CIA chief Petraeus resigns, reportedly over affair Unfortunate metaphorical linkage between 'the man in charge of the "surge"' and having an affair, I'd say.
This would never have happened if Romney were president. So did Petraeus get a visit from a lovely Chinese lady?
This is in the wrong thread because it's clearly an Obama failure. Edit: Never mind. I see that it's already there.
Obama apparently "agonized" over the decision for 24 hours before accepting the resignation. Or he could have been nursing a hangover after Tuesday night. Still, given the agency he headed, Obama probably had no choice but to let him resign.
Anyone up for a "This puritanical delusion under which US public discourse operates is not only laughable but truly harmful to the progress of this nation" rant? I'm a bit gassed at the moment.
For a person in his position, there is a bit less to that then most. Is it worth resigning? Depends on the vetting he did of this person.
Fair point. (Although that rant pretty much has an open invitation in any thread, if anyone's interested.)
Well at least Petraeus didn't do what the commander of the nuclear submarine did recently. I mean, seriously. Petraeus can't top having an affair, getting the woman pregnant, and then sending word through back channels (and apparently a newspaper ad) that he had been killed while out on duty, while simultaneously moving away with his family to convince her that he is really gone. Now THAT is some real effort!
The real linguistic eye-roll is that Petraeus was having an affair with the biographer who was "embedded" with him in Afghanistan.
He probably had no choice but to let him resign anyway. I don't think that even the President can compel civilian service, even at the CIA.
It must be like attending your own funeral -- the plaudits are coming in thick and heavy, with nary a discouraging word. Politicians react to Petraeus resignation
But once you've admitted it publicly, doesn't that take away the blackmail amunition? Maybe the thinking is that just by doing it once, he's proven that he can't be relied upon to act in the best interests of his position and his country. I dunno. It's hard to get too worked up about this at all.
I believe he lost his security clearance automatically once the affair became known. That's just SOP. So it's not like he can continue to do his job. The question was only whether it was worth staying on as the titular head in the hope that his clearance would be reinstated. He decided it wasn't. At least that's how I gather this works.
They probably did the right thing - maybe if they need his brains, they can bring him back as a consultant. It worked for Carrie Matheson.
