This Is Not Watergate
Ed Epstein, the author of Three Days in May: Sex, Surveillance, and DSK, asks a number of questions in an e-mail. Epstein once again uses the same basic approach that he used to get the DSK story right: he looks at the timelines and minutely examines the available documents and records.
I’ve inserted my own thoughts in brackets. This is an open thread.
1. When and where did the sexual liaison between Paula Broadwell begin? Was it before, during, or after the FBI conducted its mandatory background check on General Petraeus in 2011?
[Any possible adultery charges against DP hinge on whether he began the affair while still in the military.]
2. When did General Petraeus, who was authorized to access top secret documents, and Paula Broadwell, collaborate to set up anonymous gmail accounts and exchange passwords to them? For what period, were these “drop boxes” to evade a US intelligence surveillance of internet providers through the device of storing drafts of unsent emails?
[The use of this device indicates a very poor understanding of computer security. Gmail detects the IP from which a service is accessed. If for example, you attempt to access an account simltaneously from Washington and Australia, Gmail may flag it and prompt the user that "you do not appear to be the same person". Because it may track the locations of access, the "drop box" method is really insecure.
3. It is reported that Paula Broadwell, a former military intelligence officer, under pseudonym “KelleyPatrol” sent an email to General John Allen, the former deputy to General Petraeus in Tampa, warning him that Gilberte Khawam Kelley was a “seductress.” If so, what date was this warning to General Allen sent?
[If Jilly Kelley were hypothetically a foreign agent, why should she go to the FBI? Her willingness to approach the Bureau strongly suggests she had nothing to fear from the administration.]
4. It is further reported General Allen, who exchanged 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails with Kelley, told Kelley of the anonymous warning. If so, what date did this occur?
[Moreover, how did such volumes of correspondence come to be generated? There is no suggestion they are official documents (which could account for the length). They are described as inappropriate. Are they sexually charged? If so 30,000 pages represents a volume of porn 20 times the length of War and Peace.]
5. It is reported Kelley consulted a friend in the Tampa FBI field office in May 2012, What was exact date? Was it after she received news of the warning from General Allen?
[Let us call this Date1]
6. When did the FBI determine “drop boxes” were being used by Paula Broadwell?
[Let us call this Date2. Is Date1 < Date2?]
7. The FBI reportedly obtained a warrant by showing show probable cause of a crime to search the anonymous accounts. If this was a FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) warrant, what crime did the FBI allege it was investigating? What date did it obtained this warrant?
[Suppose the FBI was already engaged in a surveillance of some kind, but did not wish to reveal that this was ongoing. Could the Jill Kelley request have provided the justification to 'discover' what was already by then known? In other words was Broadwell investigation simply a way of legally introducing something already in the administration's possession?]
8. When was General Petraeus told by FBI it was investigating anonymous gmail accounts? Was it done through the FBI liaison with the CIA?
[According to reports Petraeus believed that he could keep his job at CIA. This suggests that he did not think the Broadwell/Kelley affair rose to a matter of state. Like Kelley, he did not appear to have anything serious to hide.]
9. When did FBI determine Paula Broadwell was in possession of classified data on her computer?
[This is probably the key question. On it hinges the character of the investigation; whether it was being pursued for its own sake, i.e. national security, or whether the elements are being added to it like a chocolate sundae in order to motivate the persons under investigation. In other words, if the threat of a crime is being held over Petraeus head then his testimony before Congress has already been written by the administration.]
10. It is reported that General Petraeus told Paula Broadwell to stop sending anonymous letters, If so, was it after he learned of the FBI investigation? In any case, when did General Petraeus and Paula Broadwell last communicate?
[The last time? How about via a drop in Rock Creek park?]
President Obama could have fired Petraeus by simply deciding he wanted to appoint someone else. Petraeus was serving at his pleasure. Obama wanted to avoid scandal before the election, but suddenly lost his coyness afterward. He could have removed Petraeus for some other, innocuous reason and buried the scandal if no crimes were involved.
Or is the point of the whole exercise not to remove Petraeus, which could have been done at any time, but to destroy him? To ensure that he was so tainted that nothing he said about events in the past or his opinions about the future would be given any public weight? Perhaps there are more parallels to the DSK affair and Petraeus scandal than we think. In both cases prominent men were removed from the political chessboard by the titillating use of surveillance information.
Bonus
Here are links to the biographies of senior officers who have recently been reassigned, demoted or are under investigation. They are not in Ed Epstein’s timeline, but may be useful as background milestones.
