CIA Director David H. Petraeus resigned Friday and admitted to having an extramarital affair, bringing a
surprisingly abrupt end to his brief tenure at the spy agency as well as his decorated career in national security.
Petraeus, a retired four-star U.S. Army general once considered a potential presidential candidate, met with President Obama on Thursday and said he was prepared to step down because of the affair. Obama accepted the resignation in a phone call to Petraeus on Friday, officials said.
"After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair," Petraeus said in a statement distributed Friday to the CIA workforce. "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."
The sudden departure created turmoil in the Obama administration's national security team just days after the president's reelection. That team is expected to see a series of changes in the coming months, but many believed that Petraeus would remain in his position.
Comment: The extramarital affair excuse just doesn't make any sense. "Petraeus was scheduled to testify next week on Capitol Hill in hearings on the deaths of four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador and two CIA security officers, in Libya in September. U.S. officials said Friday that the controversy surrounding that attack - and the administration's shifting explanations for it - played no role in Petraeus's decision to resign." Whatever Patraeus's role was during the Benghazi attacks, the opposite of what 'officials' are saying seems more plausible.
On October 26th the CIA spokesman, presumably at the direction of CIA director David Petraeus, put out
this statement: "No one at any level in the CIA told anybody not to help those in need; claims to the contrary are simply inaccurate. "
William Kristol at the
Weekly Standard wrote:
So who in the government did tell "anybody" not to help those in need? Someone decided not to send in military assets to help those Agency operators. Would the secretary of defense make such a decision on his own? No.
It would have been a presidential decision. There was presumably a rationale for such a decision. What was it? When and why - and based on whose counsel obtained in what meetings or conversations - did President Obama decide against sending in military assets to help the Americans in need?
Human Events
reports:
Following Petraeus's announcement, a spokeswoman for the committee said that the hearing is expected to proceed as scheduled, though the CIA director's immediate resignation will likely change the witness list. It's not immediately clear if the CIA will send a replacement witness to testify, though CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell, now acting director is reportedly in line for Petraeus's position.
Comment: Note how quickly everyone is backtracking away from this story! We wonder if so many are involved that it's a case of "well, if I go down, then I'm taking you down with me."
More evidence emerges of powerful pedophile network at apex of British establishment
Cess pit: British government sets up five inquiries to investigate high-level pedophile network... in British government