The New Republic

"This afternoon, CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair, and within seconds Twitter was abuzz with suspicion from conservatives about the real reason he quit." As usual the Republicans are being hypocritical. I tend to believe that "affair" was the real reason he resigned. I also think that conservatives who under other circumstances (had Romney been elected) would have approved of his resignation. I hope Obama doesn't accept the resignation, then we will see how these conservative hypocrites will react.

- arnon1

November 9, 2012 at 6:31pm

yep--"gold rush" indeed. ppl luv a good juicy scandal. let's see how far the lunatics can run with this! and indeed, as for any remaining calm thru this: remember the outrage when Bush2 was picked by the SCOTUS? they can be calm, this time around, who were agonized then with the SCOTUS, and the consequent eight years of Bush2, and beyond. .............but on the other hand: will we be dragged into another...farce too unthinkable to imagine just yet? i don't quite know as of now...........

- cdmcl3

November 9, 2012 at 6:47pm

Soldier makes mistake, does the honorable thing before an election by waiting till it is over and something something coverup Obama killed embassy people in Benghazi... The resignation was for personal reasons not criminal, no one anywhere has any right to question the timing of it. screw these bozos.

- blackton

November 9, 2012 at 7:15pm

According to the not-Twitter news, the affair was with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, perhaps during their time together in Afghanistan. The FBI was conducting a probe that brought the biographer to their attention, and thus the affair. No hint of blackmail. Obama delayed accepting the resignation, submitted last night, until this morning. If the affair was when Petraeus was still in uniform, he actually can be brought up on military charges. While he will not be testifying on Benghazi next week, there is no reason why he can't. Since there is already swirling speculation as to Cabinet changes, my first thought was that Obama really, really wants Susan Rice as SecState. After all, Deval Patrick and his wife are in DC for a private dinner. Sorry, I am watching the SecTreas contest. Sheila Bair endorsed Elizabeth Warren, and I shall be extremely happy if that helps Sheila Bair become SecTreas.

- K2K

November 9, 2012 at 8:12pm

Senator Diane Feinstein, D, CA, chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, and she is holding hearings on Benghazi next week. However, now that the Pentagon timeline came out maybe this afternoon, well, so much for the popular media myth of SpecialOps teams ready to deploy in ten minutes. I had switched to Fox, and they were covering the ongoing postSandy devastation on the south shore of Long Island as much as trying to figure out the Petraeus story. Gov. Cuomo got his moment, about the shortage of utility poles.

- K2K

November 9, 2012 at 8:31pm

More evidence that we cannot have an adult conversation about governance in this country. I am not talking about what Petraeus did: at this hour this seems not so much about an indiscretion but a possible or potential security breach , as well as a man who needs to take some time off to mend fences with a woman he professes to love. I am talking about the need to explain everything within thirty minutes after it happens. Anyone trying to do that in the absence of personal knowledge or solid reporting is a fool, and anyone who reads that stuff is a sucker.

- SFergessen

November 9, 2012 at 9:06pm

From Petraeus to Feinstein tio Sandy to Benghazi. Another mixed up post by K2K. He is indeed losing it, poor guy.

- arnon1

November 9, 2012 at 9:08pm

Alpha males seize power, kill enemies, and screw handy women. Shakespeare knew this a few hundred years ago. Even as we read this, somewhere an alpha male is seizing power, killing a foe, and screwing a chick. Who says evolution does not apply to us? Don't hold your breath waiting for us to evolve into peaceful and faithful creatures.

- skahn

November 9, 2012 at 10:14pm

Look, notwithstanding K2K, there is only one question that must be answered here: "What did Nate Silver know about this and when did he know it?" I think we have to "follow the money" to get to the bottom of this thing.

- roidubouloi

November 9, 2012 at 10:45pm

I'm shocked, shocked to discover that the CIA director didn't resign over his personal crisis a few days before the election and thereby deliberately damage the president who had appointed him to his job! Have people no standards anymore?

