Harsh Weather Hampers U.S. Advance to Baghdad

By Eric Westervelt,

Published March 24, 2003 at 11:00 PM CST

Fierce sandstorms near Baghdad reduce visibility and cause delays for U.S. forces advancing toward the capital. The Army's 3rd Infantry Division makes its way within 70 miles of Baghdad; outside the holy city of Najaf, small-scale skirmishes continue between U.S. and Iraqi forces. Hear NPR's John Burnett and NPR's Eric Westervelt.

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Eric Westervelt

Eric Westervelt is a San Francisco-based correspondent for NPR's National Desk. He has reported on major events for the network from wars and revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa to historic wildfires and terrorist attacks in the U.S.

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John Burnett

As NPR's Southwest correspondent based in Austin, Texas, John Burnett covers immigration, border affairs, Texas news and other national assignments. In 2018, 2019 and again in 2020, he won national Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio-Television News Directors Association for continuing coverage of the immigration beat. In 2020, Burnett along with other NPR journalists, were finalists for a duPont-Columbia Award for their coverage of the Trump Administration's Remain in Mexico program. In December 2018, Burnett was invited to participate in a workshop on Refugees, Immigration and Border Security in Western Europe, sponsored by the RIAS Berlin Commission.

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