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c. 1940s: Military donkey ride

Before and After D-Day: Rare Color Photos It’s no mystery why images of unremitting violence spring to mind when one hears the deceptively simple term, “D-Day.” We’ve all seen — in photos, movies, old news reels — what happened on the beaches of Normandy (codenamed Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold and Sword) as the Allies unleashed an historic assault against German defenses on June 6, 1944. But in color photos taken before and after the invasion, LIFE’s Frank Scherschel captured countless other, lesser-known scenes from the run-up to the onslaught and the heady weeks after: American troops training in small English...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

So it turns out Madrid was the exception, not the rule. On March 14, 2004, the party of Spanish prime minister José María Aznar was defeated at the polls after an al Qaeda attack in Madrid and after a campaign in which the opposition fiercely criticized Aznar for Spain's involvement in the war to remove Saddam Hussein. In the wake of its electoral victory, the new leftist government withdrew Spain's troops from Iraq. The question, a year ago, was this: Was Spain a harbinger of electoral defeat for the other democratic leaders of the war to liberate Iraq? Some hoped...

Australia is planning to send an additional 450 troops to Iraq, Prime Minister John Howard has said. He said the new soldiers will provide security for Japanese engineers working in southern Iraq and support efforts towards rebuilding the country. Australia already has about 950 troops stationed in and around Iraq. Prime Minister Howard, a firm ally of US President George W Bush, said he knew the surprise announcement would "be unpopular with many" Australians. The Australian soldiers will help replace troops from the Netherlands, who are due to withdraw 1,400 soldiers from southern Iraq after their government decided against renewing...

Iraq's most wanted terrorist, the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is hiding out in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk after fleeing from Mosul, according to police sources. The claim comes barely days after the Iraq's interim government said that it was close to catching the jihadist, whose group has been behind the beheadings of foreign hostages, including Briton Kenneth Bigley, and suicide bombings. 'He came to Kirkuk from Mosul,' a source in the Kirkuk police department told Reuters yesterday, speaking anonymously. 'There's a possibility that he might be captured at any moment.'

TONY Blair yesterday moved towards the hawkish United States position on Iran, jangling nerves among Labour MPs and peace campaigners fearful of fresh conflict in the Middle East. Appearing before a committee of senior MPs in London, the Prime Minister said there was "no doubt" that the Iranian government backed international terrorism and warned the regime in Tehran not to stand in the way of a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. Anti-war activists and some European diplomats fear that the US, following the re-election of George Bush as president, is gearing up for a confrontation with Iran over...

U.S.-led forces encounter stiff resistance 03/31/2003 Associated Press U.S.-led troops fought pitched battles with Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard within 50 miles of the capital Monday as coalition warplanes pounded the city and dozens of other Iraqi positions in advance of the battle for Baghdad. One U.S. soldier was killed in fierce fighting for control of the south-central city of Najaf. In the closest ground fighting yet to Saddam's seat of power in Baghdad, U.S. troops with the 3rd Infantry Division pushed into the Euphrates River town of Hindiyah on Monday. Iraqi soldiers fired from behind brick walls and hedges with...