in which he said the American-led coalition's initial plan for the war had failed because of Iraq's resistance. Arnett called the interview a "misjudgment" and apologized. more...

· Attacker drives truck into American soldiers in Kuwait. A man drove a pickup truck into a group of U.S. soldiers outside a store at Camp Udairi on Sunday, injuring 10 to 15 people, a military official said. more...

· U.S. Finds Buried Bodies Of 4 G.I.'s In Nasiriya. The bodies of four American servicemen have been found by the Marines in a shallow grave in the battle-worn city of Nasiriya, near the Euphrates River. Military officials said they believed that the four were executed by Iraqi paramilitary forces after they were seized in an ambush last Sunday. more...

· Homicide Bomber Kills Five U.S. Troops in Iraq. Four American soldiers were killed Saturday when a homicide bomber in a taxi detonated explosives outside the Iraqi city of Najaf, a U.S. military officer said. more...

· oops... US cruise missiles fall in Saudi Arabia. Several US cruise missiles fired towards Iraq have landed in Saudi Arabia, a senior US commander said. more...

· Town bans yellow ribbons! The Fieldsboro, NJ mayor supports the council’s unanimous vote to outlaw any ribbons or other memorials for the American troops fightingin Iraq, if those ribbons are placed on public property because the government doesn’t want them there. "I’m shocked and outraged," said one resident. "I can’t believe the mayor would force me to take down ribbons put there in honor of American troops, fighting for our freedom in Iraq." more...

· Gamblers betting big on Saddam's fall. Internet gambling sites are taking bets on how long Saddam Hussein will hold onto the presidency of Iraq. About $1.25 million in wagers have been placed on just one site alone. more...

· Troops Numbers Doubled. The US military plans to send another 100,000 troops to Iraq. The moves comes amid reports US officials privately fear the war could last for months. more...

· Country Singers Perform for Troops. Toby Keith and Darryl Worley performed for military families at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., yesterday per President Bush's request. more...

· Bunker Busters Hit Baghdad. Warplanes dropped two massive "bunker busting" bombs on Baghdad to crush Iraqi command and communication centers. more...

· Protesters throw stones at National Guardsman. A group of Vermont teen-agers threw rocks at a uniformed female Vermont National Guard sergeant last week, in the latest example of a service member facing hostility in the United States. more...

· 'No French food' for US Marines. Republican members of the US Congress have asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to boycott a French firm with an $881m catering contract for the US Marines. more...

· Officials Believe Saddam Is in Control of Military. U.S. government officials have all but concluded that Saddam Hussein is in control of his military and issuing orders as he moves in and around Baghdad through a series of underground catacombs that lead from one bunker to the next. more...

· Woman on Iraqi TV With Saddam Is Top Weapons Scientist. A woman seen on Iraqi television Thursday meeting with Saddam Hussein is believed to be one of the regime's top biological weapons scientists. Intelligence officials said that the woman among the half-dozen men in the video is Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, believed to have played a key role in rebuilding Baghdad's biological weapons capability in the mid-1990s. more...

· Al-Qaeda fighting with Iraqis. British military interrogators claim captured Iraqi soldiers have told them that al-Qaeda terrorists are fighting on the side of Saddam Hussein's forces against allied troops near Basra. more...

· Ways to Support the Troops. Many Americans want to do something for the soldiers at war in Iraq. The Defense Department is not accepting packages addressed to "Any Servicemember," but has other suggestions for how to help or show support. more...

· Iraq Seizes Children, Threatens Men Who Don't Fight for Regime. Iraqi paramilitary forces are seizing children and threatening Iraqi men with execution if they don't fight for the regime, U.S. and British officials said. more...

· For Broadcast Media, Patriotism Pays. Consultants Tell Radio, TV Clients That Protest Coverage Drives Off Viewers. more...

· France unsure who they want to win war. French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin gave a speech in London, and was asked, "Who do you want to win the war?" The foreign minister refused to answer the reporter. more...

· God, the Marines and American Idol. While Lance Corporal Josh Gracin sucks up the good life in a paid-by-Hollywood mansion, his Marine buddies are weathering crude conditions in Iraq, waging pitched battles with the enemy and putting their lives on the line for America. more...