- ironyroad

November 9, 2012 at 11:43pm

well roid, if Nate Silver knows why Amb Stevens was in Benghazi that day (the real unanswered question), Twitter could get back to Lindsay Lohan :) Endless hearings: what Congress does best. But, Benghazi is not just a "rightwing obsession" no matter how much the new TNR tries to dismiss Benghazi as twitter-fluff. Ok, it was fun last night to hear Rudy Giuliani defend adultery by repeatedly citing Eisenhower's affair with his driver on the eve of D-Day.

- K2K

November 10, 2012 at 6:21am

from today's WSJ, page A1: "...A Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry into use of Mr. Petraeus's Gmail account led agents to believe the woman or someone close to her had sought access to his email, the people said. ..." Well, THAT fuels my personal conspiracy theory about Google.

- K2K

November 10, 2012 at 6:47am

It is hardly a secret that Ambassador Stevens was in Benghazi because he was competing for the affections of Paula Broadwell and Petraeus wanted to get rid of him. The REAL story is that Obama, a Kenyan Muslim socialist, is secretly helping al Qaeda to restore the Caliphate and extend to the United States. Petraeus was the contact point between Obama and the al Qaeda leadership. But Petraeus made the mistake of using his "official" status for personal business, offing Stevens. That's why the CIA generated for the administration fake talking points about Benghazi, to throw everyone off the scent. The alternative theory that Libya is a chaotic and dangerous place where it is difficult to know what is going on, who is armed and dangerous, and what occurred in an unexpected attack on an American facililty, and that there is nothing to conceal or even of great intrinsic interest about the fact that four American officers were killed there, is PATENTLY RIDICULOUS! The same people who push this ridiculous story want us to believe that Obama actually won the election, that the earth is getting warmer, and that human beings "evolved" from more primitive species. How stupid do they think we are?

- roidubouloi

November 10, 2012 at 9:14am

If it is as simple as cheating on his wife, this is stupid. JFK, RFK, MLK, FDR, Ike, and Big Bill cheated on their wives. So what? With his, brains, background and experience, is he the best guy to protect the US as CIA Director? If the answer is yes, then he should have toughed it out, if Barry wanted to keep him, for the good of the country. And this stuff about everybody can be replaced is crap. None of the above could be replaced and have the same positive outcome, and that probably goes for Petraeus too.

- Vogelfam

November 10, 2012 at 11:01am

Vogelfam, I think the problem is that affairs are a no-no for CIA employees generally because they create vulnerability. Given that, it is impossible to let the affair of the head of the organization pass. Petraeus knows this. Not clear how long Petraeus has known that he was outed and would have to resign, but I would have expected him not to compromise the election by doing so before-hand. Obama had nothing to do with his misbehavior.

- roidubouloi

November 10, 2012 at 11:17am

Vogelfam, I think the problem is that affairs are a no-no for CIA employees generally because they create vulnerability. Given that, it is impossible to let the affair of the head of the organization pass. Petraeus knows this. Not clear how long Petraeus has known that he was outed and would have to resign, but I would have expected him not to compromise the election by doing so before-hand. Obama had nothing to do with his misbehavior.

- roidubouloi

November 10, 2012 at 11:17am

Vogelfam et al.... bear in mind the spark that provided this particular blowup was his mistress illegally accessing his CIA computer and thus initiating an FBI investigation. And we all know what the barrage of questions to a currently-serving Director, unable to escape the public eye for long, would include... when did the affair start, and have there been other women? Both answers to be relentlessly investigated by reporters by the battalion. If he resigns, at least his family doesn't have to read about this every day for as long as he remains the nation's head spy. Not to mention that it's kind of a distraction to, you know, being the president's intelligence advisor. And consider: if there's one thing we all know about guys fooling around on their wives, the one teeny tiny little indiscretion the public learns about is usually the tip of the iceberg.... there may be other women, a much deeper and intimate relationship with this mistress than we know of so far, the affair(s) could have taken place during a time when the Patreaus family was going through an entirely unrelated tough time that would make the revelation of this now all the more painful... who knows. Knowing Petraeus, I actually think this was the honorable thing for him to do for both his family and his country. What he did was stupid and selfish, to be sure, but at least when it came out his first concern wasn't to cling to power and try to rationalize it with "but I'm the most qualified, the country needs me, etc" but instead to step down to save his family some dignity and let the country move on about its business. K2K... you think it'll be Susan Rice? I would have bet on J Kerry, but you may be right about that.

