The Navy reports that re-enlistments (for third and fourth tours) were up sharply on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, with 70% of second-termers re-upping (the normal rate is 50%) while 87% of third-termers signed up for a fourth tour (compared to the normal 60%). While Navy chief Admiral Jay Johnson attributes the reenlistments to the discovery that "war is fun", analysts (noting that first-term enlistments barely climbed) suspect that the newly enhanced retirement program may have more to do with it.--Stephen V Cole

NATO Secretary-General Solana said that his secret to getting the member nations to agree to any given plan of action was to wait until the last minute before asking, when it was obvious that the situation could not be avoided and that action was required.--Stephen V Cole