Petraeus, Gone
Troy Senik, Ed. ·
November 9, 2012 at 9:19pm
This just in from NBC:
Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus has resigned, citing an extra-marital affair, NBC News reported.
"Yesterday afternoon, I went to the White House and asked the President to be allowed, for personal reasons, to resign from my position," Petraeus said in his resignation letter. "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."
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Mar '11
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Troy Senik, Ed.
Basically, we're trying to avoid the extreme, non-falsifiable claims: trilateral commission, 9/11 truthers, Bat Boy, etc.
There was a long post yesterday on the Member Feed about the Benghazi attack being a botched CIA op that seemed to approach this line.
That being said, it is within the realm of the possible that the CIA somehow did drop the ball on Benghazi. Perhaps not so badly that Petraeus is making up an excuse to resign, but the history of the CIA is not exactly free of embarrassing missteps.
Blaming Obama is certainly satisfying, but unfortunately he may not be the only suspect in this case.
Edited on November 9, 2012 at 11:57pmSep '12
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Why would a resignation stop someone from testifying???? They can subpoena him.
May '10
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Mar '11
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Functionary
3 minutes ago
Corrected, thank you.
Dec '10
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Its Paula.
Admire the Drudgetaposition.
Edited on November 10, 2012 at 12:12amFeb '12
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Interesting. Paula Broadwell apparently got to know the General a little too well:
"The FBI, meanwhile, is currently investigating Petraeus' biographer for improperly trying to access his email, according to NBC News."
Re: Petraeus, Gone
My thoughts exactly. Assuming he is being honest about his reason for resigning, he ought not be immune from testifying. If his resignation has the opposite result, that would be problematic, no?
May '11
Re: Petraeus, Gone
If that were true, then he'll not only have to resign, but flee into the darkest depths of the Sahara Desert to escape Hillary's wrath.
Feb '12
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Frozen Chosen
Troy Senik, Ed.
Um ... about that:
Mike Morell to Testify Instead of David Petraeus on Benghazi · 5 minutes ago
I think the simplest explanation is probably true in this situation - Petraeus refused to lie about Benghazi for the administration. The affair is simply his excuse for resigning.
Obviously Morell is prepared to do so (probably why he got the acting director gig) · 1 hour ago
Edited 1 hour ago
Just a thought to throw in the mix. This President has been extremely effective in using conspiracy theories to his political advantage with the middle.
Oct '10
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Now that was laugh-out-loud funny, Casey. Literally.
Mar '12
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Right. Washington, affair capital of the world. Who resigns for having an affair? And if it does happen, it's after the dirt has come out, not before.
If he did resign to spend time with his wife & family, to try and make amends, then good for him.
But with Benghazi hanging over him and what he knows about it, red flags are a-raising.
Jun '10
Re: Petraeus, Gone
You can read puff piece on Broadwell at the Penguin Speaker's Bureau, here.
If I were Penguin, I think I'd remove the concluding paragraph, which has whole new meaning:
"Inspirational anecdotes." You betcha!
Sep '12
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Like everyone else, I find this extremely fishy. And like everyone else, I have a theory: What if...
1) Petraeus refused to cover up for whoever was responsible for turning down the Benghazi heroes' requests for air support. (Remember the CIA news release said "no one in the CIA chain of command" turned them down.)
2) Facing a congressional subpoena, he told the administration he wouldn't lie, and wouldn't stonewall. He'd resign first.
3) Someone (?) in the administration said: "No, you don't. Because we know your secret, Gen. Philanderer. And if you don't play ball, or you resign in protest, we'll leak it to the press. You'll have zero credibility."
4) Petraeus, remembering his tactics, takes the bullet out of their gun: He confesses the affair before they can leak it, and resigns -- not over Benghazi but over the affair. He is now free to speak the truth -- what more can they do to him? And, since he did the "honorable" thing and confessed, he still has a little credibility left.
Pure speculation on my part. But it does answer the big questions: "Why resign over it?" and "Why now?" Waddaya think?
Nov '10
Re: Petraeus, Gone
I think you are exactly right. There is no other obvious explanation for the timing, except maybe sheer coincidence.
Apr '12
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Was this a honey trap?
Jun '12
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Gary Bokelmann:
Pure speculation on my part. But it does answer the big questions: "Why resign over it?" and "Why now?" Waddaya think? · 38 minutes ago
I, personally, can't find any logical holes in it, and it fits the evidence we have at this time.
Mar '11
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Very possible--the timing of this revelation/resignation is extremely suspicious. We'll know soon enough, I think.
Jan '11
Re: Petraeus, Gone
I had been thinking the same thing, Gary. Unless this has nothing at all to do with Benghazi, which doesn't seem likely, this seems like the most logical explanation. We'll see.
Mar '11
Re: Petraeus, Gone
Also, suddenly the title of Broadwell's book is no longer PG.
Jul '11
Re: Petraeus, Gone
My mind always flits to the fascinating. I wonder how long the admin has known and how they were able to influence his behavior if at all. I am nearly certain this was being held over his head to speak or act in a certain way and he declined. Faced with covering up something for Obama he accepted his fate.