Paging Petraeus

It's rather strange for someone seemingly so enamored of the spotlight to disappear from the scene, but that is what our Greatest General Petraeus seems to have done. While Gates, Mullins, and McChrystal parade from one meeting to the next, followed by packs of reporters, Petraeus has been visiting our new favorite dictator Karimov in Uzbekistan, he dropped in on Manas airbase in Kyrgyzstan, and he also spread some love in Yemen, all while keeping a low profile.

It's hard to tell if his new found bashfulness is by his choice, or that of SecDef Gates. Petraeus is a far more effective communicator than the spooky McChrystal, and when the request for more troops is made he might be called back to stand in the spotlight in front of Congress and explain how the new surge will win the day. Or maybe he thinks standing in the wings is the better part of valor right now.