Gen Petraeus & Decorum in Security

Source: BBC News - CIA director David Petraeus resigns over affair

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I don't understand this at all. General Petraeus resigns from a top security post in the US, because he committed adultery?

No matter one's opinion and moral judgment of the act, it is entirely incomprehensible for him to have resigned over such an issue, which in all likelhood had zero effect on his performance as CIA director.

From what I ever and always heard of him, he was a refreshing strategist and leader in the US military and handled his tasks, forces and resources with unrivalled competence.

It baffles my mind for him to have resigned over an affair, especially with the reasoning he gave. It's one thing to resign so he can dedicate himself to repairing the damage he did to his marriage, but to resign because it is not appropriate for the chief of the CIA?

He served his nation by adding to its safety, not by being a role model and making sure his uniform was spotless.

What do you think? Should he have resigned as a result of the affair? What are your thoughts on the correlation he presents?

 

Perhaps he resigned because he compromised his security clearance. He cannot lead the agency if he does not have a high enough security clearance.

Having an affair and the details of it can be used for blackmailing purposes, so affairs do not preclude one from a clearance, but they do place them in jeopardy.

I am sorry to see him go.

 

Trust is a pretty big deal in both the Military and the intelligence communities.

If he had an inappropriate relationship with a JOURNALIST then he has compromised that trust. It is hard to keep a professional distance when you are sleeping with someone. Also, if his own wife cannot trust him to not betray her then how can the people he works with?

Those working underneath him have to take regular lifestyle polygraphs... It is only fair that he be held to the same conduct standards as his employees. You can rest assured that the director of the CIA is being targeted by foreign intelligence services... By fooling around he gave them some potentially big leverage to either blackmail him with or 'leak' at an inopportune time to destroy his credibility.

Lastly the FBI apparently found out about this affair 'accidentally' which implies there were breadcrumbs to follow... Also not appropriate behavior for the person who is in charge of the CIA.

 

I can only go on what my son has told me. He adored General Petraeus and he knew his allegiance to our country was undeniable.
Sex in the mix? Do you really think he would give this mistess top information that would comprise our country?
Don't think so, but I could be wrong.

 

Clinton didn't resign

 

Do we still ruin careers over pussy these days? Guess so. "Never stick your dick in the enemy" is the new saying. Helluva way to get outta politics.

Yeah, I still can't believe it. Dude seemed so wholesome, even if he felt like a really odd fit for his second career. Guy used to do those lame AFN safety bits with his rather homely wife... you know, "Happy Holidays and enjoy the boiled steak!" Not to be crude, but his wife was a little Janet Reno-y.

All our heroes have faults, I guess. I actually met the guy once. Hell, I shook his hand and received a fancy challenge coin from him in-country in 200x. It's currently sitting behind me on the shelf with my other coins. It used to be the Big Kahuna. Now it's just... another Lance Armstrong.

 

well i guess the whole deck of 'desert storm trading cards' is now soiled.

 

See, that's the thing. Lifestyle choices that compromise national security is a reasonable issue for resignation/firing people in the community.

From all appearances, he had an affair with an American journalist who wanted to get her hands on some good information that nobody else could, and then went on to publish harmelss books and articles.

If she had worked for the enemy or did some dodgy dealings with classified information, the FBI would have been all over her.

Failing that, there doesn't seem to have been exposure of any sensitive information to her, thus making his resignation quite pointless. While not necessary in the lower ranks of the intelligence community, a nation does have to weigh whether the security concerns outweigh the benefits of someone like him in a post like that.

I understand that he must have had huge issues with the organisational culture in the CIA. There are good reasons why the military guys can't stand the spooks.

Maybe he was usurped. Who knows?

At the very least I'm hoping Obama finds a low-profile, high-priority posting for him.

 

You can make mistakes and still keep your clearance/job... But it appears that Patraeus hit that mistake, which is 100% not allowed. The leverage that kind of 'secret' can provide an enemy is the concern, not the lifestyle choice itself.

For instance: you can be queer as a $3 bill and still hold a high level security clearance.... But you will have a hard time passing the Poly if you are married to a woman and secretly sleeping around with men.... It would simply be too easy for a bad-guy to use that against you.

Also, the reporter is still under investigation... She hasn't been cleared and it seems she may have abused the generals trust to gain access to his e-mails and possibly other information as well.

Lastly, the 'journalist' spent most of her time with him and wrote her book when he was still General Patraeus rather than the civilian head of the CIA. If they were sleeping together while he was in Afghanistan then he broke a panoply of rules and orders... Things which he routinely punished other soldiers for doing. Adultery is a big deal in the Military as are violations of theater-specific orders regarding sexual conduct. When a middle-ranking soldier gets caught sleeping around on his wife he doesn't get to 'resign.' Instead he gets a court martial which results in a destroyed career along with a criminal record.... If the General wasn't willing to follow those rules he should not have enforced them.

 

Huh. Didn't know adultery is considered a crime in the US military.

Never would have guessed it.

 

This is very surprising and unexpected. And while it is very hard to turn down sex for a man, he knew the consequences. What if this reporter wants inside information, a reliable source, or will use the secret to blackmail him? What if a foreign intelligence agency finds out and will use this against him?

Now, I'm not surprised this wasn't made public before the election, but I would expect the FBI/CIA/OPM to have pulled his clearance once they found out.

I wonder if Colin Powell wants to try and repair his image as the guy who sold the Iraq war using bad intel...

 

its not about adultery.

from what ive read, they were investigating her after they feared that she might have access to Petraeus's personal email account.

he was right to resign if she'd comprimised his email.

 

Yeah, I'm assuming that this has to do with security, not morality. People with skeletons in their closet are blackmailable, or prone to prioritize keeping their secrets. Makes them less trustworthy with other secrets.

If this really were about morality, it would be pretty foolish. But I would think that's not the issue, though I can well believe politicians might spin it as such.

 

Honestly, I don't think Petraeus had too many friends in Congress.

Obviously, he was praised for his achievements and became a good way for politicians to improve their reps, but from what I heard of him... he doesn't play nice when faced with bullshit.

And Congress is full of it.

Doubt his support base extended far beyond the Pentagon and the White House.

 

the more power you have, the more beautiful ladies you'll have throwing themselves at you. I dare say the temptation would be there.

If you were 60, married for 40 years to a not so good looking woman in Holly, and a kick ass hot chick threw herself at you, i'll bet my left testicle that you'd at least have a second thought about sticking your dick in crazy.

If Bond can do it, why cant Petraeus?

 

The Cleopatra syndrome will never die.

I really don't think the dude would knowingly leak shit to anyone but the whole point is when you're in such a high level position and you know the rules... well... you don't fuck around. Limiting who has access to a person with sensitive information isn't exactly a bad thing.

Then again, I'm probably jaded from being bombarded with news about all the shit that goes down at Bragg on a constant basis.