3/29/2003

At an American checkpoint in Najaf, Iraq, on March 29, 2003, “a taxi approached. The driver stopped at the roadblock and waved for help, indicating his car had broken down. Four American soldiers approached, and ordered him out of the car, so they could search it. When the driver followed the troops’ orders to open […]

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3/29/2003

On March 29, 2003, after the first suicide bombing in the war in Iraq, “the Iraqi vice president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, appeared in Baghdad to declare that such attacks would become ‘routine military policy,’ and the Iraqi government awarded two posthumous medals to the bomber, an Iraqi military noncommissioned officer named Ali Jaafar Nuamani. In […]

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3/29/2003

Following the first suicide bombing in the war in Iraq, on March 29, 2003, “The Americans swiftly denounced the new tactic as beyond the pale. ‘To me, this is not an act of war,’ said Captain Andrew J. Valles, the 1st Brigade’s civil and military affairs officer. ‘It is terrorism.’ …Valles expressed frustration not only […]

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3/29/2003

President George W. Bush updating the world on the War in Iraq: “In recent days, we have cleared mines from the water and taken control of a key port city, to allow humanitarian aid to begin flowing into the country. We have secured more than 600 oil wells and have begun putting out the few oil well […]

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3/28/2003

In a salute to the military, President George W. Bush had this to say: “The regime that once terrorized all of Iraq now controls a small portion of that country. Coalition troops continue their steady advance and are drawing nearer to Baghdad. We’re inflicting severe damage on enemy forces. We are now fighting the most desperate units […]

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3/27/2003

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul “Wolfowitz duly assured the House Appropriations Committee on March 27 [2003] that reconstruction would largely be covered by proceeds from Iraqi oil. Congress was told that oil revenues in Iraq could yield between $50 billion to $100 billion over the following two to three years. Wolfowitz argued, ‘There’s a lot […]

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3/27/2003

According to a press release from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget on March 27, 2003: ” ‘Iraq is a country rich with an educated populace, abundant and valuable natural resources like oil and natural gas, and a modern infrastructure system… The United States is committed to helping Iraq recover from this conflict, […]

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3/27/2003

In testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on March 27, 2003, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said, regarding Iraq: ” ‘The oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years. Now, there are a lot of claims on that money, but… […]

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3/27/2003

In Iraq, on March 27, 2003, Commander of the Army forces in the Persian Gulf Lt. Gen. William Wallace said: ” ‘The enemy we’re fighting is a bit different than the one we war-gamed against, because of these paramilitary forces [Saddam loyalists]… We knew they were here, but we did not know how they would […]

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3/27/2003

At Camp David on March 27, 2003, “When a reporter asked [President] Bush how long the war [in Iraq] might take, the president responded bluntly, ‘However long it takes to win.’ Pressed whether that could mean months, the president grew testier: ‘However long it takes to achieve our objective. And that’s important for you to […]

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