Petraeus Resigns from the CIA

[astralis]

oh boy, here comes the benghazi conspiracy theorists.

----

David Petraeus resigns from CIA

David Petraeus resigns from CIA

3:34PM EST November 9. 2012 -
WASHINGTON—CIA Director David Petraeus has resigned from his post citing an extramarital affair,.

In a letter to CIA personnel, Petraeus said he met with President Obama on Thursday and asked to resign because of personal reasons. Today, Obama accepted his resignation, Petraeus said.

"Yesterday afternoon, I went to the White House and asked the President to be allowed, for personal reasons, to resign from my position as D/CIA," Petraeus wrote. "After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours. This afternoon, the President graciously accepted my resignation."

Obama praised Petraeus in a statement this afternoon, and said Michael Morell, Petraeus' deputy, will step in as acting director.

"David Petraeus has provided extraordinary service to the United States for decades. By any measure, he was one of the outstanding General officers of his generation, helping our military adapt to new challenges, and leading our men and women in uniform through a remarkable period of service in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he helped our nation put those wars on a path to a responsible end," Obama said. "As Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, he has continued to serve with characteristic intellectual rigor, dedication, and patriotism. By any measure, through his lifetime of service David Petraeus has made our country safer and stronger.

"Today, I accepted his resignation as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. I am completely confident that the CIA will continue to thrive and carry out its essential mission, and I have the utmost confidence in Acting Director Michael Morell and the men and women of the CIA who work every day to keep our nation safe. Going forward, my thoughts and prayers are with Dave and Holly Petraeus, who has done so much to help military families through her own work. I wish them the very best at this difficult time."

"Today, CIA Director David Petraeus submitted his letter of resignation to the President. Dave's decision to step down represents the loss of one of our nation's most respected public servants," Director National Intelligence James Clapper said in a statement. "From his long, illustrious Army career to his leadership at the helm of CIA, Dave has redefined what it means to serve and sacrifice for one's country."

Petraeus, a retired four star general who previously served as top commander in Iraq and Afghanistan, was arguably the most vaunted military officer of a generation.

In a letter, Petraeus noted that he had been married for 37 years and had exercised "extremely poor judgment' in conducting an extramarital affair.

Petraeus took over as head of the CIA in September of 2011 following his tour as head of allied forces in Afghanistan.

In leaving behind the military, Petraeus walked away from a career during which he has been credited by politicians and military members with turning around the war in Iraq in 2007, when it looked nearly hopeless.

"There was an entire command structure in Iraq, all executing a flawed strategy, and he had to turn that around almost immediately," said Jack Keane, a retired four-star general and architect of the "surge" strategy in Iraq that Petraeus carried out.

[Skull6]

A small part of my addled gray matter is left wondering if this isn't just a ploy to get him as far from the "AO" as possible, when I reflect back on what happened in Libya recently.

[Parihaka]

Shyt, that was quick. Since when does 'I did have sex with that women' qualify for anything other than public sack cloth and ashes and private hi fives? I'd suspect personal stress than any real need to resign or most countries bureaucrats and politicians would be gone overnight

[astralis]

pari,

Since when does 'I did have sex with that women' qualify for anything other than public sack cloth and ashes and private hi fives?

it may when you're the CIA director. this type of thing is prime blackmail material for foreign intel services.

as for personal stress, perhaps but i have my doubts. it wouldn't have been hard to put out there that you're done with government and you want a break. hillary clinton said as much; she'll be out the door soon, as will leon panetta.

[Parihaka]

pari,



it may when you're the CIA director. this type of thing is prime blackmail material for foreign intel services.

Ah but sensational 'I shagged the exotic foreign spy' boasting rights

as for personal stress, perhaps but i have my doubts. it wouldn't have been hard to put out there that you're done with government and you want a break. hillary clinton said as much; she'll be out the door soon, as will leon panetta.

Why has he done it then? Is he a Puritan?

[silentsam]

I have my doubts. it wouldn't have been hard to put out there that you're done with government and you want a break...

I agree with this. It is probably not much more than it appears to be. He made a dumb mistake and is paying for it.

[McFire]

oh boy, here comes the benghazi conspiracy theorists.

No, not a conspiracy...just the usual "smoke and mirror" distraction whenever Barry/Barrack is about to come under a microscope (this time for his Benghazi role). This will buy more time in the hope that the Benghazi fiasco fades away. When Benghazi comes up again, it will be dismissed as just the racist/republican/sore losers trying to discredit the brilliant president (the usual bluster).

[astralis]

pari,

Ah but sensational 'I shagged the exotic foreign spy' boasting rights

yeah, here's the last 'exotic foreign spy' that did this...

Why has he done it then? Is he a Puritan?

can't cover this up without someone finding out sooner or later.

[Parihaka]

pari,



yeah, here's the last 'exotic foreign spy' that did this...

Ouch!

can't cover this up without someone finding out sooner or later.

