Just in case you thought you were only being lied to by American generals, here's Lt. General Graeme Lamb, the Scotsman who represents the UK in MNF-I, today at a press conference:

Who am I? Graeme Lamb. I'm a Scotsman.I spend my entire adult life doing this stuff, 25 -- no, 35 years now; know nothing else, really.I have a youthful spirit, a sense of humor.I still believe in duty, service and sacrifice.May be a bit old-fashioned."Go as a pilgrim and seek out danger, far from the comforts and the well-lit avenues of life" type stuff.I still believe in heroes.

Hooray! Heroes! But here's Pam "Longshanks" Hess:

Q Sir, this is Pam Hess with United Press International.I think we all appreciate your optimism, but many people watching this will have a hard time squaring your optimism and your statements that there's been progress on the ground with what we see, and not necessarily just from the news but the U.N. report, 34,000 Iraqis dead this year; the Pentagon reports of just spiraling sectarian violence. Can you square up for us where your optimism comes from more specifically and how we balance that against what we have to take to be fairly objective reports?

GEN. LAMB:Yeah, it's just the way I see it.

Now, I could take it as the glass half full or the glass half empty.

Coood ye, now? He also has a funny and approving reference to the "American crisis" of 1776, which you wouldn't expect a subject of the Queen to make.