in afghanistan. [ inaudible ] he currently heads the joint forces command and was scheduled to retire this summer. gates called him a brilliant military leader and had this to say about the comments. appropriate action was taken at the time. i think the subsequent five years demonstrated the lesson was learned. apparently the pentagon learned a lesson from general mcchrystal s epic meltdown. they issued a memo on tightening up restriction to the media. for some time now, long before the rolling stone article i have growned increasingly concern we have become too lax, disorganized and some cases flat-out sloppy in the way we engage with the press. reporter: reporters were disturbed to learn it requires pentagon approval for every military interview that has national or international implications.