March 31, 2003

American Marine and Army infantry units arrayed along broad front south of Baghdad make first probing attacks against Republican Guard division at Karbala, 65 miles from capital; this follows week of heavy aerial bombardment on Iraqi forces that guard approaches to Saddam Hussein's stronghold; in Baghdad, another round of airstrikes begins; bombing continues on city's southern outskirts, where at last two Republican Guard divisions are deployed; probing attacks are intended to keep pressure on Hussein and to re-establish allied momentum that has been stalled in recent days by fierce attacks on allied supply lines; Gen Tommy R Franks, American commander in region, disputes charge that allied commanders misjudged willingness of Hussein's loyalists to resist and underestimated size of armed force needed to sudue them; defends his war plan, as do Gen Richard B Myers, chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Sec Donald H Rumsfeld; despite Franks's confidence, situation in Iraq appears tense; war continues to unfold as far more complex tapestry than expected, with dispersed engagements, political and psychological warfare against Hussein's government, mobilization to deliver aid to south, frenetic diplomacy and shifting explanations at home about war's duration and cost; photos; map (L)

Jesse MicKinley sees problems of new multimillion-dollar productions Urban Cowboy and Miracle Worker as indications of Broadway's economic uncertainties; discusses factors affecting producers' decisions to open or to close shows; interviews (M)

Article traces rediscovery of paintings by Kasimir Malevich, once part of collection of Russian critic Nikolai Khardzhiev, who secretly preserved avant-garde work banned as subversively bourgeois; Guggenheim Museum exhibition features important Malevich works never seen in West; photos (L)

Syracuse University defeats Oklahoma University, 63-47, to win NCAA East Regional and advance to Final Four; photos (M)

Iraqi military spokesman Gen Hazem al-Rawi says 4,000 volunteers from 23 Arab countries stand ready to carry out suicide attacks against American forces in Iraq; says volunteers will follow example of soldier identified by Baghdad government as man who carried out suicide bombing that killed four American soldiers on outskirts of Najaf; says Pres Saddam Hussein has awarded that Iraqi soldier two posthumous medals and vows that 'battalions' of Iraqi and other Arab volunteers are poised to replicate attack; fears are growing about possible wave of suicide bombings and guerrilla attacks on American forces, who boast far superior weaponry and technology but remain vulnerable to fanaticism; charges and countercharges of war crimes are intensifying; Iraqi invoke heavy American bombing of Baghdad and other cities, and contend scores of civilians have been killed; Americans point to hit-and-run attacks on American troops by Iraqi paramilitary fighters and say Iraqis have repeatedly posed as civilians before suddenly attacking, sometimes using civilians as shields; photos (L)