Almost As Good As Being In Baghdad

When Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus got the Iraq assignment, it meant another star, and his wife had a very special plan. The daughter of a four-star herself, she'd pin her dad's fourth star on her hubby. One prob: The change-of-command ceremony happens in Baghdad.

Well, thanks to a suggestion from the previous Iraq team of Gens. John Abizaid and George Casey, Petraeus has crafted a pretty good backup plan: a video link of the promotion ceremony, the morning of the change of command, with his family back home. "They can share the occasion," Petraeus tells us, "and that will be nice."

By Paul Bedard