Generals in combat

Generals and admirals aren't often casualties, but yesterday a man dressed in Afghan army uniform managed to kill Major General Harold Greene and wound a German brigadier. It was General Greene's first combat. Happily he was not in Afghanistan to command our troops but to expedite our retreat from that country, as we've retreated in almost every conflict since the 1950s.

The Pentagon spokesman assured reporters that this incident would have no effect on the American drawdown in Afghanistan. "[The Afghan army] is a security force that we believe grows stronger every week," he said.

Evidently so!