- Tristan

November 10, 2012 at 12:32pm

Coincidentally, the incoming chief executive of Lockheed, Christopher Lubasik, was ousted aka forced to resign this week for having an affair with a subordinate at Lockheed. These things happen. Details here, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324894104578109344076574924.html As for the conspiracy mutterings re the timing of Petraeus's resignation, I seriously doubt that if he had resigned the week before the election a single vote would have changed. Dan

- dbuck1

November 10, 2012 at 2:04pm

I was not suggesting a conspiracy, only a sense of duty and discretion on the part of Petraeus despite his marital indiscretion. As for Benghazi conpiracy -- pffft. Nothing about nothing, other than inadequate State Dept finding in a dangerous world

- roidubouloi

November 10, 2012 at 2:39pm

Also, I'm surprised nobody is investigating the real truth about who appointed Amb. Stevens in the first place -- Obama, that's who! Typical of the lamestream media to just let that one pass as if it were normal procedure for the president to fill diplomatic vacancies with qualified people.

- ironyroad

November 10, 2012 at 5:08pm

Hello Tristan. http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/who-might-serve-in-a-second-obama-administration--20121107?mrefid=site_search has the most exhaustive speculations for every cabinet post. I am more focussed on SecTreas and SecDef. Somehow, John Kerry's future seems to be linked to whether Deval Patrick wants to replace Kerry in the Senate, or succeed Holder as AG, as long as both options can block Scott Brown from running for either job. I think Susan Rice would be a contentious confirmation. I think John Kerry could bore anyone to the point of agreeing to anything just to get Kerry to end one sentence :) Since everyone except roid now knows that the attack in Benghazi was planned, and that State Dept funding for security was more than adequate, I continue to want to know if Amb Stevens was there to either 1) buy back the thousands of missing Strela's (the Russian Stinger), or 2) buy the missing Strela's to ship to the Syrians fighting Assad. I think it was two days later that someone in Gaza used one of those Strela's to try to shoot down an Israeli helicopter. Ms. Broadwell is a West Point graduate, former paratrooper, and intense runner. I suspect she was Petraeus' sole indiscretion - so much in common. Of course, now he, as a private citizen, can tell the truth, if he testifies about Benghazi before Congress.

- K2K

November 10, 2012 at 6:29pm

I'm still puzzled as to the "scandal" even if Benghazi was planned. One cannot ward off every single untoward or hostile event in the world, and there is no reason to believe that this administration has been less concerned about security than its predecessor. There are some constraints on operating on foreign soil, and it's not necessarily a solution to turn every US installation into an armed fortress. It would be a lot easier to get to the truth of what happened if there was a cessation of the wingnut chorus who think the president was somehow cheering on Al Qaeda. They are so insane that -- rather like the 9-11 Truthers of a few years ago -- they degrade the whole inquiry by their melodramatic fantasies.

- ironyroad

November 10, 2012 at 6:42pm

Gee, is it customary for the government to tell us with whom ambassadors are meeting and what they are discussing? I didn't know that. I don't seem to know about any of the meetings any of our ambassadors are having and what they are talking about. How did I get left out? Perhaps K2K will volunteer to keep all of us informed about what our diplomats around the world are doing. As irony said, so what if the attack was planned? Why is that such a surprise? Contra the wingnut conspiracy theorists, the Obama administration has never claimed that terrorism was finished. Why then would we be lopping off the heads of terrorists with drone aircraft? Quite clearly the Obama administration does not believe terrorism is finished and is doing its best to combat it. That does not mean that it will ever be possible to prevent attacks everywhere in the world, especially in places that are barely governed. Were their security mistakes? I look forward to the hearings to find out. But he very idea that there is something here to conceal is the sort of lurid fantasy that appeals to children -- or nutters.

- roidubouloi

November 10, 2012 at 8:26pm

Famous words from the past "I did not have sex with that woman" And the half witted schlemiel attacks the republicans, and adds that BHO should not accept te resignation . Dumb dumb he already accepted the resignation. Wake up.

