from, since, generally, nor, but, before, but...

The 300th column in this series offers a useful point from which to look back. Events since On War No. 1 have, I think, generally validated the Four Generations framework. Iraq was not a "cakewalk," nor did our initial invasion of Afghanistan "eviscerate" the Taliban. Mullah Omar proved the better prophet; before the first American bomb fell, he said, "We will lose the government and lose Kabul, but it doesn't matter."