Raffi Khatchadourian in the New Yorker:
At the time of Steele’s deployment, the 101st Airborne’s base of operations in Iraq was in Tikrit, and its offices were divided into two wings: one was devoted to operational matters, such as raids to kill or capture insurgents; the other was focussed on civil and legal affairs. Someone had posted a sign reading “Carnivores” over the entrance to the operations wing, and a sign reading “Herbivores” over the other entrance. Though intended as satire, the signs reflected a deep division… It was not until the surge of 2007 that the work… was synthesized, under the command of General David Patraeus, into a strategic framework.”
Petraeus did away with a false dichotomy. We’re omnivores.