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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.

NPR's Juan Williams visits Rep. Max Burns, the freshman Republican congressman from Georgia. Burns says he supports President Bush's decision to attack Iraq. He also backs the president's proposed tax cut, yet Burns' constituents tell him their first priority is getting more jobs into south Georgia. Their conversation is part of an occasional series on how the congressman is adjusting to political life in Washington.

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.-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.

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.

An attacker drives a truck into a crowd of U.S. soldiers at a base in Kuwait, wounding at least five Americans. And in Doha, Qatar, Gen. Tommy Franks rejects suggestions of a "pause" in fighting. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Iraq's health minister says more than 350 civilians have been killed since the war began, including 36 in Baghdad over the past 24 hours. Most of the victims died in an attack on a commercial district in the city; Iraqi officials blame the bombing on U.S. missiles, but the Pentagon says it did not target the area. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

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.