Search results for

Official Washington had barely caught its breath yesterday over the resignation of Attorney General John Ashcroft, when President Bush announced his new choice for the top law enforcement job: White House counsel and longtime Bush confidant Alberto Gonzales. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg reports.

The top U.S. commander in northern Iraq says that this week's deadly attack on a U.S. base near the city of Mosul may have been the work of a suicide bomber wearing an Iraqi military uniform. Brig. Gen. Carter Ham says he is concerned the attack's success may encourage similar attempts. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

Two new reports extend blame for abuses at Abu Ghraib to the Pentagon's top leaders. But neither calls for the punishment of anyone more senior than brigade commanders at the prison -- infuriating critics who say Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should resign.

Seven candidates are vying to replace retiring Louisiana Democratic Sen. John Breaux in Tuesday's election. In Louisiana, if one candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, he automatically wins the Senate seat. But if he doesn't, the top two vote-getters advance to a run-off in December. Hear NPR's Andrea Seabrook.

Despite large-scale anti-American violence in Baghdad, President Bush and top American generals assert that the United States is making steady progress in rebuilding Iraq. Citing gains in the nation's economy and overall security, administration and military officials say that Monday's attacks show Hussein loyalists' desperation. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top military commander in Iraq, says the U.S.-led authority is "way ahead of schedule." And U.S. civilian administrator Paul Bremer says U.S. forces are making progress against guerrilla-type resistance from remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime. But some Baghdadis express dissatisfaction with developments in Iraq. Hear NPR's Guy Raz.

NPR's Christopher Joyce in Baghdad reports the U.S. civil administration in Iraq has again postponed plans to establish an interim Iraqi authority to help govern the country. A conference to create the authority had been expected in June, but the top U.S. official in Baghdad, Paul Bremer, told reporters it will not be held before mid-July at the earliest.

Top U.S. military officials warn that the war has not ended in Iraq, especially in the north, despite successes in Baghdad and other key cities. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, says only after hostilities have ended can the military turn to matters such as policing against looters. Myers talks to NPR's Robert Siegel.

Lt. General David McKiernan, the top commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, pledges to "aggressively target" crime in Baghdad and restore order to the city. Military officials deny a New York Times report suggesting U.S. forces now have permission to shoot looters, including children, on sight. NPR's Guy Raz reports.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the United Nations will remain in Iraq, despite an attack on its headquarters in Baghdad that killed its top envoy and at least 20 others. Analysts say the bombing may signal a shift in tactics by groups opposed to the American occupation of Iraq, with attackers now targeting civilians. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson and NPR's Eric Westervelt.