March 21, 2003

Defense Sec Donald H Rumsfeld says allied officials have held secret talks with members of Iraq's elite Republican Guard and Special Republican Guard about defecting or surrendering; says Saddam Hussein's 'days are numbered'; says there are signs that threat of all-out American attack is prompting many Iraqi military units and their commanders to consider cease-fire or giving up; United States intelligence officials say man on videotape that was released after American missile assault on what is believed to be Hussein's bunker was probably Hussein, although no final analytical conclusion has been reached; Rumsfeld stresses that US is reaching out to Iraqi leaders and military officers with 'every conceivable mode and method'; his comments seen as latest example of aggressive psychological campaign aimed at putting pressure on Iraqi officers to give up; photo (M)

Lower house of Japan's Parliament approves legislation establishing Industrial Revitalization Corp, which will revamp debt-ridden companies (S)

Starting today, coverage of domestic security, Iraq, and related subjects will appear daily in a new section, A Nation at War, beginning on Page B1.

American and British armed forces push from Kuwait into Iraqi desert, supported by relentless artillery barrages and cruise missiles pounding heart of Baghdad; missiles strike area of Iraqi government buildings on banks of Tigris River, sending plumes of black smoke into sky above deserted city; Pentagon expresses satisfaction with results of early stages of war; first American and British casualties are reported: 12 British commandos and 4 American marines are killed when Sea Knight helicopter crashes in Kuwait; raid on Baghdad by stealth fighters and attack with cruise misiles is intended to destabilize Iraqi government by killing Saddam Hussein; American intelligence officials try to determine whether any Iraqi leaders had been hit by first strike of war; initial attacks, while substantial, fall short of all-out bombardment promised by Pentagon as most effective means to force quick surrender; Pentagon appears to be exploring possibility that Hussein might be ousted without fight through defection of his elite units; Defense Sec Donald H Rumsfeld says there is still time for Iraqi Army to surrender and avert far more forceful American attack; photos; chart (L)

Oil prices fluctuate on New York Mercantile Exchange on news of events of war in Iraq; reports of well fires in Iraq drive up prices, but start of full-scale bombing later in afternoon brings them down; April crude futures close at $28.61 per barrel; graph; chart; photo of Energy Sec Spencer Abraham with Sens Carl Levin and John McCain before briefing Senate Armed Services Committee on state of oil supplies (M)