· "Bush International Airport." A hastily erected sign at Iraq's second largest airport entrance read "Bush International Airport," in honor of the president. more...

· Al-Jazeera website not welcome in U.S. - Will now move servers to France. Between constant hacking, and having to move its servers from the U.S. to France, the new English version Al-Jazeera is off to a bumpy start. more...

· Saddam received key to city of Detroit. Saddam Hussein has collected many things in his 24-year reign -- palaces, enemies. And the key to the city of Detroit. "It is very strange, thinking about it now," said Pastor Jacob Yasso of Detroit's Sacred Heart Parish, who presented the key to the city, along with the compliments of then-Mayor Coleman A. Young, to the Iraqi leader in 1980. more...

· Mines Near Iraqi Port Delay Aid Shipments. British officials reluctantly postponed the start of a sea-borne relief operation Thursday after discovering Iraqi mines in the shipping channel leading to the recently captured Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. more...

· Lucky Marine Tricks Death. A Royal Marine Commando who was shot in the head four times has lived to tell the tale of his lucky escape. more...

· Discovery of Chemical Suits Reinforces Concerns. A U.S. general said Wednesday the discovery of 3,000 chemical suits in a central Iraqi hospital that had been used as an Iraqi base raised concern that Saddam Hussein's regime was prepared to use chemical weapons. more...

· 'Just like Apocalypse Now.' An eyewitness told today of the heaviest battle of the war so far which left 750 Iraqis dead. Sean Naylor of the American Army Times quoted a US soldier describing the fighting as so intense that "it looks like Apocalypse Now." more...

· Saddam's invisible air force. The precise location of Saddam Hussein’s air force remains a key issue for coalition forces as military commanders expressed concerns that the Iraqis may be holding back their planes for a defiant attack involving chemical weapons. more...

· Basra 'Turns on Saddam.' British artillery has been pounding Basra in support of an uprising by locals opposed to Saddam Hussein, reports have said. more...

· Dangerous Times - Airfight with an Allied Missile. A U.S. F-16 fighter jet had to fire on an Allied Patriot missile battery after it mistakenly locked on to the plane. The jet fired a high speed anti-radiation missile which damaged the battery's radar before it could launch a missile. Nobody was killed. more...

· Marines Out to Avenge Blood of 'Executed' GIs. The Marines are seething with rage and talking revenge over the treatment of American POWs - paraded on TV and some possibly executed. Hardball time: "OK, they want to play that way. We can play that way," vowed one enraged pilot. more...

· Pentagon Calls False Surrenders 'Deadly Deceptions.' Pentagon officials complained bitterly Monday about what they called "deadly deceptions" by Iraqi troops pretending to surrender to U.S. forces and then firing on the Americans. more...

· Cheers on the Tigris for one that got away. To be shot down behind enemy lines is every fighter pilot's nightmare. But in the crowd that watched from the banks of the Tigris River on Sunday as Iraqi soldiers searched for a British pilot who they believed had bailed out over Baghdad, some were willing him to safety. more...

· U.S. claims 'rapid' war progress. The U.S. military commander says there has been "rapid" and "dramatic" progress by Operation Iraqi Freedom forces seeking to take control of Iraq. more...

· Troops Advance After 'Toughest Day of Resistance.' Attempting to rally, Iraqi troops used tactics such as ambushes and even fake surrenders to kill and capture U.S. troops Sunday, inflicting the first significant casualties on the allied forces driving toward Baghdad. more...

In Case You Were Fortunate to Miss the Oscars...
Wacko Michael Moore's Ramblings on the War:

"On behalf of our producers, I'd like to thank the Academy," says Moore, who was greeted with a standing ovation. "I've invited my fellow nominees on the stage, with us, and they are here in solidarity with me, because we like nonfiction. We like nonfiction and we live in fictitious times. We live in a time when we have fictitious election results that elects a fictitious president..."

"...We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war, for fictitious reasons, whether it's the fictition of duct tape or the fictition of orange alerts, we are against this war, Mr. Bush! Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you! And any time you've got the Pope and Dixie Chicks against you, your time is up."

