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Don Gonyea Gonyea is NPR's National Political Correspondent, a position he has held since 2010. His reports can be heard on all NPR News programs and at NPR.org.
Don Gonyea 2010
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Don Gonyea

Bush Stresses Iraq Mission in Combating Terrorism

The President speaks to the American Legion convention in Salt Lake City, the first of five scheduled policy speeches on the struggle against terrorism. The White House said it is the first in a series of speeches about the war on terrorism that will lead up to the president's address to the United Nations next month.

Bush Stresses Iraq Mission in Combating Terrorism

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Analysis

U.S. Connects Terrorist Threat to Historical Menaces

The administration is on a public-relations offensive in support of the war on terrorism. President Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and others have all made the comparison between today's terrorist threat and yesterday's Nazi or fascist threat.

U.S. Connects Terrorist Threat to Historical Menaces

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Katrina & Beyond

President Advises 'Optimism' in Katrina Recovery

President Bush visits New Orleans on the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's assault on the Gulf Coast. While the president continues to face criticism of his handling of the disaster, Bush told people in Mississippi that "optimism is the only option" for the future.

President Advises 'Optimism' in Katrina Recovery

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Katrina & Beyond

Bush Promises Solidarity a Year After Katrina

President Bush measures the progress of recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast, on the eve of the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina -- the worst natural disaster in at least a century. The president's stops included Gulfport, Miss., and Biloxi. The president is scheduled to spend the night in New Orleans.

Bush Promises Solidarity a Year After Katrina

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Middle East

Bush Defends Iraq Strategy, Resists Call to Leave

President Bush defends the U.S. mission in Iraq, saying that calls for American troops to leave the country are premature. The president warned that the situation would only worsen without U.S. troops -- and that "chaos in Iraq would be very unsettling in the region."

Bush Defends Iraq Strategy, Resists Call to Leave

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Politics

Bush Urges Patience on Iraq, Speed in Lebanon

President Bush holds a White House press conference Monday, describing calls for a pullout of Iraq "absolutely wrong." He also urged the rapid deployment of United Nations peacekeepers to help maintain the cease-fire in Southern Lebanon.

Bush Urges Patience on Iraq, Speed in Lebanon

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World

No Timetable Set for Castro's Return to Power

Cuban government broadcasts say Fidel Castro is recuperating from surgery for an intestinal disorder -- and in good spirits -- but there has not been an indication of when the Cuban leader might return to power. No photos or video of Castro were released. Castro has temporarily handed control of the government over to his younger brother, Raul.

No Timetable Set for Castro's Return to Power

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Sports

U.S. Readies for Basketball World Championships

The basketball world championship takes place in Japan next month. A team led by young NBA superstars Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony will try to put the U.S. back at the top of the world's basketball heap.

U.S. Readies for Basketball World Championships

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Analysis

U.S. Pressures Syria Through Regional Friends

The Bush administration realizes that Syria is one key to a peaceful resolution of the current conflict in the Middle East. But the president has so far refused to talk directly with the government in Damascus. Instead, the U.S. has decided to try and put pressure on Syria through other Mideast governments.

U.S. Pressures Syria Through Regional Friends

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Middle East

Fighting Constant Along Lebanon-Israel Border

A fresh barrage of rockets slams into the northern Israeli city of Haifa, despite days of fierce fighting between Hezbollah guerrillas and Israeli troops along the Lebanon-Israel border. Much of the current fighting is centered in and around a major Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon.

Fighting Constant Along Lebanon-Israel Border

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Middle East

U.S. Diplomats Work Under Fire in Lebanon

The current crisis between Hezbollah guerrillas and Israeli troops is testing the mettle of U.S. diplomats in Lebanon. They have arranged the evacuations of thousands of American citizens under dangerous conditions.

U.S. Diplomats Work Under Fire in Lebanon

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World

G-8 Leaders Deliver Cautious Statement on Mideast

G-8 leaders meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, release a statement expressing "deepening concern" about rising civilian casualties on all sides of the violence in the Middle East. It also blamed the immediate crisis on "efforts by extremists forces to destabilize the region."

G-8 Leaders Deliver Cautious Statement on Mideast

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Middle East

Middle East Crisis Dominates G8 Economic Summit

In St. Petersburg, Russia, world leaders are gathered at the annual G8 economic summit. The situation in the Middle East has eclipsed all other issues of importance for the group, and despite objections, President Bush continues to defend Israel's right to defend itself.

Middle East Crisis Dominates G8 Economic Summit

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World

Show Goes On at G-8; Lebanon Dominates Side Talk

The formal agenda of this weekend's G-8 economic summit meeting in Russia will hold. But away from the structured sessions, President Bush, Russia's President Putin and other leaders are occupied by the crisis in the Middle East.

Show Goes On at G-8; Lebanon Dominates Side Talk

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World

Mideast Distracts Bush, G-8 Summit Members

The agenda for the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg has been overtaken by concern over the violence between Israel and Lebanon. President Bush meets Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mideast Distracts Bush, G-8 Summit Members

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