- JAIMECHUCH

November 10, 2012 at 8:31pm

The whole affair of Petraus , from ill appointment to head the CIA, his affairs, and more is a mess. Follow the articles in the Washington Post. From free access to his personal GMail account and more. It is just a disregard for the CIA, a complete lack of respect.

- JAIMECHUCH

November 10, 2012 at 9:20pm

Of course, pointing out that the FBI informed James Clapper of the emails at 5:00 PM on election day, and that Clapper then advised Petraus to resign, will do nothing to stop the conspiracy mongers.

- dstatton

November 11, 2012 at 12:20pm

I am posting this without comment: "Washington—The top Senate Democrat on intelligence issues said Sunday she would investigate the Federal Bureau of Investigation's handling of the inquiry into Central Intelligence Agency chief David Petraeus, including why top lawmakers weren't informed of the investigation before it became public."

- arnon1

November 11, 2012 at 2:02pm

Here is the link to my post above: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324894104578112851221977118.html

- arnon1

November 11, 2012 at 2:03pm

Alas for K2K, it appears Paula Broadstreet might not only have been the not-so-sole-indiscretion, she apparently harassed and threatened another woman who was so frightened she contacted the FBI. With friends like these who needs enemies.

- Sophia

November 11, 2012 at 3:41pm

This was a useless article. Unless the writer gave new information or went deeper into some of the questions commenters have raised, why write it? To back conservative conspiracy theories that everyone expects? How lazy! Feinstein brought up good points. Even if the FBI only traced the emails to Petraeus Tuesday, questions remain. The Administration should have asked Petraeus to dalay his resignation until after the Benghazie hearings? Why was Petraeus so eager to resign? TO let his personal trials and foibles get in the way of serving his country? Why not announce it, apologize and continue on? If newsstories have this right: why did Clapper tell Petraeus he should resign before the President even knew about all this? Clapper was running the show on this one - what was his role? And who is Clapper anyway??

- CAMtwo

November 11, 2012 at 3:41pm

While the military officially condemns adultery under its regulations... Given the military mindset Petraeus mostly likely acquired, he very well could have held himself up to that code. Barring something obvious, no need to look any further.

- sighthnd

November 11, 2012 at 3:47pm

Sophia - my sincere sympathy for your recent brain damage. We all wonder what happened to your thoughtful insights so frequently posted at tnr.com before 2012. Please stop singling me out, and I shall go back to ignoring you. Maybe you should try taking ironyroad's course in espionage fiction. Surely there is fiction that has a character named "Broadstreet" ...

- K2K

November 11, 2012 at 4:47pm

K2K "Sophia - my sincere sympathy for your recent brain damage" This is a sick joke. If anyone is brain damaged, it's K@K.

- arnon1

November 11, 2012 at 5:20pm

More on the Petraeus investigation: "Lawmakers Question F.B.I. Handling of Petraeus Affair" By BRIAN KNOWLTON "WASHINGTON — Lawmakers with authority over intelligence and national security expressed consternation on Sunday that the F.B.I. investigation that led to the resignation of David Petraeus as director of central intelligence could have been conducted without the knowledge of officials in the White House or Congress. They also voiced puzzlement that it came to a head within hours of President Obama’s re-election. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, a Democrat and the intelligence committee chairwoman, said she wanted to know why the F.B.I. had not notified her and other intelligence committee leaders about Mr. Petraeus’s affair; she said she learned of it only from news reports Friday and was dumbstruck when he confirmed it later in a phone call with her. Questioned on “Fox News Sunday,” Ms. Feinstein said that she would investigate why the F.B.I. did not notify her committee beforehand." http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/us/lawmakers-question-fbi-handling-of-petraeus-affair.html?hp&pagewanted=print

- arnon1

November 11, 2012 at 5:33pm

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/petraeus-second-woman-jill-kelley-a-military-liaison-officer-for-us-state-department/story-e6frg6so-1226514861664 "...A senior US military official identified the second woman as Jill Kelley, 37, who lives in Tampa, Florida, and serves as the State Department's liaison to the military's Joint Special Operations Command, where among other duties, secret drone missions are worked on. ..." Chris Wallace had a terrific interview with Senator Dianne Feinstein on "Fox News Sunday" today, which is the primary source for the NYT's Brian Knowlton's filter. Wallace followed with an excellent panel on the "fiscal cliff". Senators Bob Corker and Kent Conrad, and Reps. Tom Price and Chris von Hollen.

