Why it's good to grow old...

This was the lede for an AP report on yesterday's fighting outside Najaf.

"BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- U.S. troops fought militiamen overnight near Najaf, killing 64 gunmen and destroying an anti-aircraft gun. An American soldier was killed Tuesday in Baghdad, raising the U.S. death toll for April to 115 -- the same number lost during the entire invasion of Iraq last year."

Sounds pretty straightforward, doesn't it?

A few paragraphs later, though, we find...

"According to a list of Iraqi casualties from the fight at both of Najaf's hospitals, almost all the dead were young men of fighting age, suggesting they may have been militiamen."

"Suggesting they may have been..."? Sounds a bit less definitive than "gunmen," doesn't it? I'm not sure what "fighting age" is, exactly. I'm sure I'm past it, for which I'm grateful.

It's an advance beyond 'Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out,' though, I suppose. 'Kill the young ones' is relatively selective targetting, by that standard...