Problematic Rules of Engagement?

Lots of hoopla about McChrystal's Courageous Restraint restricting US troops too much.  While it may not have been followed as intelligently as it should have been, it is the right thing to do.  Max Boot makes several good points:

• It was not Obama's call but McChrystal's.
• Most NATO soldiers are getting killed by improvised landmines (IED's), where artillery, air power or more firepower in general would not make a difference.
• That restraint is the right thing to do precisely because less restraint and more civilian casualties creates more violence against the US and its allies.

So, if you see people complaining about restrictive rules of engagement and they are talking about those constraining Americans rather than Germans or Spaniards or Italians today or Canadians six or seven years ago, then you can guess that they a) don't understand counterinsurgency; and/or b) are just trying to score political points.