- K2K

November 11, 2012 at 7:04pm

" 11/10/2012 - 5:08pm EDT | ironyroad Also, I'm surprised nobody is investigating the real truth about who appointed Amb. Stevens in the first place -- Obama, that's who! Typical of the lamestream media to just let that one pass as if it were normal procedure for the president to fill diplomatic vacancies with qualified people." What surprises is the level of disdain you have developed to the very idea that there might be questions about Obama's opaque policies and about the expectation of more transparency than obfuscation from your chosen ruler. What surprises even more is how well you understand and recognize the way little minds work, as long as they play for the other team. As sarcasm goes, this is pretty limp stuff.

- Noga

November 11, 2012 at 8:25pm

The latest on the Petraus affair http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/lawmakers-want-probe-of-petraeus-investigation/2012/11/11/e5bf452e-2c27-11e2-a99d-5c4203af7b7a_print.html Lawmakers want probe of Petraeus investigation By Karen DeYoung and Sari Horwitz, Sunday, November 11, 8:21 PM Senior lawmakers called for an inquiry into the FBI’s handling of the case of CIA Director David H. Petraeus on Sunday as new ­details and questions emerged about the investigation that led to his resignation last week. Law enforcement sources identified Jill Kelley, 37, of Tampa as the woman whose report of harassing e-mails eventually ­exposed an extramarital affair ­between Petraeus and Paula Broadwell, a former Army officer who wrote a biography of the retired four-star general. The departure in disgrace of one of the administration’s most respected and prominent figures came as President Obama is re­organizing his national security team for a second term. Petraeus was to have been a primary witness this week at a series of closed-door congressional hearings on possible intelligence and security lapses surrounding the September attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said Sunday that news of the resignation was “like a lightning bolt” and that top lawmakers had not been aware the investigation was underway. Her first inkling, Feinstein said on “Fox News Sunday,” came from media inquiries Friday, just hours before Petreaus’s resignation was announced publicly. She called Petraeus, she said, and he told her of his plans. “This is something that could have had an effect on national security,” Feinstein said. “I think we should have been told.” She said the committee would “absolutely” investigate why the FBI did not notify relevant officials sooner. Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said: “It just doesn’t add up that you have this type of investigation. The FBI is investigating e-mails, the ­e-mails leading to the CIA director, taking four months to find out that the CIA director was involved.” “I have real questions about this. I think a timeline has to be looked at and analyzed to see what happened,” King said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” The FBI investigation began after Kelley visited the bureau’s Tampa office in early summer and provided investigators with harshly worded e-mails accusing her of seeking an intimate relationship with Petraeus. Kelley, who is married to a Tampa surgeon, met the general when he was head of the Tampa-based U.S. Central Command, from 2008 to 2010. A military official said she was an unpaid volunteer at MacDill Air Force Base, where the headquarters are located. Petraeus and his wife, Holly, socialized with Kelley and her husband. A photograph in the local newspaper showed the two couples together at a 2010 party at the Kelleys’ six-bedroom waterfront home. Other photos on ­social-media sites showed Petraeus with the Kelleys’ three daughters and the couples at a going-away party for Petraeus in June 2010 as he headed to Afghanistan to command U.S. and international forces there. Federal law enforcement officials said they did not know the nature of the relationship between Kelley and Petraeus other than that they were social friends. The officials were not authorized to discuss the case