It's possible I'm judging McChristal too harshly,

but after the last few years I mistrust and despise most of these politicians in uniform as much as I do people like Schumer and Pelosi and McConnell.
Bernard's criticism is aimed at new rules of engagement imposed by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the senior American commander in Afghanistan, five weeks before Joshua Bernard was killed. They limit the use of airstrikes and require troops to break off combat when civilians are present, even if it means letting the enemy escape. They also call for greater cooperation with the Afghan National Army.

Under those rules, John Bernard said, Marines and soldiers are being denied artillery and air support for fear of killing civilians, and the Taliban is using that to its tactical advantage. In a letter to his congressman and Maine's U.S. senators, Bernard condemned "the insanity of the current situation and the suicidal position this administration has placed these warriors in."
More casualties in Obamas' time as President than in eight years under Bush; and Bush went along with a lot of idiot restrictions, too.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, raised Bernard's concerns to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during an Armed Services Committee meeting last month.

"Getting this right in the long run will actually result in fewer casualties," Mullen said, according to a transcript of the hearing. "That doesn't mean risk isn't up higher now, given the challenges we have and the direction that McChrystal has laid out."
Ah yes: "We're supposed to be leaving, but these rules might make things better somewhere down the road.  So a bunch of grunts getting killed and crippled is the price they have to pay for our theory.  Which you'll notice WE'RE not out there testing."