Lynching Warner.

It was troubling to see Sen. John Warner being dressed down by Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, an Iraqi field commander who labeled Warner's suggestion that we start withdrawing troops by Christmas "a giant step backwards."

Yale law professor Bruce Ackerman picked up on the discordant note: what business does a general have reprimanding a U.S. senator, in a rather blatant breach of the tradition of civilian control over the military? Of course it's easy to understand why the White House gave Lynch his attack orders. Who else in the administration has any credibility left?

But it's sad to see men in uniform being used this way, as the last line of defense of a policy bereft of real political support. The fate of Bush's surge will be in great part determined by the response to General Petraeus in the weeks to come. Lynch's dissing of the Senate's most respected veteran may be the opening scene in an extended civilian-military drama.