and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Kelleys have hired Abbe Lowell, a prominent Washington lawyer, and Judy Smith, a crisis manager, who declined to confirm that Kelley was the recipient of the e-mails. Smith issued a statement Sunday on behalf of the Kelleys, which said: “We and our family have been friends with General Petraeus and his family for over five years. We respect his and his family’s privacy and want the same for us and our three children.” After Kelley turned over the e-mails, FBI investigators determined that they had come from Broadwell. An examination of Broadwell’s accounts led to the discovery of exchanges between her and Petraeus — who used an address with a fictitious name, not his CIA or military account. The FBI concluded from the ­contents of the e-mails that Broadwell and Petraeus were having an affair. When Petraeus’s name surfaced, officials said, they did not feel it was appropriate to brief anyone outside the Justice Department, including the White House or Congress. The criminal investigation was still ongoing, key interviews had not been conducted, and they did not know what role, if any, Petraeus had in the e-mail harassment case, they said. Before determining whether there had been a security breach, one official said, it would have been premature to discuss such a sensitive issue with anyone outside the investigation. In late summer, after ruling out any ­security involvement, high-level Justice Department officials were informed about the harassment investigation regarding Petraeus. “The FBI had to get to the bottom of it first,” the law enforcement official said. “They had to figure out whether there was a breach. And they eventually determined there wasn’t. But this took time. And we had to figure out what role, if any, Petraeus had with the harassing e-mails, which turned out to be none.” During separate interviews with the FBI, officials said, both Petraeus and Broadwell admitted to the affair. After a final interview with Broadwell the week of Oct. 22, and with Petraeus the following week, investigators concluded there had been no criminal cyber-harassment. On Nov. 6, Election Day, the FBI notified Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. for the first time of the investigation and its outcome. Officials said they had followed established procedures by notifying Petraeus’s intelligence-community superior only when all the facts had been established. Clapper spoke by telephone with Petraeus that evening and advised him to resign. On Wednesday, Clapper told the White House, which informed President Obama the next morning. Petraeus offered his resignation to Obama that afternoon; Obama accepted it Friday morning. A number of lawmakers said they would insist that Petraeus testify during closed-door hearings this week on the Benghazi attack in which U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed. Petraeus visited the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, less than two weeks ago for talks with the CIA station chief and other officials. The administration has said that Mike Morell, Petraeus’s deputy and now acting CIA director, will testify for the agency. “I don’t see how in the world you can find out what happened in Benghazi before, during and after the attack if General Petraeus doesn’t testify,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” He suggested the formation of a joint select committee of the House and Senate, similar to those convened to investigate the Watergate and Iran-contra scandals. Graham also said he would oppose the selection of the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan F. Rice, to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state. Rice has been on the shortlist for the post. Days after the Benghazi attack, now labeled a terrorist assault by the administration, Rice went on several television shows and said that the assault grew out of a protest march that had turned violent. “I’m not going to promote somebody who I think has misled the country or is . . . incompetent,” Graham said. Greg Miller, Ernesto Londoño, Julie Tate and Bob Woodward contributed to this report.

