Remember, Petraeus also is given orders he must obey. JCS and the White house trumps anything he would do. Not giving him cover, just stating a reality.
Like so many good field generals, he may also suck at a civilian existence. Seems like we are not getting any leaks out of the CIA like we used to though. Now they are all coming from the WH.
“Keane and Fred Kagan, a military historian, had met with President Bush to recommend that the U.S. adapt a new strategy and recommended Petraeus to lead the effort.
The essence of the strategy was to do what it took to protect civilians.
Some positive trends already were evident in Iraq when Petraeus arrived to command coalition forces in early 2007.”
Updated April 2011 From:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-04-28-Gen-David-Petraeus-military-CIA_n.htm