Still No Respite for the Weary

It was a bold statement by the American military: It can enter Saddam Hussein’s capital where and when it chooses. A sudden armored thrust into the city during daylight so surprised Iraqi forces that one general was captured in his car after nearly colliding with a U.S. tank. U.S. commanders said it was a test run for a plan to take Baghdad one section at a time. But they also warned that much of Iraq is not yet under coalition control. Outside the capital, Marines with bayonets battled Arab fighters from abroad, while allied aircraft struck the Basra home of Hussein’s cousin Ali Hassan Majid, commander of southern forces known as Chemical Ali. In the north, Kurdish backed by U.S. warplanes drove Iraqi forces farther back from two crucial oil cities.