- JAIMECHUCH

November 11, 2012 at 10:24pm

And now get to know Paula Broadwell through the Washington Post. With Paula Broadwell, Gen. David Petraeus let his guard down http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/with-paula-broadwell-gen-david-petraeus-let-his-guard-down/2012/11/10/f54d3f38-2b8b-11e2-bab2-eda299503684_story_2.html

- JAIMECHUCH

November 11, 2012 at 10:52pm

Former aides wonder: Did Petraeus stumble in unfamiliar terrain? http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/former-aides-wonder-did-petraeus-stumble-in-unfamiliar-terrain/2012/11/11/881b650c-2c3a-11e2-a99d-5c4203af7b7a_story_1.html “Over the years I knew him, he became increasingly fixated on his image,” said one U.S. official who worked with Petraeus in Iraq and Afghanistan. But those closest to the general said the acclaim did not change the way he commanded troops or interacted with his staff. Petraeus seemed especially well suited for the fame that he achieved in the Iraq war. He had served as a top aide to three prominent generals in the Pentagon and Europe and had a practiced ease with the reporters whom he had known, in some cases, for more than a decade. “I find it hard to believe he had difficult dealing with the fame,” Mansoor said. “I think he truly expected it. No one in the Army was better positioned to deal with the notoriety.” Another theory advanced by Petraeus’s most loyal staff officers is that his retirement from the Army to become director of the CIA might have led to his collapse. His military career had defined his life since his days as a West Point cadet and his marriage to his wife, Holly, the daughter of a general. In public, he seemed to miss the comfort and confidence that his uniform provided. He recently showed up to speak at a dinner in Washington wearing a row of military medals on the lapel of his suit jacket. The brass prompted a few double takes from a crowd in which only uniformed military men had donned their medals. Former defense secretary Robert M. Gates, a CIA veteran, had advised Petraeus not to bring his entourage of former military officers to the agency. The former general showed up for his first day at the agency alone. At the CIA, Petraeus still retained a big staff and the perks of high office, including a staffer to accompany him on his morning runs when traveling and a standing order to ensure he had fresh, sliced pineapple on the road before he turned in for bed. But he lost the daily and immediate connection to the military family that had sustained him over the course of the past decade of war. As his old staff officers moved onto new Army assignments, Broadwell stayed close, going on long runs with him and helping to pick out a wardrobe of tailored suits he would wear at the CIA. “In the Army, he had a built-in group of associates to run with him, joke with him and keep him company,” said one Petraeus confidante. “He lost that when he left the Army. Maybe he should have rented some staff officers to bring to the CIA.” Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Greg Miller contributed to this report.

- JAIMECHUCH

November 11, 2012 at 11:09pm

Ruth Marcus Opinion Writer In Petraeus downfall, hubris meets high tech http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ruth-marcus-in-petraeus-dowfall-hubris-meets-high-tech/2012/11/11/ad63214c-2c4e-11e2-a99d-5c4203af7b7a_story.html?hpid=z2

- JAIMECHUCH

November 11, 2012 at 11:20pm

As in Patton the movie at the end George C Scott says In Rome days when the conqueror Cesar returned in the processing parade a slave was behind the Cesar and repeated to his ears : that any success was fleeting. A great general had a downfall. General Petraus is no more. A sad ending to this tragedy.

- JAIMECHUCH

November 11, 2012 at 11:31pm

"As sarcasm goes, this is pretty limp stuff." I'll do better. Things wax and wane, and anyway this isn't my day job.

- ironyroad

November 12, 2012 at 12:10am

Maybe sarcasm is not you forte. Irony is a better fit. But contempt is the enemy of irony, isn't it?

- Noga

November 12, 2012 at 6:06am

"But contempt is the enemy of irony, isn't it?" Never heard of contemptuous irony, or ironic contempt?

- arnon1

November 12, 2012 at 9:48am

You know Noga, maybe if you'd find another target for your dislike and frustration, perhaps we'd both be happier? I'm not sorry Obama won, obviously, but I didn't as an individual cause that to happen in any way. I'm all for getting to a full understanding what happened at Benghazi, but I'm against pre-determined and paranoid assumptions being set up as a kind of evaluative framework before we know the facts.

- ironyroad

November 12, 2012 at 11:48am

Dislike and frustration? Because I suggested that sarcasm is not really one of your strengths? Of course it is as you wish, ironyroad.

- Noga

November 12, 2012 at 2:35pm

Disingenuousness isn't one of yours, either, Noga.

- ironyroad

November 12, 2012 at 5:30pm

Not getting your point. But whatever.

- Noga

November 12, 2012 at 8:15pm

PETRAUS SECOND WOMAN GREW UP IN PHILADELPHIA AND IS OF CHRISTIAN LEBANESE DESCENT . Thus conspiracy theories are discarded , no Muslim was involved. No Israeli was involved to take revenge that Petraus said at one time that being friendly to Israel was bad policy for the USA.  http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20121112_Petraeus_email_trail_has_Philly_link.html VIDEO: That time that Arthur Kade interviewed David Petraeus' biographer/alleged mistress, Paula Broadwell Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/VIDEO_That_time_that_Arthur_Kade_interviewed_David_Petraeus_mistressbiographer.html#ixzz2C3pcWrRG 

