The force of Petraeus's reputation as the nation's premier warrior-diplomat may help bridge internal disagreements and dispel doubts about President Obama's Afghanistan strategy.

Petraeus' confirmation hearing Tuesday clearly showed that there are high expectations for the four-star general, not only to seamlessly assume command in Afghanistan but to quickly try to salvage the war effort there.

But while he may have won early skirmishes in the political war, the general acknowledged that the shooting war against "an industrial-strength insurgency" is likely to get worse before it gets better. "My sense is that the tough fighting will continue," he said. "Indeed, it may get more intense."

He showed concern of this delicate balance before senators in Congress, saying: "The security situation in Afghanistan remains tenuous, with instability fueled by a resilient and still confident insurgency, tribal tensions, political challenges, and competition for influence in the future," Petraeus said in answer to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Petraeus, credited with turning around US fortunes in Iraq, has a stature unmatched by any military officer of his generation. This assured him of easy confirmation after President Obama named him last week to replace Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who was ousted over disparaging comments about high-ranking US civilian officials in a Rolling Stone magazine article. McChrystal has told the army he plans to retire.

The easy confirmation of Petraeus was a reminder of what a formidable partner Obama has brought into his most sensitive area of foreign policy.

Petraeus literally wrote the book on counterinsurgency now used by the US military, he implemented it in Iraq, and McChrystal adapted it when he took command in Afghanistan last year.

And, it should be noted that Petraeus is already "at work." As he drove to his confirmation hearing on Tuesday morning, he had his third phone conversation in less than a week with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Petraeus told senators he would continue McChrystal's strategy of trying to avoid civilian deaths in Afghanistan, a keystone of the US military's counterinsurgency strategy. But in a nod to US troops who have complained that McChrystal tied their hands by limiting tactics, Petraeus said he would "look very hard" at how directives issued by the former commander were being implemented.

"I will continue the emphasis on reducing the loss of innocent civilian life to an absolute minimum in the course of military operations," he said. The rules of engagement for US troops are "fairly standard," he said.

A separate "tactical directive," he said, was designed to govern the use of air-launched weapons "because, of course, if you drop a bomb on a house, if you're not sure who's in it, you can kill a lot of innocent civilians in a hurry." He said that it is imperative that the directives are implemented uniformly throughout the force, and that "when our troops and our Afghan partners are in a tough spot ... it's a moral imperative that we use everything we have to ensure that they get out."

Tuesday's hearing removed any doubt that Petraeus's appointment means Obama is doubling down on his commitment to waging the war in Afghanistan. The general indicated that he will revisit McChrystal's restrictive rules of engagement, which were unpopular with American soldiers, and he suggested that a July 2011 deadline for the beginning of troop withdrawal is starting to fade into irrelevance. 

In persuading Petraeus to give up his Centcom assignment and replace McChrystal , said Defense Department press secretary Geoff Morrell, Obama was not "hiring just one man to do the job. Part of his success, his brilliance, is his ability to track highly talented people to work for him."

And Petraeus's view of the deadline will very likely hold sway, as he's proved himself as adept at dealing with members of the US Senate as he was with Iraqi sheiks, observers note.

"He's shown himself to be highly skilled at the politics - both regionally, dealing with the neighbors, and in terms of managing the domestic politics," said Heather Hurlburt, executive director of the National Security Network, a Democratic think tank. 

Petraeus's defining quality, according to one officer who used to work on his staff, is an intense hunger for information - whether from intelligence reports, press clippings or informal conversation. Some of his best sources are in the press, and he is well-known among reporters for returning e-mails from even the lowliest scribe.

Petraeus also has a deep well of personal popularity and Beltway connections. If he chose to, he could pose a genuine challenge to Obama, should they at some point differ on the course of the war.

Petraeus would be "much harder to fire than McChrystal," said Michael Pearlman, a retired historian from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Kansas and the author of a recent study of MacArthur and Truman. "But he's also got a good sense about where to stop."