RADM Charles Gaouette, USN, Commander of the Stennis battlegroup, recalled Oct 17, 2012 as his force entered the Fifth Fleet’s area of operations. “The Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy is responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and coast off East Africa as far south as Kenya.”
General Carter Ham, USA, AfricaCom. Replacement announced Oct 18, 2012.
General John Allen, USMC, ISAF Commander, linked to ‘inappropriate’ emails, mid-November, 2012.
David Petraeus, Director, Central Intelligence Agency, resigned November 9, 2012.
General William E. Ward USA, former AfricaCom commander, demotion announced Nov 13, 2012.
The Three Conjectures at Amazon Kindle for $1.99
Storming the Castle at Amazon Kindle for $3.99
No Way In at Amazon Kindle $8.95, print $9.99
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When the first one paragraph report of the break-in at DNC headquarteres hit the morning papers, I was on a train going to work. I remarked to a friend that this would be bigger than Tea Pot Dome, and my friend, a local Republican party activist, smiled indulgently. My gut is telling me something again, and it tells me this is bigger than Watergate, but the question is, will we ever get behind the curtain? The MSM then was out to get Nixon, the MSM now is determined to protect Obama. Maybe Petraeus will have something to say when he testifies that will lift the lid a bit, but I suspect the truth will not out any time soon.
Drivers license found in park is bugging me. What is that about?
Also, in addition to an investigation by FBI for possible post at CIA, Gen Petraeus would have been subject to recurring investigations throughout his career by Defense Security Service (DSS), responsible for providing background information on prospective holders of security clearances. These include coordination with all national law enforcement entities. After 9/11/01, these investigations tightened up significantly, mostly relative to where you lived, and when. They do make an effort to talk to acquaintances and associates, but of course your mistress would likely lie to them.
Also, with US media eye focused on its private (and General) parts, and in celebration of O’s big victory, is it significant that IDF chose this week to strike back hard against Hamas?
A wild thought from out of the blue (definitely off-the-cuff speculation):
Petraeus has been a much-admired public figure who was thought to be a good candidate for high elected office. Is the Chicago bunch out to destroy potential rivals to Democratic political dominance? Will there be others? There is no pattern unless additional prominent individuals who could effectively lead opposition to Obama and the Democratic/progressve machine are “exposed.”
Obama’s rise is littered with exposure of scandals of potential rivals. Other actions to weaken the opposition occur to me as well: part of the auto “bailout” (nationalization, really) deal was to close some car dealerships. Virtually all (97%) of those closed belonged to GOP donors. The math in that case does not support the excuse that a “majority of auto dealers were GOP donors to begin with.”
Again, this is off-the-cuff speculation on my part.
It’s important to remember the Obama has a long history of using marital infidelity as a weapon in politics, having defeated numerous primary opponents and opposition opponents using the timely leak of infidelity scandals. One could easily argue that it was a substantial tactic leading to his meteoric rise to prominence.
I’m not saying that is necessarily what is happening HERE, but it has indeed been a regularly used weapon in his political arsenal.
re 2. stephen b
Hamas has been shooting rockets into Israeli cities for the past 5 days, so hitting back hard is probably just the response to that provocation.
Israeli politicians tolerate a certain amount of incoming fire from the terrorists, but if it goes on too long they have to respond with air strikes to “restore quiet” (meaning a couple missiles a week is ok as long as no one gets hurt). I think the phrase they use is “keeping the lawn mowed”.
Also the Hamas man they got was involved in capturing Gilad Schalit, so this may be another “Munich” type reprisal.
If this is a preemptive attack to destroy hamas missile stockpiles before Israeli action against Iran, then I would look for massive and sustained air strikes, and possible ground incursions. I would also expect action against Hizballah in Lebanon, which is not only a greater missile threat than Hamas, but is closely allied with Iran. If they do that, fill up your gas tank.
The use of this device indicates a very poor understanding of computer security.
No kidding. A second person knows your password. There is -zero- security.
OK, well, what it is then is he knows *her* password? Aha. But then, what name was on the account, exactly? And the use of the cutesy draft drop-box shows knowledge of guilt, or whatever the legal term is.
And even if you tell me it’s “he knows her password”, there is STILL no security on what is in the account, you might as well put it on the wall on your facebook page, as far as security goes. I mean what next, writing secret letters in lemon juice? Actually that would be far more secure than what they did.
Petraus gets caught bangin the help. So it appears that he thought that he could keep his job and keep everything quiet. So what if Broadwell never actually sent any emails to Kelly warning her to stay away from her man. What if someone was tracking all the top military guys and their affairs and decided that they could take out Petraus and Allen at one time. Like Wretchard states Petraus serves at the convenience of the President. Allen on the other hand may be harder to get rid of. Maybe the target was Allen all along?
