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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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**6:30-8 pm et/3:30 pst Wartime Edition of Hardball w/Chris Matthews**
Chris Matthews will anchor MSNBC's special coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom from
6:30 to 8 pm eastern, that's 3:30 for you West Coasters...As you've become accustomed
to over the past week, Chris and MSNBC will bring you the latest from the front lines
and from key political and command-control centers stateside...Wherever and whenever
news breaks, the power of NBC News will be there to help you understand this war and
your world...
Also on our booking radar screen...
Congressman Curt Weldon, Fmr. Navy SEAL/MN Gov. turned MSNBC host of the soon to air
"Jesse Ventura Live", Jesse Ventura, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Jon Kyl,
Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey and something on the upcoming Bush/Blair Summit with
Time's Michael Elliott...
Bush: "The military is making good progress in Iraq and yet the war is far from
over...We have no ambition in Iraq, except the liberation of its people. We ask no
reward, except a durable peace. And we will accept no outcome short of complete and
final success."
http://msnbc.com/news/842500_asp.htm?0cv=CB10
Warplanes attack Iraqi column...Coalition warplanes are attacking a huge convoy of
tanks and armoured personnel carriers which are heading south east from Basra towards
the al-Faw peninsula. (BBC News) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2889635.stm
Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from Washington, DC
http://iraq.msnbc.com
Pentagon Press Release
OFFICER DIES FROM WOUNDS SUFFERED ON MARCH 22ND
The Department of Defense announced today the identity of Air National Guard Maj.
Gregory Stone, 40, of Boise, Idaho, who died on March 25th from wounds received by a
grenade in a tent at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait, on March 22nd.
Stone was assigned to the 124th Air Support Operations Squadron, Idaho Air National
Guard, Boise, Idaho.
President Bush said Wednesday the war in Iraq is far from over and warned that
coalition forces will face "the most desperate elements of a doomed regime" as they
close in on Baghdad.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&ncid=703&e=1&u=/ap/20030326/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_bush
Iraq says 14 civilians killed in attack...Two cruise missiles struck a residential
area in Baghdad on Wednesday, killing 14 people, Iraqi defense officials said. The
attack occurred in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Al-Shaab, which contains
dozens of shops and homes.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/886365.asp
Iraq is claiming "many, many" civilians have been killed after coalition bombs or
missiles hit a market in Baghdad on day seven of the -war. (ITV News)
http://www.itv.com/news/671525.html
---------------------------
US Central Command Release
March 26, 2003
Release Number: 03-03-67
COALITION FORCES STRIKE MISSILE LAUNCHERS IN BAGHDAD; CIVILIAN DAMAGE POSSIBLE
SOUTHWEST ASIA - Coalition aircraft used precision-guided weapons to target nine Iraqi
surface-to-surface missiles and launchers in Baghdad at approximately 3 a.m. EST. The
missiles and launchers were placed within a civilian residential area. Most of the
missiles were positioned less than 300 feet from homes. A full assessment of the
operation is ongoing.
Military targets - such as the missiles and launchers placed in Baghdad - are a threat
to Coalition military forces and will be attacked. While the Coalition goes to great
lengths to avoid injury to civilians and damage to civilian facilities, in some cases,
such damage is unavoidable when the regime places military weapons near civilian areas.
--------------------------
Iraqi force heads south from Baghdad...U.S. bombs temporarily knocked Iraqi satellite
TV off the air early Wednesday morning, hours after U.S. troops routed Iraqi soldiers
who attacked them south of the city. As many as 300 Iraqi troops were killed in the
battle.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/870749.asp
British ring Basra, could move in...British troops were ringing Basra Wednesday,
trying to keep Iraqi forces from entering or leaving as they waited for possible
orders to move into Iraq's second-largest city.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/890574_asp.htm
U.S. Marines, moving through this still-contested city, opened fire at anything that
moved Tuesday, leaving dozens of dead in their wake, at least some of them civilians.
(Miami Herald) http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/5483028.htm
Surprised by the power of Iraq's paramilitaries, the Pentagon is adjusting its tactics
in the push to Baghdad, defense officials said Wednesday. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&ncid=703&e=3&u=/ap/20030326/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_us_military
One report reaching the U.S. military said that some of the 12 soldiers whose supply
convoy was ambushed near Nassiriya in southern Iraq on Sunday were killed by their
captors although they tried to surrender, a U.S. defense official said on Wednesday.
(Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=VWCI5SW0ZHH1YCRBAEKSFFA?type=topNews&storyID=2452773
WashPost: Resistance endures amid the rubble...A week of punishing airstrikes has
turned hundreds of government buildings and military facilities to rubble around Iraq,
but has yielded little sign of weakening the regime's will to resist.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/890844.asp
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said there had been a "limited" popular uprising in
the southern Iraqi city of Basra and pledged support for Iraqis who revolt against
President Saddam Hussein (AFP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=1504&ncid=1504&e=2&u=/afp/20030326/ts_afp/iraq_war_basra_britain
British Prime Minister Tony Blair flew to Washington Wednesday for a war council with
President Bush, insisting that the United Nations must play a central role in post-war
Iraq. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=2452512
The operator at Iraqi Television calmly picked up the telephone minutes after several
U.S. missiles struck the complex in the early minutes of Wednesday and cut
transmission. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=VWCI5SW0ZHH1YCRBAEKSFFA?type=focusIraqNews&storyID=2453060
Gertz: Fedayeen Saddam 'essentially terrorists'...Up to 30,000 members of Iraq's
black-hooded Fedayeen Saddam militia are using terrorist tactics to fight coalition
forces in southern Iraq. http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030326-1831570.htm
Unrest rippled in the Iraqi southern city of Basra on Wednesday but it was unclear how
serious or widespread the opposition was to the ruling Baath party of President Saddam
Hussein (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=2453299
U.S. Cautious About Promoting Uprisings...Mistakes of 1991 Make Bush Administration
Wary of Relying on Civilians This Time (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29004-2003Mar25.html
Troops face physical toll of desert...As the troops and the reporters traveling with
them journey deeper into Iraq, they also begin to see the outlines of their own
physical limits. NBC News producer Tim Uehlinger reports what it's like traveling in
south central Iraq with one army unit, head
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/890811.asp
With U.S. and British forces meeting heavy resistance in the Iraq war, America's top
military officer suggested on Tuesday that Western troops were paying a price for
trying to spare Iraqi civilians. (Reuters)
http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2443840
The Bush administration yesterday set out to soothe American doubts and shore up
morale after troop casualties were reported and images of dead and captured U.S.
soldiers were televised over the weekend. (The Washington Times)
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030325-84895.htm
Unrest rippled in the Iraqi southern city of Basra on Wednesday but it was unclear how
serious or widespread the opposition was to the ruling Baath party of President Saddam
Hussein (Reuters)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=574&ncid=721&e=1&u=/nm/20030326/wl_nm/iraq_basra_dc
The leader of Iraq's main Shi'ite opposition group warned Washington on Tuesday that
U.S. troops would face armed resistance if they stayed in Iraq once President Saddam
Hussein was toppled. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=2443643
Pope Following War With 'Heavy Heart' (AP)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31270-2003Mar26.html
Harper: Cheney's daughters not going to Baghdad
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030326-68526143.htm
Dinner Starts Here...From Two Roast Chickens, 12 Weeknight Inspirations (The
Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24389-2003Mar25.html
Basic Roast Chicken http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24402-2003Mar25.html
Cable casualty of war: Connie Chung show canceled...Veteran anchor to leave CNN
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/business/cnn/0303/26chung.html
On paper, CNN ''Newsnight'' anchor Aaron Brown has some good qualities. He is bright,
even cerebral. He has a smooth set of pipes that are easy on the ears. He often asks
smart, layered questions that go beyond the obvious. But as was the case in the days
after the attacks on Sept. 11, the war on Iraq is again proving that he is just too
studied, too enigmatic, and frankly, too weird, to be anchor material. (The Boston
Globe)
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/085/living/CNN_s_Brown_doesn_t_rise_to_top_as_anchor+.shtml
Opinion/Editorial
Condi: Our Coalition...More than 50 countries have joined forces against Saddam
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110003248
My big brother threatened me if I didn't put this one in today by James Grant:
Battling the Fog of Finance
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/24/opinion/24GRAN.html?pagewanted=all&position=top
Lawrence James: The revival of benevolent imperialism...Dominant powers have often
demonised their enemies and claimed to be acting on behalf of the oppressed
http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=388824
Charley Reese: The Terrorist Advantage
http://reese.king-online.com/Reese_20030326/index.php
Gaffney: The 'Fifth Column' syndrome http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/gaffney.htm
Speed bumps on road to Baghdad...It's still too soon to gauge the progress of this
war, but one key miscalculation has been how easily Saddam would be toppled. By Fred
Kaplan. http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/890563.asp
Shafer: The PR War...The general who devised the "embedded" program deserves a fourth
star. http://slate.msn.com/default.aspx?id=2080699
Ilana: Frum's Flimflam http://www.lewrockwell.com/mercer/mercer13.html
Medved: The Little People...On Oscar night, Hollywood thanks everyone but the troops.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110003249
The Washington Times: The next phase of war...Coalition forces - seeking to minimize
both friendly and Iraqi casualties - have tried to rely on maneuver rather than
assault. When we reach Baghdad, there may be no more ways around opposition.
http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20030326-11919507.htm
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/
Steiner http://www.washtimes.com/national/steiner.htm
Mallard Fillmore http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp
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