General Petraeus resigns after affair

General Petraeus betrays us

The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), General Petraeus, has announced his resignation. He resigned Friday after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced they had discovered evidence of an affair.

General Petraeus was highly regarded by both Republicans and Democrats as one of America’s most decorated four-star generals. He is also credited with helping the U.S. military evolve and update their counterinsurgency process, which in recent years has been more focused on serving and protecting civilian populations rather than killing or eliminating the enemy. Supporters of General Petraeus suggest his greatest strength was ability to “navigate Washington politics and news media” which helped him get the support and resources he needed.

The F.B.I investigation was instigated several months ago when the F.B.I. was investigating whether the General’s Petraeus computer had been compromised. During the course of the investigation the F.B.I. discovered the extramarital relationship and confronted General Petraeus.

The woman, who has been identified as Paula Broadwell, an accomplished writer, could not be reached for comment. General Petraeus and Paula Broadwell had been working together earlier this year on the general’s new book titled “All In: The Education of General David Petraeus,” which was published earlier this year.

Obama has accepted the general’s resignation, and General Petraeus has formally acknowledged the affair. This news came on the heels of President Obama’s re-election for another term as president of the United States.

General Petraeus, who is married with two children, stated that, “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.”

Critics of the president have questioned the timing of the resignation. Many believe the president would have been briefed much earlier in the investigative process. The members of the House and Senate Intelligence committees, who were not notified about the resignation or affair until Friday, are also concerned about the timing.

Petraeus as acting director of the CIA was scheduled to testify at the congressional hearings which are scheduled for this Thursday. The hearings are scheduled to discuss the Obama administration’s alleged bungling of the Sept. 11 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed. Now, the new acting director, Michael Morell, will testify.

Questions have been raised now as to whether or not the committee will subpoena him to testify to find out exactly what happened on September 11 and whether or not the Whitehouse commanded the CIA to stand down. Now as a civilian, Petraeus may have more freedom to outline for the public exactly what happened that night without worrying about the political ramifications of his testimony.

A senior U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, argues that, “Any suggestion that his departure has anything to do with criticism about Benghazi is completely baseless.”

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