Congressman  Brad Sherman (D-Cal) just came up with two unexpected exchanges with Gen. Petraeus, both on points I’ve wonder about.

Sherman (that’s him at right) asked Petraeus to consider the possibility that Congress might pass a law setting a deadline after which no government funds except for limited purposes, such as force protection or training. And suppose the president ordered him to continue conducting other types of operations, in violation of that restriction. What would Petraeus do?

Gen. Petraeus: “I would consult my lawyer.”

He added on a second round that he would also consult his “chain of command.”

Sherman asked if that meant there was a possibility he would disregard a direct order from the commander-in-chief. Petraeus said he hadn’t said that, only that he “would have to figure out what to do.”

The second exchange was something Petraeus brought on. Sherman had said in passing that the administration had decided that Iraq was the “central fron in the war on terror” without consulting leadres, not posted in Iraq, who might doubt that.

Petraeus, after finessing the defy-the-commander-in-chief dilemma, interjected the familiar administration line that “Al Qaida believes that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror.”

Sherman made a suggestion that always occurs to me when I hear that claim:

“Well, Al Qaida is telling us that they think it’s the central front. They may be lying. They’ve been known to do so. And if we allow Ahdmadinejad and Bin Laden to tell us where to fight them, they may not give us their best advice.”