Shame on You, Mr. Moore! Shame on You! The 'Bowling for Columbine' auteur had every qualification to make his antiwar speech at the Oscars. That didn't make it any less stupid. more...

· 10 Marines Killed, 12 Soldiers Missing. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks said about 10 Marines were killed in a faked surrender by Iraqi forces outside of An Nasiriyah. The Marines came under fire while preparing to accept what appeared to be surrendering Iraqis. more...

· Russian Dealers Supplying Iraq. Russian arms dealers have equipped Iraq with supplies and electronic jamming equipment that could throw U.S. planes and bombs off course. more...

· Iraqi TV shows dead and captured U.S. prisoners. The pictures show at least four bodies and five soldiers said to be American prisoners. Two of the prisoners, including a woman, appeared to be injured. more...

Iraqi footage in violation of Geneva Convention. more...

· 'U.S. Muslim Soldier Attacks Troops.' A grenade attack on US military base in Kuwait, which injured 13 American soldiers, may have been carried out by a Muslim US soldier who was guarding the camp. more...

· Liberated Iraqis overjoyed. 'You're late. What took you so long? God help you become victorious.' 'I want to say hello to Bush, to shake his hand.' more...

Entire Division of Iraqi Army Surrenders. An entire division of the Iraqi army, numbering 8,000 soldiers, surrendered to coalition forces in southern Iraq Friday, Pentagon officials said. more...

· 'Dead bodies are everywhere.' Iraqi gunners and their Russian-made 122mm howitzers were destroyed as the Americans unleashed an artillery barrage that shook the ground and lit up the night sky with orange flashes. more...

The Man Who Betrayed Saddam

He was the ultimate spy who came in from the cold. For months, the CIA and U.S. Special Forces had been working on the extraordinarily difficult and dangerous job of trying to penetrate Saddam Hussein’s inner circle.

It was a bold move: speed the battle plan with a risky strike. But Team Bush had a man on the inside. Behind the ‘target of opportunity,’ and what it means for the road to Baghdad. more...

· U.S. Launches Huge Airstrike on Baghdad. U.S.-led forces unleased a mighty air assault on Baghdad Friday, commencing their promised campaign of "shock and awe" after ground troops captured a key port city, two airports and scores of surrendering Iraqi prisoners. more...

Troops in Baghdad by Monday. Senior British and US commanders today predicted that allied forces could be in Baghdad by Monday. The claim came after US marines captured a key section of the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. more...

· Massive air raid rocks Baghdad. The Iraqi capital Baghdad has come under a massive bombardment after American officials declared that a planned major escalation of its attack on Iraq was under way. more...

· 'Shock and Awe' Bombing Campaign Under Way. Operation Iraqi Freedom allied missiles are pounding Baghdad, dropping bombs throughout the city. Explosions are rocking the center of the Iraqi capital, and the sky is filled with smoke. more...

· BREAKING: CNN Expelled from Baghdad. more...

Sun brands France's Chirac 'Saddam's whore.' The Sun has renewed its attack on the French, branding President Jacques Chirac "Saddam Hussein's whore" in a special Paris edition that has caused fury in the highest echelons of French government. more...

· Saddam Offers Rewards For Killing Troops. Saddam Hussein has decreed that any Iraqi who kills an enemy soldier will get a reward equivalent to $14,000. more...

· U.S. Marine Killed in Combat. The United States suffered its first combat casualty during Operation Iraqi Freedom on Friday when a U.S. Marine was killed. more...

· Intelligence Officials Believe Saddam Was in Compound When Struck. U.S. intelligence believes Saddam Hussein and possibly two of his sons were present inside a suburban Baghdad compound when it was struck by U.S. missiles and bombs and that medical attention was summoned afterward, government officials said Thursday night. more...

· Marine Chopper Crash Kills 12 in Kuwait. A US Marine helicopter carrying 12 members of the US and British forces has crashed while conducting operations related to Operation Iraqi Freedom, US defense officials said on Thursday. more...

· Bush Gave Attack Order with Two Words 'Let's Go.' President Bush had only three minutes left to decide when he gave the order to start a war on Iraq with an attack on senior Iraqi leaders, believed to include President Saddam Hussein. more...