I still don’t get the end game. Obama and the democrats can’t pull a Chavez and change the laws to keep them in power for life. And why should they need to? Everyone in the major cities votes for them no matter what they do. I actually think its much simplier. Its the chicago way only nationwide. Pay off everyone with taxpayer dollars, get just enough votes to win without making it look too obvious, the press is all liberals anyways so they aren’t going to hurt you and simply keep power and pass it down from one hack to another. Some people will need to get sacrificed like Blago because he’s actually too greedy even for the democrats but that is smoke screen and mirrors. Just keep power and the dem’s get to make money off the taxpayers. It’s not exactly rocket science….
“Or is the point of the whole exercise not to remove Petraeus, which could have been done at any time, but to destroy him? ”
Sure sounds like the classic sheep dip. I’d guess that Petraeus is but a rook in a larger chess game of realignment. If you are in the process of a bloodless coup the only standing threat is the top brass of the military. Like any other large bodies, you grab the organization by the balls and everything else will follow obediently.
I wonder what was the nature of the “classified” information on Broadwell’s computer. Things are broadly overclassified just to keep a lid on things. One of the reasons I always rued having a clearance was that something you read in the newspaper and talked about with friends was summarily deemed classified once briefed into a program. That an unclassified program or information was associated with the CIA is classified. It is as easy as being caught driving while black.
Unlike other “infidelity” accusations, this one has all of the resources and power of the state to back it up. Another indication that the “employees” are taking over the corporation.
It is the distinct good fortune of Barack Obama that such an interesting scandal is available to distract us all from considering the extent of voting fraud in the recent election. Maybe, if prevented, it would not have changed any outcome. But that issue is surely more important to the future of this country than the recent whereabouts of four star penis.
I was wondering why Petraeus thought he might keep his job, that it would blow over…had he been assured as much? Maybe he thought he was safe, it being a Democrat admin and all.
The use of Gmail is collateral in a way, to reports that Petraeus thought it was no big deal. The Gmail account was only meant to be secure from Mrs. Petraeus and Dr. Broadwell. In DP’s mind, the affair was probably just that: an affair. This may be the attitude of a cad, or backstairs bounder. But it is not the attitude of spy or conspirator fighting for all the marbles.
Which leads to the second question: the classified supposedly found on Broadwell’s computer. Note not the Gmail account, but the ‘computer’ where it could have arrived by other means.
As for the license in the park’s jogging track, here’s a question for the question. How would you try to compare notes with someone else — to find out if you are being set up for example — if you can’t use the phone, email, IM or openly talk to any other person?
I think the best defense for all concerned right now is to bring as much out as is legally possible. As Donald Sensing put it: the feds are out to get someone. Any hopes for safety by showing you are innocent are diluted by the fact that someone at the end of this tale has to march off with cuffs. They need a fall guy.
More questions:
When and from where did Broadwell learn that the CIA was holding captured terrorists in Benghazi?
Are there other “liaisons” of the Kelly girls at high levels in the military and government? John Kerry, Bondi, other generals, Charley Christ et al have now been associated with these “Ambassadosr”. Petraeus apparently went on a government-paid trip to Paris with one of them. Is this a major foreign honeypot situation, or just a bunga bunga Italian partytime?
When did foreign intelligence agencies learn of these relationships?
What “liaison” services with/in/about Lebanon were preformed, and when, for or on behalf of our military by the Kelly girls?
When did Foreign intelligence services and/or terrorist groups learn about the Benghazi rendition operations of the CIA? (surely they knew)
“Monkey girl” is an old Illinois term describing a woman who “hangs onto her political job by her tail”. Do we just have an informal monkey Ambassador or monkey biographer situation, or do we have a foreign honeypot operation?
“And why should they need to? Everyone in the major cities votes for them no matter what they do.”
The gang of four will soon run out of other peoples money. They need enemies like Emmanuel Goldberg writ large in other places besides the GOP. They need to make their radical structural changes inorder to consolidate their gains past the next financial melt down that is certainly coming. Don’t worry though, it will be somebody elses falult and will force their hands to make even more aggregious structural changes… to save the republic you see. This is the way of communism.
Wretchard’s stage is what it is and the show we are witnessing is the Kibuki dance keeping us enthralled with the details and ignorant of the facts.
Madison.
If DP/PB were at it while he was still on active duty, it is highly possible that it was known to 0 before he appointed him DCIA. If that was the cased, the Destruct button was already in place…ready for use when needed.
