I've heard good things about the National Geographic Afghanistan war documentary Restrepo. I've also heard that we watch a soldier die during the course of it; not, boom, oh, he's dead, but really watch the transition from living, breathing, bleeding, to quiet, cold, still bleeding. It's a good thing to see a soldier die on occasion, pointlessly even, considering strategy has since dictated a withdrawal from the Korangal Valley. The Big Deal about Restrepo is that it is war without context, just some guys on a mountain with shovels and machine guns for 14 months of company. It turns out that—surprise—war objectively sucks. It drives home the idiocy of the nonsense phrase “Support Our Troops.” Yes, support him—there he is, bleeding out.

I think the concept behind Restrepo ought to be applied to the other end of the spectrum. There's an opportunity here, as McCrystal exits stage left and Petraeus exists front and center. Follow warrior on the political frontlines David Petraeus for 14 months with no excusatory backstory, and at the end we will be able to see that we have a toadie to the military-industrial complex for a President, who rings up the orders of CEOs, and a committee of fry cooks for generals. We will be able to see that with unlimited war comes the unlimited expenditure of capital and human life. Support our troops as they ram the gates of Hell; who cares if they ever come back? Not us, we've got our cash.