Sorry, I mean resign. Going public makes perfect sense

[S2]

Where Leadership Matters

This is an absolute "fall on your sword (pardon the pun)" scenario. The probability that the DCI would be exploited by an extramarital affair is quite low-unless he'd been targeted and made victim by a foreign agency here. The probability, however, of others lower (but no less valuable) in the food chain being exploited is very, very real. Sex remains an essential weapon of espionage. Petraeus IS guilty of an immensely poor lapse of judgement, given both what he knows and his position of leadership, and must be shot pour l'encourager les autres.

[astralis]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/10/us...-director.html

Government officials said that the F.B.I. had investigated whether a computer used by Mr. Petraeus had been compromised. In the course of that inquiry, federal investigators discovered the relationship, officials said. It remained unclear Friday when the investigation began, how it evolved into an examination of Mr. Petraeus, and whether it was continuing.

Senior members of Congress were alerted to Mr. Petraeus’s impending resignation by intelligence officials about six hours before the C.I.A. announced his resignation. One Congressional official who was briefed on the matter said that Mr. Petraeus had been encouraged “to get out in front of the issue” and resign, and that he agreed.

[Minskaya]

David Petraeus had an extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell (above), a married 40 year old American writer and researcher. A graduate of West Point (1995), she served in the United States Army and is a Major in the United States Army Reserve. MA - University of Denver / PhD - Kings College London. Broadwell gained extensive access to General Petraeus in Afghanistan for the purpose of co-writing a hagiography (which I've read). The title of the book (2012) is now - hauntingly suggestive...

[bonehead]

David Petraeus had an extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell (above), a married 40 year old American writer and researcher. A graduate of West Point (1995), she served in the United States Army and is a Major in the United States Army Reserve. MA - University of Denver / PhD - Kings College London. Broadwell gained extensive access to General Petraeus in Afghanistan for the purpose of co-writing a hagiography (which I've read). The title of the book (2012) is now - hauntingly suggestive...

Shoot. How did MY name get dragged into this?

[troung]

All in... :confu:

FBI probe of Petraeus triggered by e-mail threats from biographer, officials say - The Washington Post
When Petraeus’s name first surfaced, FBI investigators were concerned that the CIA director’s personal e-mail account had been hacked and security had been breached. But the sexual nature of the e-mails led them to conclude that Petraeus and Broadwell were engaged in an affair, the officials said.

The identity of the woman who received the e-mails was not disclosed, and the nature of her relationship with Petraeus is unknown. The law enforcement officials said the e-mails indicated that Broadwell perceived the other woman as a threat to her relationship with Petraeus.

Attempts to reach Broadwell and her relatives have been unsuccessful, and she has not made a public statement since she was linked with Petraeus on Friday.
.............
The timing of the resignation has caused a controversy, with members of Congress and others questioning why the disclosure was not made until after Tuesday’s election. Some have also complained that the FBI did not notify the White House and senior members of Congress earlier that the CIA director was under investigation.

The law enforcement officials did not provide an exact timeline for the investigation, but they said that the inquiry started at least several weeks ago. They said investigators thought they were dealing with a routine harassment case until they discovered the e-mails were traced to a private e-mail account belonging to Petraeus.

The initial concern was that someone had broken into the CIA director’s e-mail account, leading to concerns about potential security breaches, according to the officials. As the investigation proceeded and more e-mails emerged, along with Broadwell’s role, FBI investigators realized they had uncovered an affair between Petraeus and Broadwell, the officials said.
........
It was not until Tuesday that the Justice Department notified James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, that compromising material about Petraeus had been uncovered as part of an investigation, according to a senior intelligence official. Clapper then spoke with Petraeus and told him to resign.

“Director Clapper learned of the situation from the FBI on Tuesday evening around 5 p.m.,” the intelligence official said. “In subsequent conversations with Director Petraeus, Director Clapper advised Director Petraeus to resign.”

[Minskaya]

Paula Broadwell was born in North Dakota and currently lives with her husband (Radiology) and two sons in North Carolina. She is characterized by many as extremely intelligent, extremely physically fit, and tenacious. She graduated West Point in 1995 and was ranked 5th (males and females/no gender adjustments) in physical fitness. She has acquired multiple academic degrees and her published book about General Petraeus - All In - constitutes a portion of her Doctoral thesis. Many have characterized All In as a "hagiography" which is a pejorative term and implies a biography that borders on adoration. In many respects, I tend to agree with this evaluation.

Broadwell first met Petraeus in the spring of 2006 at the Harvard's Kennedy School of Government where she was a graduate student and he was invited to give a speech. Petraeus gave her his card and offered to be a mentor. In 2008, they met again in Washington and Petraeus asked her if she wanted to join in his legendary jogs along the Potomac. She agreed (Broadwell was a cross-country and track star at West Point). He pushed to the six minute a mile mark and Petraeus discovered that he could not out-run her. He was fascinated.

Broadwell served in the US Army and was recalled three times to active duty after the September 11 attacks. As a Major in the US Army Reserve, Broadwell specialized in military intelligence at the U.S. Special Operations Command. During her 15 years of military service, she lived, worked, or traveled to more than 60 countries. During numerous visits to Afghanistan, she interviewed and traveled with Petraeus and his coterie. Broadwell intended to return to active military duty after acquiring her PhD.