Why? DP was a Political Optics appointment, never meant to fix CIA from evil GW days, but to hold it in check…which it seemed to do.
Now, besides who knows who will be the new DCIA?
The world wonders.
ta
Coming from the left to a theater near you soon enough; “Seven Days in Maybe”
One probable reason for the use of a “drop box” is that the Fed Govt now uses digitally signed messages. If you do not have such an approved digital signature, you cannot use the “reply” funtion for such a message. I have encountered this problem many times with an old friend of mine who works for the USN.
And Watergate was not Watergate, either. In reality what occurred there is John Dean cooked up a raid on the DNC to steal the list of available prostitues that the DNC had in their possession. On that list was his girlfriend and future wife. Dean knew that if the DNC figured out that it was his girlfriend on that list then his career at the RNC was over. And that is really what the raid was all about. See the book “Silent Coup.” As usual, the most atmospheric true histories are written in real time and the most accurate ones decades later.
As for Rock Creek Park, who takes their driver’s license with them while jogging? Nobody I know of. Most of us runners don’t even like to take as much as a key along. And if you were doing something else, what kind of something would it be that required a driver’s license? You do not need a driver’s license to service a dead drop.
“…If that was the cased, the Destruct button was already in place…ready for use when needed.”
Good point. He was there to take flak for whatever SHTF in Afghanistan. Now that Osama is dead and things are limping along finely he has outlived his purpose. But I think they are dragging DP’s political corpse about for more than just moral encouragment. I think there is a deepening realignment to purge the bitter clingers and make way for the yes men and women for the new grand strategy that will unfold with Russia.
Dear Leader after all envisions himself savior of the world. To do that may not necessitate the least of appreciation from his subjects here at home.
“who takes their driver’s license with them while jogging?”
I do. In case I drop dead and they need to identify the body.
Too many near-death experiences will do that to you.
Just sayin’.
w@11: “As for the license in the park’s jogging track, here’s a question for the question”
Broadwell is a triathelete and Rock Creek is one of DC’s premier running locations. She probably had her license and cell phone in her fanny pack and dropped one while fetching the other. Did anyone check if she had applied for a replacement?
North Carolina is Broadwell’s home, but as an author and minor celebrity, she probably spends a good deal of time in DC. Of course, her relationship with DP would explain her presence in DC as well. DP runs five miles a day himself; we might ask where he runs and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it’s Rock Creek.
One thing that hasnt been addressed and may explain some of the mystery when and if it is addressed, is Why did Petraeus confess to the affair in his resignation letter?
After Mrs. P knew about the affair, it was useless as a club (except for the public approbation and that was limited). That being the case, if somebody tried to use it on him, it told him all he needed to know about the user. So if he included it in his public resignation letter, he defanged the user. And for all we know this was the only thing they could get P on. So. Having shot their wad here, they have no further control over P. His testimony could get interesting.
Alternatively, the club could have initially persuaded him to sell the party line and therefore forced him to tell Mrs. P. This being the case, the act could have been more than he could swallow.
The only two generals to have commanded AFRICOM, have seen the careers damaged by the Obama administration. General Ward seems, from all the facts made public, degenerated from a fine 3 star down to a corrupt 4 star in the four years of his command.
General Ward’s replacement as AFRICOM commander, General Ham has what? Who knows, certainly not the President. One wonders if perhaps Admiral Gaouette didn’t waver too close to AFRICOM as he transited the Mediterranean while joining Mattis’s CENTCOM.
I strongly suspect that General Petraeus, consciously or subconsciously, wanted to get out.
One means to create an exit is to have an affair. And then leak indiscreet intelligence.
Likewise, there’s a basic principle in political campaigns. If a political candidate is running for office because he is getting pushed into it by his wife, he will typically put his foot in his mouth, forget what he is supposed to be saying at a crucial moment, or have an affair. People will sometimes do things to sabotage themselves when they are trapped into doing something they don’t really want to do.
For example, Quebec politician Claude Charron got caught shoplifting in 1982. Why? He later commented that he was self-consciously committing political suicide. He didn’t want to be in politics anymore. He wanted to ensure that his friends wouldn’t drag him into the political arena again. So, he did something carefully designed to destroy his political career. And it did.
make way for the yes men and women for the new grand strategy that will unfold with Russia
The question that sometimes arises in counterintelligence is when is the handler being handled? When you go to meet with your agent, who’s the agent in that Wilderness of Mirrors? So the question is: “whose grand strategy?”
The problem with this DP situation is it is guaranteed to raise many more questions than it answers. It’s like a question generating machine. But no answers. At the close of business you have a whole lot of nothing.
