John Barry

They call it "running the gauntlet." Army Capt. Gregory Hirschey and his bomb squad would go looking for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the streets of Baghdad.

As scary as the idea may sound, the Israelis may not be bluffing. Their defense experts display no doubt whatsoever that Israel's Air Force can cripple Iran's nuclear program if necessary.

It was the day they had all been waiting for, and Gen. George Casey couldn't sleep. Everything was riding on this--not the least how long Casey would have to stay in Iraq--and his nerves were keyed up as he lay awake listening for blast concussions that he knew could come anywhere, any time.

Applause and cheers welcomed the Citgo truck as it pulled up at a South Bronx curbside one icy morning last week. The 9,500-gallon tanker was on a mission for one of the Bush administration's most stubborn adversaries in the Western Hemisphere, but the crowd didn't seem to mind.

Shortly after the start of President George W. Bush's second term, a high-level "deputies" meeting was called at the White House. Issue one on the agenda was how to improve the administration's message in the face of allegations that the U.S. government condoned torture.

The Bush Administration has long insisted any abuse of prisoners in Iraq or Afghanistan violated official U.S. policy--that it was committed by those on the Abu Ghraib night shift.

In case a future Iraqi leader decides that Iran's nuclear ambitions next door mean Iraq should restart Saddam Hussein's nuclear-, chemical- or biological-weapon program, what kind of inter-national monitoring should the country be subject to? "The question is starting to bubble up," says a British official who is not allowed by his government to speak for attribution.Demetrios Perricos, head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, the agency probing Iraq's WMD...

Donald Rumsfeld doesn't like long-term occupations. He's always made that clear. After U.S. forces took Baghdad, the Defense secretary had plans to reduce the U.S. presence in Iraq to 40,000 troops by the fall of 2003.

The Brits, beneath their polite exteriors, are relentless people. They do not forgive those who betray them. During World War II, an Irishman named William Joyce became infamous in England as "Lord Haw-Haw," a mocking voice broadcasting from Berlin, gloating over the deaths and destruction of British cities.

The two special forces Chinook helicopters had come in, unfortunately, at sunset. They were racing to rescue their comrades on the ground. Onboard the lead chopper--a giant, twin-rotor beast called an MH-47--were eight Navy SEALs and an eight-man Army flight crew.

Generals must always speak truth to civilian power. That is the conclusion of a book considered to be required reading by many senior officers in the Pentagon. "Dereliction of Duty," by Maj. (now Col.) H.

Connecticut has been a bulwark of America's naval defenses since the Revolutionary War. But last week the 21st century suddenly hit home in the worst way.

Don't ask America's top brass exactly how the Iraq war is going. They don't know. The various U.S. services have never managed to agree on a unified system for gauging successes and failures in the counterinsurgency campaign.

Investigators probing interrogation abuses at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay have confirmed some infractions alleged in internal FBI e-mails that surfaced late last year.

John Bolton didn't particularly want this job. And Condoleezza Rice didn't especially want to be introducing Bolton as America's next ambassador to the United Nations, some Bush administration officials say.

Administration officials hit the phones before George Bush's choice of John Bolton as United Nations ambassador was announced earlier this month. Secretary of State Condi Rice phoned U.N.

Travel: Spring For BroadwayBy Raina KelleyMissed Christo's "The Gates"? Not to worry. Come to New York this spring and you can still see killer rabbits, Denzel in Valentino and a flying car.

You'll be tickled by what Elmo can do now. This fall Fisher-Price will introduce a new talking plush toy based on the "Sesame Street" character that says your child's name, counts down to his birthday and lets him know when it's time for lunch.

A not-so-funny thing happened on George Bush's trip to Europe last week. He went to ease the tension over the war in Iraq, but wound up laying bare a new dispute over China.

You'll be tickled by what Elmo can do now. This fall Fisher-Price will introduce a new talking plush toy based on the "Sesame Street" character that says your child's name, counts down to his birthday and lets him know when it's time for lunch.

What does Kim Jong Il really want? No one knows, of course--even the best intelligence on North Korea is sketchy--but it's a fair bet that the diminutive dictator wants to stay alive.

Rule one for fighting an insurgency: military might alone won't work. You need a political strategy. That means the local population must be given reasons to turn in the insurgents: security, jobs, a legitimate government.

By Steven LevyEvery January, apple CEO Steve Jobs appears without introduction (yeah, like he needs one) at the Macworld Expo, in a black turtleneck and jeans.

What to do about the deepening quagmire of Iraq? The Pentagon's latest approach is being called "the Salvador option"--and the fact that it is being discussed at all is a measure of just how worried Donald Rumsfeld really is. "What everyone agrees is that we can't just go on as we are," one senior military officer told NEWSWEEK. "We have to find a way to take the offensive against the insurgents.

Predators know to hunt the weakest animal in the herd. So do the Iraqi insurgents. It is an essential truth about the Iraq war that's ingrained in soldiers like Pvt.

IRANA Temporary TruceHas one of the world's hot spots begun to cool off? In the run-up to the U.S. election, both George W. Bush and John Kerry knew that Iran's nuclear ambitions would be the next big issue on the foreign-policy agenda.

The first call came at 5:30 a.m., when Teresa Hill was asleep in her Dothan, Ala., home. Too groggy to move, she let the answering machine pick it up. "Hi, Mom.

Even Jim Lehrer, the moderator, seemed a bit surprised. He twice asked the candidates: both of you really believe this is the "single most serious threat" to America?

A previously undisclosed Navy record obtained by NEWSWEEK supports John Kerry's claim that he was under fire when he rescued a U.S. Green Beret who had pitched overboard from Kerry's 50-foot Swift Boat during a short but intense engagement in Vietnam's Mekong Delta in March 1969.Kerry was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions that day.

James Schlesinger has always been a hawk. But in four decades of public life, the square-jawed former professor has also been known as mulishly independent, whether as Defense and Energy secretary or CIA director. (President Gerald Ford, annoyed by Schlesinger's arrogance, fired him.) All of which could add up to an unpleasant surprise for another old Washington lion who is not renowned for his humility: Donald Rumsfeld.