- JAIMECHUCH

November 12, 2012 at 8:23pm

wow. If Paula Broadwell IS of Lebanese Christian descent, the conspiracy tweeters can start wondering if she really is a deep cover honey trap, and/or, G-d willing, that there is NO global Zionist conspiracy because after all, Carlos Slim (Mexican gabillionaire who owns a big chunk of the NYT) is also of Lebanese Christian descent. seriously, this would be another twist if Amb Stevens really was in Benghazi to buyback some of the thousands of shoulder fired missiles gone missing from Qaddhafi's arsenal. Not that the USA is arming anyone, but he was meeting the Turkish ambassador to Libya just before the attack. And Turkey IS arming the Syrian rebels. oy. I was reading at a totally different website when this page just appeared. Internet Explorer on meth?

- K2K

November 12, 2012 at 8:51pm

Ms Jill Kelley is the one that is from Lebanese Christian descent....... """Kelley comes from a Lebanese family that lived in the small seaport of Jounieh, a resort town just north of Tyre. The family belonged to the Maronite Catholic Church, one of the oldest denominations of Christianity. Kelley's parents, Marcelle and John Khawam, came to the Philadelphia area in the mid 1970s. Kelley has an older sister, Caroline, an older brother, David, and a twin, Natalie. """"

- JAIMECHUCH

November 12, 2012 at 9:39pm

This story is getting stranger and stranger by the minute.

- Noga

November 12, 2012 at 10:27pm

thanks, JaimeC, for the clarification. yes, stranger and stranger. I left CNN on, and Piers Morgan had a fmr asst dir FBI Miller, very articulate about how the timelines, yeah the FBI friend of Kelley sent shirtless photos of himself to Kelley. He kept saying "you can't make this stuff up". But, you can. Take your pick. Film, tv, fiction, reality, how Claudius became emperor. Yet, I keep thinking this is a bit too much like Turkey. and it took sex to maybe get to why Amb Stevens was in Benghazi on 9/11. That meme is now coming up a lot.

- K2K

November 13, 2012 at 12:36am

I know this is a stretch, K2K, but could it be that the reason Amb. Stevens was in Benghazi was that he was ambassador to Libya, and Benghazi is a large city (relatively speaking) in that country, and that sometimes the US ambassador to a country travels from the capital to another city in that country in order to conduct US government business that requires his or her presence? Just possible, maybe?

- ironyroad

November 13, 2012 at 1:01pm

irony: considering how dangerous Benghazi was before 9/11 (mucho evidence available from a wide range of news sources, including Stevens' own reports on the security deterioration), it makes no sense that Amb Stevens would travel there for routine gov business. Sorry - there are plenty of facts to make your point of view astonishingly naive.

- K2K

November 13, 2012 at 2:56pm

might want to watch the 2000 film, "Rules of Engagement", based on a story by retiring Senator Jim Webb, d, VA. Only, in that story, it is the NSAdvisor who spins the web of deceit, including pressure on the rescued ambassador (setting is Yemen) to lie about what happened, in order to throw the US Marines under the bus. Just like Condi Rice's testimony about 9/11/2001 'we could not imagine...' was disingenuous once you read Tom Clancy's novel from 1997 about a 747 flying into the U.S. Capitol when fictional Jack Ryan is about to be sworn in as VP. I find it astonishing you are teaching a course on spy thrillers. Why bother...if you have such little imagination. Hasta la Vista.

- K2K

November 13, 2012 at 3:06pm

Perhaps you've said it, in a way. I distinguish between imagination and fantasy. Naive or not, it was neither Stevens's first trip to Benghazi, nor was he the kind of diplomat who hunkered down behind walls. If this is a discussion about whether or not anyone should have strengthened security earlier (and how? there are many ways), fine. If it's a right-wing knitting circle about weird cover-ups and White House conspiracies, then thanks but no thanks.

- ironyroad

November 13, 2012 at 4:24pm

irony: Jane Mayer at The New Yorker is hardly a member of "a right-wing knitting circle about weird cover-ups" http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/11/david-petraeus-paula-broadwell-were-politics-involved.html and, Senator Diane Feinstein is a Democrat, and a very sane Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who is now asking to see Petraeus' Libya trip report from October.

- K2K

November 13, 2012 at 6:17pm