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Kurdish commanders say their fighters will withdraw from Kirkuk after working with U.S. forces to gain control of the oil center in northern Iraq. Turkey is uncomfortable with a continued Kurdish presence in Kirkuk. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says more peacekeeping forces may be needed to maintain order in Iraq. He says no decisions have been made, but suggests other nations may supply some of their own forces to provide security as Iraq moves to form a new government. Hear Dana Priest of The Washington Post.

NPR's Melissa Block talks with Barham Salih, the prime minister of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan about the aspirations of the Kurds.

Reporter John Lawrence in Baghdad says units of the 101st Airborne Division entered Baghdad yesterday fully expecting to go into combat against Iraqi forces in one part of the city. There was no battle, but the troops had their first encounters with Iraqi civilians.

The Pentagon has issued its pack of cards on the dirty dozens who kept Saddam in power. But aside from a few jokers -- the most recent being Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim Hasan -- few have turned up. Where are they? NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports.

Efforts to gather a new goverment are under way in Iraq, but the process is slowed by the diversity of competing interests. Shia leaders were absent from a meeting in Nasiriyah this week, saying they wouldn't take part in talks led by the U.S. military. Hear NPR's Linda Wertheimer and NPR's Mike Shuster.

NPR's Jackie Northam in Baghdad reports on the emergence of new political parties in Iraq, each trying to fill the vacuum left by the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime. Political party offices are sprouting up all over the capital, representing Islamist groups as well as leftists, monarchists and former high-ranking military officers.

In a sprawling Baghdad neighborhood known as Saddam City, Muslim clerics have formed vigilante groups to stop looting and restore law and order. U.S. Marines in the mostly Shiite neighborhood have gratefully allowed the clerics to take on this responsibility to reduce the likelihood of clashes between American forces and the local population. So far, the arrangement seems to be working. NPR's John Burnett talks about what he's seen there.

The World Health Organization cautions travelers to avoid China's Shanxi province, Beijing and Toronto, saying the regions are high-risk areas for the deadly respiratory disease called SARS. But Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman and other officials call the warning an overreaction. Hear NPR's Richard Knox.

Although past experiences have taught the military to prepare for looting and lawlessness after the destruction of a government, the U.S. failed to prepare adequately in Iraq. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that not enough resources or troops were devoted to security.