From Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg:  The U.S. military in Afghanistan has nearly tripled since 2009 the frequency of commando raids launched against Taliban or insurgent groups, according to NATO figures.

From Laura Rozen, the Envoy:  David Petraeus, perhaps the most celebrated American general of his generation, is likely to leave his job as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan this summer, multiple defense officials say.

The Rolling Stone correspondent whose expose last July ended Stanley McChrystal's career has identified "Another Runaway General." Or so he says.

From Foreign Policy:  On Friday, the White House parted ways with a very publicly unhappy national security advisor and many blamed his hasty pre-election exit on the account in journalist Bob Woodward's new book, Obama's Wars.

From Bob Woodward, the Washington Post:  Army Col. John Tien, an Iraq combat veteran and former Rhodes Scholar serving on the NSC, was junior in rank, so he spoke first.

Bob Woodward's latest insider book, Obama's Wars, reveals that the White House team has outsized egos, sharp disagreements over policy, petty bickering, and bureaucratic infighting.   It also tells us some things we didn't know.

From Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor: Gen. David Petraeus, appointed this June to turn the Afghanistan war around, has just made his first visible impact on how the increasingly deadly conflict is being run.

From Marc Tran and Jon Boone, the Guardian:  Plans to begin handing control of provinces to Afghan security forces by the end of this year have been quietly dropped amid fears among European countries that Petraeus is less committed to a speedy transfer of power.