With The Troops: We Are Slaughtering Them

Our correspondents report on bizarre Iraqi tactics, the struggle for hearts and minds, a special-ops assault and risk-taking medics on the front line

On the Road to Death at Najaf NAJAF JIM LACEY

The 2nd brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division planned to halt west of Najaf, about 100 miles south of Baghdad; it also planned on facing some resistance from local irregulars. What it didn't expect was a rush-hour-like Iraqi attack, the road dense with enemy trucks bearing down on the brigade. "My headquarters had just rolled into the objective area when 10 pickup trucks loaded with men firing machine guns and RPG-7s came racing down the road," recalls Colonel David Perkins, commander of the 2nd Brigade. "My lead tanks blew up the...

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