„I wouldn‘t try at the moment to second-guess Gen. Petraeus. I think he has some sense of what he‘s doing, he is on the ground and he has a pretty good track record,“ Gingrich said. „I‘d say to any potential candidates, it‘s useful to talk to David and get a sense of what his thinking is and why.“

Petraeus was on Capitol Hill this week testifying before Congress about the state of play in the war with Afghanistan, America‘s longest. The commander will soon give President Obama a plan for withdrawing U.S. troops, starting in July.