THE FATAL FLAW OF GENERAL PETRAEUS
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine NolanThe scandal has skyrocketed! Who would have thought that an admission of guilt would have gotten this out of hand?
Former CIA Director, David Petraeus, came forth last week to reveal that he had an affair with the author of his biography, Paula Broadwell. From that moment on, the scandal has grown deeper and wider as the days go on. The affair ended four months ago and there has been little contact between the two since and now Petraeus is asking for privacy she he can try to repair the damage that has been done with his family.
Praised by the President and a multitude of political officials, David Petraeus’s career success has been compared to that of General Eisenhower. He was highly effective as a commander-in-chief and it can be said that he basically saved Iraq from total destruction. This week, Petraeus has been scheduled to testify in private hearings on Capitol Hill about the Benghazi attack. This will take place on Friday in front of the House Intelligence Committee.
Now an extensive investigation is underway and a new and additional set of players are being uncovered. The top U.S. Commander-In-Chief in Afghanistan is also under investigation for thousands of alleged “inappropriate communications”with another woman involved in the case. General John Allen is tied to the case and the scandal through his contact with socialite, Jill Kelley, a Florida woman and friend of the Petraeus family. General Allen has been nominated for the position of Head of NATO but the President has put that nomination on hold for the time being to see what the end result will be of the ongoing investigation. The investigation into the emails connected to Allen and Kelley led to the discovery of the affair between David Petraeus, 60 years of age and Paula Broadwell, 40 years of age.
Between 20,000 and 30,000 pages of emails and other documents serving as communication between Kelley and Allen are being reviewed. The timeline is between 2012 and 2012. Not too much is being disclosed except the fact that the investigation will lead to whether there was unauthorized disclosure of classified information.
Making this whole situation an even larger issue are the complaints coming from Congress that it should have been disclosed earlier alluding to the fact that an investigation was underway in the intelligence and military sectorsof the present administration.
Did Petraeus and Broadwell commit any security breaches? Broadwell’s home in North Carolina was searched earlier this week with her permission and a laptop and several other items were taken from the home. Little more has been said at this time.
What has been disclosed so far is that the FBI began their investigation last May of unsigned, harassing emails from Broadville to Kelley. At that same time, Broadwell was exchanging intimate details with a private Gmail account which was found to belong to David Petraeus. She may have feared another woman entering the picture on a more intimate level not realizing that this was Petraeus’ good friend.
Now Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has ordered a review of military ethical standards although many agree that he called for this even before the resignation and affair were made public.
Although Scott and Jill Kelley are considered part of the social echelon of Tampa, Florida, they are said to be heavily in debt and have not paid a mortgage payment since September of 2009. Allen and Petraeus are tied to Kelley’s sister, Natalie Khawam, because they wrote a letter of character to the courts saying that she was fit to be a parent to a 4 year-old child in a bitter custody battle although she was not awarded custody of the child.
David Petraeus stands behind his story that he did not share any classified information with Broadwell. This past Wednesday, Paula lost her security clearance and access to classified material has been suspended. Broadwell is a West Point graduate and former military intelligence officer as well as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves. She is not currently serving active duty.
Within a blink of an eye, a man of integrity and honor can be caught in such a web of deceit.
PHOTO CREDITS: Amu Scherzer, Tampa Bay Times/AP, T. Ortega Gaines of The Charlotte Observer, Chuck Burton/AP, Mark Humphrey , Getty Images
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