But one thing seems clear to me. Somebody is playing the Mighty Wurlitzer. In the end we’ll wind up with a half-truth. But is it a half-truth we can live with?
So I asked an old friend, he was the DCC of military community in west germany that I worked at as a civilian, I was friends with his daughter, what he thought about the Petraus event. His comment was that there is nothing new about generals playing with females. It had to have been common knowledge as to what was going on between Petraus and Broadwell at least amoung the LTC aides. They talk. So why did Petraus think that he could keep his job? What kind of deal did he cut over the summer only to have him be thrown under the bus after the election.
How did her Drivers Licenses get into the park? Very few joggers/walkers I know carry around their ID’s in the park, most leave them locked up in vehicle, second question is How/Why did the DL get Lost and more importantly is there a record of her replacing the DL (knowing this would help with time lines)? I think this is just another rabbit, standard MO for Demoncrat’s, create as many holes to look down to the point that you can’t get to the really important ones before they have ether grown very cold or cover stories can be fabricated, if they are getting close again throw out more holes to look in… Don’t hear much about that fast’n furious any more, Benghazi, oh ya everyone’s out of town, too busy drink’n wine (on our dime) to testify, quick look over there it’s a Fiscal Cliff, wait look over there Susan Rice to be SoS, Wow, over there John Kerry for SoD, Hey turn around Eric Holder ain’t one foot out the door anymore, Green energy and 0bamas campaign donors that’s old news, cold as cod on ice… Demoncrat’s wouldn’t be able to get away with this if Investigative Journalism really existed in America but that’s why 0bama got elected in the first place, America is two decades past the tipping point and most Conservatives still don’t want to believe it! Ya Americas down fall started in our school systems, 90%of our higher educated are anti American and most aren’t even aware of it, just like 99% of today’s Christians will find Jesus will not find their name in the Book of Life!
I smell Axelrod all over this. Unsealing divorce records of Blair Hull in the 2004 Senate primary, Jack Ryan in the 2004 Senate general election and I’ll “bet a dime to a donut” he was behind the Herman Cain takedown. This lying snake makes Haldeman and Erlichman look like Mother Theresa. We’ve got the Godfather running the show at the WH and his jug-eared stooge playing the role of president.
“[Any possible adultery charges against DP hinge on whether he began the affair while still in the military.]”
Not necessarily. Persons subject to the UCMJ include:
“(4) Retired members of a regular component of the armed forces who are entitled to pay”
#12 and why did the Kelly girls have such a good friend in the FBI, who as a favor allegedly started the Brodwell investigation, and also felt a close enough friendship to send provocative pictures of himself? He was high enough up to start an investigation and initiate email eavesdropping, and thought he was high enough that HIS email pictures would not be tapped. What was the relationship with this FBI agent and the Kelly girl before the FBI investigation, and when did it start?
How big is the Kelly girl Black Book of military, government and political entertainees who have access to classified information and/or wiretap power?
Oh my God! People in positions of authority engaged in illicit sexual activity? I am SHOCKED. I am sure it has rarely happened before, and that it has always been punished by being stripped of one’s position of authority and power. Just ask Bill Clinton if you don’t believe me.
But that is the problem when laws and rules are selectively enforced. When everyone or many may violate it with impunity most people assume that they can ignore it with no consequences as well. But that is the trap. Laws multiply and no one notices because they are not universally enforced. What is that book, Three Felonies A Day?
In effect it gives the powers that be the right to convict anyone who offends them for SOMETHING. Everyone stumbles into their snares, but they who set them are very selective about the prey they wish to eat.
I’m sorry. Petraeus wasn’t canned for his affair. That’s backwards. The affair was the public excuse for getting rid of him. The true reasons remain hidden.
There was a time not all that long ago when Petraeus was held to be one of the most honorable men in America. He has one last chance to redeem whatever may be salvaged of that reputation by agreeing to testify under oath, and to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Or God help him, and the rest of us as well.
Well, I certainly have learned one thing in all this.
I always knew that the Left was evil, but now it has been established beyond all doubt that the Right is insane. All the conspiracy theories here floated have zero probability of being true. Patraeus was not disposed of by the Obama administration—he sank himself by his own ineptitude. He was never a national hero; he is not even a good general. Patraeus has always been the low-class, social climbing butt-monkey of the Washington establishment; he has now been revealed as such and in my opinion he got precisely the end he deserved. I repeat that there is no bombshell ready to emerge behind this story. The only thing of substance here is the revelation that America’s institutions are populated by a cohort of ambitious, sexually deviant idiots who are not nearly as smart as they pretend to be, are unmindful of basic security protocols, and don’t seem to really understand the dangers of the world we live in nor the high import of the times—and all that we already knew.
