But even Petraeus, competent though he is, remains subordinate to the single figure who dominates this four-book narrative.
Though Mr Rouhani is president, his position of power remains subordinate to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
As to the balance of power between the two, I have a sense that Ahmadinejad remains subordinate but is much more self-confident than he was before.
As the Times Topics: Egypt News — Revolution and Aftermath overview explains, "Now, more than a year after the initial uprising, Egypt is still under martial law, with the ruling military council acting as the highest authority … The new Parliament remains subordinate to the ruling military council".
We talk proudly about the fact that Australia is a multicultural country, as long as the multi-cultural society remains subordinate to the dominating white culture.
The navy remains a subordinate command of the unified Armed Forces.
As a Western entertainment lawyer who works on Chinese co-productions explained, "The government remains determined to subordinate the growth of the film industry to outcomes such as social stability and morality".
This mouse-size rodent may remain reproductively suppressed throughout its life, if it remains as a subordinate within the eusocial mole-rat colony.
These sentiments may seem overly idealistic, especially given the dearth of deeds to back up the positive statements from Mr. Medvedev, who remains loyal — and apparently subordinate — to Mr. Putin.
The investigators found that Mr. Howard, who left the department in January, had "an inappropriate relationship" with one of his subordinates, Katherine Adair Martinez, who remains a deputy assistant secretary.
