Damaging scandal: CIA chief’s resignation shocks Washington

David Petraeus’s affair came to light as FBI was investigating his computer.

WASHINGTON:

Washington was in shock on Saturday after the sudden resignation of CIA director and ex-US commander in Iraq and Afghanistan, David Petraeus, handing another major challenge to President Barack Obama just three days after his re-election.

Petraeus, who became CIA director in 2011, said he resigned over an extramarital affair, bringing an ignominious end to a highly praised military and government career. It also came shortly before the US spy chief had been due to testify in Congress on the agency’s alleged failure to protect the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya from the deadly attack in September, which killed the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.

Petraeus’ resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Express Tribune, said: “Yesterday [Thursday] afternoon, I went to the White House and asked the president to be allowed, for personal reasons, to resign from my position as D/CIA. After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behaviour is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organisation such as ours. This afternoon, the president graciously accepted my resignation.”

Obama, in a written statement, said: “Today [Friday], I accepted his resignation as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. I am completely confident that the CIA will continue to thrive and carry out its essential mission, and I have the utmost confidence in Acting Director Michael Morell and the men and women of the CIA who work every day to keep our nation safe. Going forward, my thoughts and prayers are with Dave and Holly Petraeus, who has done so much to help military families through her own work. I wish them the very best at this difficult time.”

He also praised his “intellectual rigor, dedication, and patriotism.”

The president, fresh off his electoral triumph, reportedly had no inkling that the CIA chief was about to resign until Thursday morning.

When he met with Petraeus later that day, Obama refused to accept the resignation straight away, saying he would think about it overnight, The New York Times (NYT) said. But in the end, Obama concluded he could not push Petraeus to stay on, according to NYT.

Speculation on a possible successor focused on John Brennan, the White House counter-terrorism adviser and CIA veteran who has played an instrumental role in Obama’s drone war against al Qaeda militants.

FBI probe of biographer

The affair came to light as the FBI was investigating whether a computer used by Petraeus had been compromised, NYT and other US media reported, citing government officials.

NBC News and other media reported the FBI was investigating Paula Broadwell, co-author of a favourable biography of Petraeus, ‘All In: The Education of David Petraeus’, for possible improper access to classified information.

Unnamed officials told NYT that Petraeus’s lover was Broadwell, a former army major who spent long periods interviewing Petraeus for her book. She offered no public comment on the revelations.

Experts noted that if Petraeus had committed adultery while still in the army, he could have been court-martialed.

Senator John McCain, a loyal supporter who championed the general’s surge strategy in Iraq, heaped praised on Petraeus. “General David Petraeus will stand in the ranks of America’s greatest military heroes,” he said. (WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP)

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2012.