So, to assert that Patraeus was destroyed by Obama by nefarious means, because he was a serious threat to Obama’s power, strains the bounds of credibility past the breaking point. Patraeus is not a threat to Obama. Obama is vastly more beloved in this country than Patraeus is, and Obama could assure Patraeus’ eternal silence by a simple order to “shut up.” If you think that perhaps this thing was done to ensure DP’s silence about Benghazi, remember that 1) It’s quite likely that Patraeus was an integral part of that clusterf*ck himself—if there was one—and that he has every reason for remaining mum on the subject with or without Obama’s arm-twisting; 2) If Patraeus feels so strongly about the events that he thinks he must blow the whistle no matter what, the publishing of an unrelated sex scandal is certainly not going to stop him; 3) There is no evidence pointing back to the administration as the source of this scandal at all; and 4) Patraeus actually did the deed, for heaven’s sake. He was the one who dipped his baton in the biographer’s baby-maker, so as far as things stand now the only proven guilty party is Patraeus himself.
Now, after the snow-job we were given by Dick Morris et al concerning the upcoming election, and after seeing the Right-leaning blogosphere erupt with allegations of voter fraud and stolen victory when said election preduced precisely the results the polls had been predicting, and after seeing that same blogosphere melt down into full moonbat mode over what is essentially the self-unravelling of David Patraeus, I have to rethink events going back to the election and before, all the way back to Benghazi. Now here is what I think happened, given all that has transpired since.
First of all, the Obama administartion (which at the time included Patraeus, lest we forget) was caught flat-footed at Benghazi. I don’t know why, I don’t know how, I don’t know what kind of cloak-and-dagger shit they were trying to pull there in the first place, and I don’t care. The point is that they screwed it up. The ObamAdmin, not wanting to seem like they were politicizing the issue so shortly before a national election (and to save face, of course) floated that ridiculous story about the Youtube video as damage control. In this the Admin was behaving somewhat rationally, for Muslim mobs have the habit of acting up on the slightest of pretenses. Anybody remember poor old Theo van Gogh and the Danish cartoons? Muslims actually behave that way, so the video story should have been, by their calculations, appropriate cover. They might have even believed it themselves for a while. When it emerged that the CIA had in fact screwed up, remonstrations to the contrary notwithstanding, Patraeus knew he would be on the hook for it, but ObamAdmin decided to stonewall until after the election; and this too was shrewd of them to do, if not exactly honest. By this time the results of the affair investigation, including possible breaches of national security, had reached the White House. Patraeus had to be relieved of duty in the interests of the country; he was no longer fit to serve. But ObamAdmin, afraid of exacerbating the whole situation, choose not to do a political firing of the general. Instead they offered him the chance to bow out citing the affair, to “plead guilty to the lesser charge” if you will. In exchange he will know that his testimony on Benghazi will be kept secret, and that whatever mess he made there will not become public while he is still around to answer for it. You win, we win.
The national news media did the rest by publishing the salacious details of military-socialite booty ring. They did this not because they are in the tank for Obama (even though they are) but because our trashy, sex-crazed, envious, scandal-loving tabloid culture eats that stuff up. For the press not to run with this story would be like a financial advisor sitting out an asset bubble because he knew it was all hype. Hype it may be, but when you’re a financial advisor you still can’t afford to sit out a bubble—that’s a good way to become an ex-financial advisor.
For this account to be true, all you really have to believe is that Patraeus was capable of screwing up royally in Libya. There is no doubt in my mind that he was.
John Kerry for SoD. Perfect.
I, John Kerry, do solemnly affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God
and I would like to add….
“They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country. “
…
“In our opinion, and from our experience, there is nothing in South Vietnam, nothing which could happen that realistically threatens the United States of America. And to attempt to justify the loss of one American life in Vietnam, Cambodia, or Laos by linking such loss to the preservation of freedom, which those misfits supposedly abuse, is to us the height of criminal hypocrisy, and it is that kind of hypocrisy which we feel has torn this country apart. “
…
“Now we are told that the men who fought there must watch quietly while American lives are lost so that we can exercise the incredible arrogance of Vietnamizing the Vietnamese. “
But now… Afghanistan. Well, quite a different story you see. If we don’t administer justice in that land locked country, well al Qaeda will just take over, ya know… No justice no peace!
Walt and others:
What made Watergate was Deepthroat.
I suspect that such an individual is waiting for the appearance of a Woodward and Bernstein in order to dump inside info.
