CIA director resigns

[trip]

Gen. David Petraeus resigned today. Extramarital affair. When will they learn?

Mods -- If this is considered political - please remove it.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Gen. David Petraeus resigned today. Extramarital affair. When will they learn?

Mods -- If this is considered political - please remove it.

As long as he wasn't having an affair with a spy, I really don't care who he is sleeping with. I'm not quite sure why we are so obsessed with what happens in our people's bedrooms.

Of course, he is stupid to sleep around but why the heck did he even announce it to the CIA in an email.

 

[NikitaZee]

I don't see why he thought he should resign for this reason. An affair is between him and his wife. Even if someone else was about to break this news publicly, if I were him I'd keep repeating 'no comment, it's between me and my wife'.

 

[rkandmjsmommy]

I don't see why he thought he should resign for this reason. An affair is between him and his wife. Even if someone else was about to break this news publicly, if I were him I'd keep repeating 'no comment, it's between me and my wife'.

COULDNT agree more, everyone needs to worry about their own relationships...NOT EVERYONE ELSES!!!!

 

[coco392]

the affair is not a reason in itself- its that I. that type of position he may be compromised because of an affair

 

[NHdisneylover]

I agree with the PPs. I could care less about his personal life, unless it would in some way affect his ability to perform his job (like a conflict of interest with a business concern).

 

[onelilspark]

I really think that there has to be more to it. I mean, so what if he had an affair? Unless it was with a spy from another country, I don't understand how that affects his professional life.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

the affair is not a reason in itself- its that I. that type of position he may be compromised because of an affair

Exactly. It puts him in a position to be blackmailed and/or extorted. Spies must be above reproach, and the top spy must be completely above reproach.

 

[NotUrsula]

I read the letter, and there is a reference in it to "extremely poor judgment".

I am guessing that what this is about is that the other party to the affair is someone who worked for him. If that is the case, preemptively doing this may be an attempt to avoid ruining that person's career. (I say this because if it was just an affair with Suzy Brown who works over at the Dept. of Agriculture, then simply admitting publicly that he had had an affair would short-circuit any blackmail issues. The key here is who the affair was with; there has to be something about the relationship that brings professional ethics into question.)

Petraus is very well-respected for his skills -- he will have no trouble finding a nice living in the private sector, where this sort of thing is not such a big deal.

 

[Deb in IA]

I agree with his decision.

I think a lapse in judgement, a lack of willpower in his private life could easily lead to a lapse in judgement in his work life as well.

It speaks to his moral character, and that doesn't change whether he is on the job or in his private life. He betrayed the person that he was supposed to love more than anyone else.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I read the letter, and there is a reference in it to "extremely poor judgment".

I am guessing that what this is about is that the other party to the affair is someone who worked for him. If that is the case, preemptively doing this may be an attempt to avoid ruining that person's career.

Petraus is very well-respected for his skills -- he will have no trouble finding a nice living in the private sector, where this sort of thing is not such a big deal.

I tend to agree with this but I also believe it has to do with his home life. His wife is a great great woman who does not want the spotlight and has had it shined on her for many many years for great reasons. If for no other reason than to put his house back together, I think he stepped down to help his wife should she stick by his side. I felt sick when I just read this. I adore his wife and can't imagine what a nightmare this is for her right now.

 

[Christine]

Exactly. It puts him in a position to be blackmailed and/or extorted. Spies must be above reproach, and the top spy must be completely above reproach.

No, it doesn't. Not if he admits it, which he has. He could have admitted the affair to the people who oversee his clearance and that would be that.

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

If everyone in D.C. resigned due to having an affair there would be few left . There is so much more to this story then any of us will ever know . He'll be a scapegoat for whatever is coming down the pipe.

 

[lovin'fl]

If everyone in D.C. resigned due to having an affair there would be few left . There is so much more to this story then any of us will ever know . He'll be a scapegoat for whatever is coming down the pipe.

Agreed.

 

[JessicaR]

If everyone in D.C. resigned due to having an affair there would be few left . There is so much more to this story then any of us will ever know . He'll be a scapegoat for whatever is coming down the pipe.

Exactly.

 

[Christine]

If everyone in D.C. resigned due to having an affair there would be few left . There is so much more to this story then any of us will ever know . He'll be a scapegoat for whatever is coming down the pipe.

Yep! The biggest danger to your security clearance is financial issues. Even if you disclose them, you become very "blackmailable."

If you go public with an extramarital affair, you can no longer be compromised for it. So, his resignation had nothing to do with security issues; however, I agree with a poster above that there is definitely more to this affair and, it is more likely that the person he had the affair with had more potential for scandal.

 

[DebbieB]

When a President is re-elected, I believe cabinet members have to go through congressional approval again, it's like starting over. Some take the opportunity to move on and do something different for one reason or another, like Hillary Clinton. They were only committed for the first term.

 

[momof1princess]

If everyone in D.C. resigned due to having an affair there would be few left . There is so much more to this story then any of us will ever know . He'll be a scapegoat for whatever is coming down the pipe.

BINGO. the director of the CIA resigns, just a few days before the benghazigate hearing? gee, that's not the least bit suspicious.

 

[Scurvy]

BINGO. the director of the CIA resigns, just a few days before the benghazigate hearing? gee, that's not the least bit suspicious.

Yes. I don't believe for one second that this was because of an affair, whether he actually had one or not. I'm shocked that anyone would believe that. He was supposed to testify about Benghazi. Now he isn't. How convenient.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

No surprise he resigned after the election. Either party would have done the same.

That being said his position is compromised by having an affair. I am glad he resigned if he felt that he could no longer do his job as expected.

Now WHO he is with is another matter. I can't wait for that to leak. Anyone heard anything?