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NPR's Melissa Block talks with Rick Atkinson, Washington Post correspondent with the Army's 101st Airborne Division, near Najav in central Iraq. Atkinson describes the firefights the 101st Airborne Division has been engaging in around the Shiite holy city of Najav.

Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan identifies Saturday's suicide car bomber as an Iraqi army officer and says such attacks are now "routine military policy." Four U.S. troops died in the attack near the central Iraq city of Najaf. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismisses claims the United States was unprepared for the ground war in Iraq and says there will be no delay in the push toward Baghdad. NPR's Alex Chadwick talks to Tom Ricks of The Washington Post.

There was more fierce fighting today around the central Iraqi city of An Najaf, about 100 miles south of the capital of Baghdad. U.S. forces with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division have all but surrounded the city, and are slowly eliminating the Iraqi military and paramilitary resistance there. NPR's Eric Westervelt, embedded with the 3rd Infantry, reports on the fierce battle to gain control of the city -- site of a holy Shi'ite shrine.

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

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with our regular political contributors; David Brooks of the Weekly Standard and E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post and Brookings Institution. They discuss domestic political reactions to the war, particularly regarding the budget, and the presidential primary.

U.S. forces crossing the Tigris River in their push toward the Iraqi capital have "destroyed" the Baghdad Division of Iraq's elite Republican Guard, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks of the U.S. Central Command says. Meanwhile, U.S. warplanes bombard the strategic city of Karbala and U.S. Marines move to within 37 miles of Baghdad. Hear NPR's Nick Spicer.

Gen. Tommy Franks says the war in Iraq is on schedule and U.S. forces are prepared for an extended conflict. The general outlines the campaign's successes, and reports that in Baghdad, U.S.-led attacks continue to take out key targets. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

U.S.-led warplanes strike facilities in Baghdad, including various Republican Guard positions and a presidential compound. The air assault is described as one of the heaviest since the war began. Iraqi officials say 19 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten and NPR's Anne Garrels.

Fatima arrived in the United States from Iraq almost three years ago. In this edition of the NPR series "War Diaries," she recounts the harrowing days of the 1991 Gulf War.