Is there such a journalist with a supportive media ?
and if the FBI agent was too zealous?
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/11/petraeus_likely_most_mentally_balanced_individual.php
#31 Matt, your argument boils down to:
G_d gave Petraeus a brain and a penis, but only enough blood to use one at a time. So ignore all the lies and foreign poicy issues….
Nevertheless, the arms-running, rendition and probably enhanced interrogation activities when his brain was working are significant, election-worthy news. Did Petareus violate Obama’s executive orders? Why can’t the CIA build a “safe room” that can supply air for a few hours without asphyxiating the Ambassador? Why can’t State or the CIA protect an Ambassador? Why order our Ambassador be killed, by a stand down order? Was our Ambassador killed by arms we supplied to Lybia?
You are focussing on when the blood was not going to his brain. The important issued are driven by events when his brain was fully functioning as an integral part of Obama’s administration and so-called foreign policy.
Words are the new sex. Next it will be gazing upon a woman for more than 15 seconds. You said what? You can’t say such things, because words are actions after all. Silly banter is really very serious after all. You smiled at my child, what are you, a pervert.
#12, #28: add to your connecting the dots in the most likely direction:
Why did Kelley have such access to McDill AFB? and CENTCOM dinner parties?
because, the drone war is based in CENTCOM, tho in tandem with CIA.
btw, kudos to Brit Hume when he challenged Bob Woodward and NYT Jeff Zeleny face to face on a Sunday panel (Meet the Press?) a few weeks ago over the absence of interest in Benghazi.
Because now Jane Mayer at The New Yorker, Erin Burnett at CNN, and based on the news headlines, a lot of similar dot-connecting now on Petraeus and Benghazi.
The Tampa Twins. Tom Clancy must be on this as well!
Jayird,
Let me clarify. I don’t want anybody to ignore the foreign policy blunders. I firmly believe the American people DO deserve answers, and the dead deserve justice.
I do NOT believe that Gen. Patraeus was destroyed by ObamAdmin because he threatened their power. That’s giving him way too much credit.
It would be quite interesting to look for potential links among and between a sampling of the people “somebody sent” from the South Side of Chicago, specifically Hyde Park liberals, and Jill Kelley, for instance. It is quite a rogues’ gallery!
Barack Hussein Obama II
David Axelrod
Tony Rezko (a Syrian Catholic by birth)
Blago
Jabir Herbert (J.H.) Muhammad
Louis Farrakhan
Farrakhan’s financial angel, the late Muammar Gaddafi
Jesse Jackson III
Bill Ayers
Matt@31: “I always knew that the Left was evil, but now it has been established beyond all doubt that the Right is insane”
Why waste such an opportunity to stir the pot? By asserting that everything, including the kitchen sink, stinks to high heaven, the important issues surrounding Benghazi can be kept alive. Even the Snooki fans will now learn of our failures there.
Maybe the Petraeus affair has given Obama the casus belli he needs to remove the CIA from its position of power. Who knows, maybe that’s what he meant when he told Putin he’d be more flexible after the election. Maybe this is just the opening gambit, and Petraeus is pawn to King four.
This General Petraeus
Will surely betray us
The president said with a frown
A straight shooting guy
He surely won’t lie
And so we will just take him down
A voice said, but Sir
I’m sure you’ll concur
The emails from women he’s scorned
Will make him obey
And do what you say
Or wish he had never been borned
Nice thinking, O said
He’ll wish he was dead
Because I have something in mind
Petraeus has smarts
But those lady parts
Are often delights but unkind
We work well with fibs
Just ask Robert Gibbs
Petraeus will back up our play
The public will know
Benghazi will show
Incompetence at CIA
Petraeus a pawn
The Agency gone
And while I’m in Russia I’ll see
If Putin, my friend
Will happily lend
Us hands from the NKVD
Matt, I think you’ve missed the point a little.
I agree completely that DP wasn’t much of a threat to 0! then, and was likely complicit (at least partially) in any operational failures in Libya. But I doubt DP was the architect of any of this.
But when it did fail, 0! needed someone to take the fall, and DP was picked and I suspect he objected to it. Note that he was toeing admin line early, until it appeared Hillary evaded responsibility and blame shifted to him, at which point the “we didn’t refuse to help” statement was issued.
All the other nonsense has been a firing of shots across DP’s bow to take it like a man and shut up.
So why admit to the adultery in his resignation unless it was to say ‘I won’t be blackmailed anymore’?
DP may not have been a threat before, but it seems he could be now.
Watergate wasn’t Watergate. They framed him.