· Blair's blunt address. When Tony Blair delivered his television message, he was only too well aware he was addressing a nation more divided about the need for war than it has been about any other conflict in living memory. more...

· Land, sea and air assault. Baghdad under cruise missile attack, UK and US marines fight way to Basra, Initial Iraqi resistance light, Reports of oilfields set ablaze, Rumsfeld promises force 'never seen before' more...

· Operation Iraqi Freedom attacks begin - Explosions, heavy anti-aircraft fire. Heavy detonations and the crackle of anti-aircraft fire were heard Thursday night in Baghdad. more...

· Iraq War Starts with a Whimper. The war in Iraq began with a US air strike against what the Pentagon calls "a target of opportunity" in the Baghdad area. Military vows that main attack is still to come. more...

· President Bush Tosses War Script. President Bush threw away the script and timetable for war on Iraq on Thursday when U.S. intelligence came up with one of its most long-sought after and elusive prizes: the location of President Saddam Hussein. more...

· 'E-bomb' may be used to blind Saddam. U.S. forces may use a new "e-bomb" during the invasion of Iraq as part of a 21st-century blitzkrieg designed to render President Saddam Hussein's forces blind, deaf, dumb and incapable of retaliation. more...

· Three oil wells set on fire by Iraq. Orange flames could be seen Thursday on the northern horizon in the direction of the southern Iraqi oil center Basra, witnesses said. more...

Are Both These Men Saddam?

A senior Bush administration official today questioned the authenticity of a videotape showing Saddam Hussein speaking a few hours after the cruise missile strikes that opened the war in Iraq.

State-run Iraqi television broadcast a seven-minute statement in which the official identified as Hussein, wearing a military uniform,

vowed in Arabic to resist the invaders' and wear down U.S. patience. Western news accounts generally said the tape showed Hussein, but many newscasters noted that it could have been pre-recorded. more...

· United States Launches War Against Iraq. BAGHDAD, Iraq — The U.S. military launched its opening attack against Iraq on Wednesday night after President Bush's deadline for Saddam Hussein to surrender power passed unheeded. more...

Iraqi Missiles Fired at U.S. Troops Intercepted. Iraq fired missiles into Kuwait in a series of apparently ineffectual counterattacks against U.S. troops and Kuwaiti civilians Thursday, forcing American soldiers to put on gas masks and chemical protective suits. Fox News has learned from Coalition Defense officials that at least one of the missiles fired was a Scud. more...

· War on Iraq begins. President George W Bush has said he has launched a war on Baghdad, vowing to "disarm Iraq and to free its people". more...

· U.S. forces launched a strike against "targets of military opportunity" in Iraq, President Bush said Wednesday night. He described the action as the opening salvo in an operation to "disarm Iraq and to free its people." more...

· Sirens, Explosions Mark Start of Iraq War. Explosions rocked Baghdad at dawn on Thursday as the United States launched a war to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Jets roared overhead, Iraqi anti-aircraft batteries opened up and air raid sirens sounded, said Reuters correspondent Nadim Ladki, reporting from the city center. more...

· Allied warplanes attack Iraqi weapons targets. US and British warplanes are attacking Iraqi weapons systems in the southern "no fly" zone, the British Ministry of Defense says. more...

photo of Uday Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein

Saddam's son suffers from brain hemorrhage. Uday, the elder son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, struck by brain hemorrhage following conflict with a member of Saddam's Fedayeen on Thursday. The Iranian news agency, IRNA, quoted sources in northern Iraq as saying that tough and indecent orders,

issued by Uday, who heads Saddam's Fedayeen, had provoked the conflict as the young man attacked Uday. Uday's bodyguards then beat the man to injury, the unconfirmed report said. According to some observers, the recent report on Uday could be part of the American and the Iraqi opposition propaganda campaign against Saddam Hussein's regime.

In recent weeks, the United States has been stepping up its special radio broadcasts and leaflet drops in Iraq. For the past four months, the U.S. military has been beaming messages to Iraq on AM, FM and shortwave signals. The messages were prepared by a psychological operations unit based in Fort Bragg, N.C. (Albawaba.com)