Is David the Man? Apparently not.....

Petraeus to Modify Afghanistan Rules of Engagement, Source Says

A military source close to Gen. David Petraeus says one of the first things the general will do when he takes over in Afghanistan is to modify the controversial rules of engagement to make it easier for U.S. troops to engage in combat with the enemy. Troops on the ground and some military commanders have said the strict rules -- aimed at preventing civilian casualties -- have effectively forced the troops to fight with one hand tied behind their backs.

At a news conference at the Pentagon Thursday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said Petraeus will have the flexibility to make tactical changes. But he said that does necessarily mean changes will be made. President Obama said Wednesday after he accepted Gen. Stanley McChrystal' resignation in the wake of a magazine article in which he and his staff were critical of the administration that the change-up does not represent a shift in war strategy. The issue is likely to be front and center in Senate confirmation hearings for Petraeus next week.

If I read that piece correctly? Then the question has to be asked by the reader....."what did Admiral Mullen say concerning Gen. Petraeus command authority?" To me? It sounds an awful lot like Mullen said that the general (Petraeus) can make tactical decisions all he wants to. Of course that doesn't necessarily mean that any changes will be made.

In other words, you can do anything that you want to general, just as long as you run it by the joint chiefs and the white house first and they approve of it. Other than that though, be careful little army man, or else you will meet the same fate as your predecessor.

That's right. Stanley McChrystal probably thought that he was going to have some flexibility in his new command in Afghanistan. And apparently he is yet to learn that the only flexibility that he will have in the new assignment, will be to regularly be bent over by this administration and afterward left with the discretion to follow their orders or else.

So Gen. Petraeus believes that he is actually going to be a theater commander who will be allowed to do things differently from his predecessor? And he actually believes that this white house is going to let him change the rules of engagement in Afghanistan? The same rules of engagement that they have directed to be implemented in Afghanistan?

Don't be silly general. Now be a good little army man general and do as you are told. Follow the orders of these civilians who revel in their authority to command and control the American military. Or else be prepared to be summoned to the throne room and fired and disgraced just like McChrystal was.

Oh....and one more thing. Be prepared to willingly suspend disbelief on anything that you are prepared to offer in rebuttal to their version of the way things are going to be.