General David Petraeus, the outgoing commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, formally transferred power on Monday over to Marine Lieutenant General John Allen. Petraeus will retire from the Army at the end of August to become director of the CIA. Considered the architect of modern-day counterinsurgency operations, Petraeus penned the 2006 Army/Marine field manual, which discussed how the military should handle civilian populations in dealing with insurgencies. Assessing the results of his strategy in Afghanistan, Petraeus explained: “I think, generally … it has borne fruit.” [BBC]
