Washington ? Afghanistan commander Army Gen. David Petraeus has renewed orders to American troops to refrain from calling in artillery or air power when battling Taliban forces unless they’re certain that no civilians are present.

The Aug. 1 order, Petraeus’ first since he assumed command early this summer from ousted Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, was an effort to fine-tune a McChrystal directive that had angered some U.S. troops, who said the restrictions on the use of artillery and air power exposed them to greater danger. Petraeus’ order, unclassified portions of which were released Wednesday, seemed unlikely to mollify that complaint, however.

In his directive, Petraeus sought to strike a balance between protecting the population — the cornerstone of counterinsurgency — and minimizing the risks to U.S. and allied troops.

He wrote that protecting civilians “does not prevent commanders from protecting the lives of their men and women as a matter of self-defense where it is determined no other options are available to effectively counter the threat.”