War in Iraq

Iraqi fighters have not mounted "a coherent defense" and major combat there is essentially over, an Army major general said Monday. (04/14/2003)

U.S. troops backed by aircraft poured into Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit and fought pockets of hard-core defenders Monday. The presidential palace was seized without a fight and the city center was under U.S. control, the military said. Meanwhile, the Syrian government denied charges by U.S. officials that Syria has weapons of mass destruction and is sheltering Iraqi leaders. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Syria wasn't the next coalition target but it has questions to answer. ( 04/14/2003)

Just two days after Fort Bliss mourned nine soldiers from the 507th Maintenance Company, "great rejoicing" began with word that five other members of the unit who were taken prisoner in Iraq are now free. (04/14/2003)

The Bush administration stepped up its criticism of Syria on Monday, saying Damascus must not harbor fleeing Iraqi leaders nor advance its chemical weapons capabilities. "We believe in light of this new environment, they should review their actions and their behavior," said Secretary of State Colin Powell. (04/14/2003)

The U.S. is sending an envoy to work with Iraqi opposition groups to begin to set up a government. The envoy, Zalmy Khalilzad, was a key figure in bringing together factions in Kabul, Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. The Bush administration hopes to stick to its estimates of withdrawing troops within six months. ( 04/14/2003)

An entire Iraqi army corps disappeared Friday in northern Iraq's largest city, leaving Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit as the last major holdout of his regime. In a step toward a formal victory proclamation, the top U.S. commander, Gen. Tommy Franks, told his troops, "The Saddam regime has ended." Updated news coverage of the war in Iraq. ( 04/11/2003)

A Star Tribune reporter and photographer escaped an attempt by two Iraqi fighters to kill them near the northern oil city of Kirkuk. In a dispatch from Kirkuk published Friday, reporter Paul McEnroe said he and photographer Richard Sennott managed to flee a grenade-toting fighter Thursday and later watched as the other fighter died of a gunshot wound. (04/11/2003)

Residents of Saddam City, a densely populated Shiite Muslim district, say they are breathing the air of freedom now that Saddam Hussein's regime ceased to rule in the Iraqi capital. Long suppressed by Saddam's clique of minority Arab Sunnis, Iraq's majority Shiites stand to benefit the most from a new order. Although it's the Americans who won them this freedom, some of them say they'll resist U.S. occupation if they overstay their welcome. Gary and his guest discuss sudden "regime changes" and what we can learn from the experiences in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. ( 04/11/2003)

Kurds together with U.S. special forces moved easily into the northern oil city of Kirkuk. The Kurds left soon after, once Turkey made clear it would consider Kurdish presence in Kirkuk a declaration of war. But the situation points to a delicate balance between long-standing hatreds and the current conflict. ( 04/11/2003)

When war ends in Iraq, President Bush will quickly shift focus to his 2004 re-election campaign and the issue that kept his father from winning a second term: a weak economy. The money, message and much of Bush's political machine are already in place. (04/11/2003)

Looters surged through Baghdad and government buildings were set on fire Thursday as U.S. troops fought fierce gunbattles with pockets of Iraqi forces. Several artillery shells hit the U.S.-held Old Presidential compound as night fell. In and around the capital, skirmishes blazed between American troops and holdout Saddam Hussein loyalists. Bursts of gunfire and explosions echoed across the city nearly a day after the people of Baghdad danced in the streets over the fall of Saddam. ( 04/10/2003)

Iraq's U.N. ambassador said Wednesday "the game is over" - and that means the war is over. Mohammed Al-Douri expressed hope that the Iraqi people will now be able to live in peace. His comments were the first admission by an Iraqi official that U.S.-led forces had overwhelmed Iraqi forces after a three-week campaign. ( 04/10/2003)

The war in Iraq may be entering its final phases, with U.S. troops wresting control of Baghdad from Saddam Hussein. But the weekly anti-war demonstrations on the Lake Street bridge between Minneapolis and St. Paul will continue. Peace activists who gathered there Wednesday night say the issues surrounding the conflict haven't disappeared. They say they'll continue protesting what they calling imperialist foreign policy objectives. (04/10/2003)

Though both President Bush and British Prime Minister Blair pledge to turn Iraq over to the people, it's an open question as to what the government will be. A Western-style democracy may not be possible. And opinions differ on the UN's role. ( 04/10/2003)

U.S. special operations troops and Kurdish peshmerga fighters seized a strategic mountaintop in northern Iraq early Wednesday, eliminating a crucial air defense installation near the government-held city of Mosul. Celebrations broke out in at least two cities in the Kurdish autonomous region, as people took to the streets to celebrate what they believe is the end of President Saddam Hussein's regime. ( 04/09/2003)