As for the General: there were no sexual relations, despite the confessions. Just like Bill Clinton wanted you to think he and Monica caused a scandal when actually nothing happened.
I wonder if these actors are union. They may be breaking some Teamster rules, whereas they aren’t really committing treason at all.
AB #42 Bingo !
Strokes Chin. Says: “hmmmm”.
No one died at the Watergate.
Notice how weak the Democrat bench is? Considering that the Dems run everything important, and that ambitious young pols naturally gravitate to the winning side, why don’t the Dems have a deep pool of up & coming talent?
Nancy Pelosi at 72 holding on as Dem Leader in the House. The uninspiring Harry Reid still the Dem main man in the Senate. Sotomayor as a Supreme Court judge, for goodness sake. Aged Paneta at Defence, and when he goes he will likely be replaced by someone like old rich failed candidate John Kerry. First discussion in the media of 2016 named Hillary! and Slo Joe Biden as the leading Dem candidates for president.
Most tyrannies make sure that the competent & the charismatic (i.e., potential replacements) get weeded out early. Pure speculation – perhaps Petraeus’s problem was that he could so easily have rebranded himself a Democrat and presented himself as a viable candidate, a threat inside the tent to the ruling cabal. Can’t allow that, not in today’s Democrat Party.
So this may be a purge of some kind of our top military people working in North Africa and the Mideast? Plus Petraeus. What is going on? Is the administration preparing the ground for the Muslim Brotherhood and the Iranians, and getting our military ready to stand down in case Israel is attacked? If Petraeus tells Congress the whole truth and lets the chips fall where they may he really will go down in history, as a good guy.
“DP may not have been a threat before, but it seems he could be now.”
That’s a possibility, but supposing you’re right I still have one question. What’s he waiting for?
Why keep us all in suspense? Why the classified testimony before a Congressional committee? Why not call up the New York Times or Bill O’Reilly right now, and get it out in public? If Patraeus really has nothing left to hide, it’s time to go “All In.”
Matt, that’s a good question and I don’t even have quality speculation on that.
Perhaps he had some situations at home he had to tend to? Perhaps he needed to gather information? I’ve read of a little birdie that said he’s working on an immunity deal.
No idea.
I do hope that we get to the whole truth. There does seem to be something quite ominous that they seem to be going to some lengths to hide.
49. Matt
You write as if you never had a security clearance. If Petraeus’ explanation involves classified information (never mind if it *needed* to be classified) he can only reveal it in a closed session.
There is another angle to both the Article 134 against Petraeus and possession of classified materials.
The UCMJ applies to all officers, so long as they hold a commission; active or reserve, including reserve officers whether on active duty or not.
Paula Broadwell is not only a “a former military intelligence officer”; she is currently a Major in the United States Army Reserve. She is fully liable for not only the Article 134 Adultery charges [http://usmilitary.about.com/od/punitivearticles/a/mcm1342.htm], but also for Article 106a Espionage, attempt [http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/mcm/bl106a.htm] or Article 134 Conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, which includes violations of civil laws [those concerning handling of classified materials in this case], misprision of a felony, soliciting the commission of a felony, or various stolen property offenses.
If somehow she is not charged with anything and he is, we have a pretty good indication of who she is/was working for. An internal political Honey Trap.
#21 MSO
While I don’t have any doubt that Admiral Gaouette’s replacement may have been Benghazi connected; his Carrier Strike Group is based on the West Coast, and they were transiting from there via the Philippines and Singapore when the Benghazi disaster happened. My guess is that Admiral Gaouette voiced less than worshipful and politically correct opinions on that subject that were reported by the new Zampoliti that seem to be attached to senior commanders, at least if General Ham’s reported experience is true.
Subotai Bahadur
There was no sexual liaison with Paula Broadwell. The whole purpose of this so-called sex scandal is to distract attention from a bigger scandal. It worked.
While I must strenuously disagree with Matt that DP is just a careerist climber, I completely agree that unless the affair is non existent DP did himself in. Michael Yon who knows them both says they are both alphas. Meet the wrong man or woman at a critical moment and forces larger than the individuals involved can contain are let loose. We don’t know that that happened but it is a pretty common human experience. But in any case whether from arrogance, stupidity or the madness that sometimes overcomes the otherwise levelheaded, if Petraeus’s resignation is true – and I can see no reason why he would falsify it – it is premature to read too much into it beyond the political expediency of the post election timing which is obvious and pretty much par for the course in Sodom on Potomac. It could amount to something, but I would advise the House Republicans to not get all excited and keep probing Benghazi slowly and carefully. My gut tells me that there may well be real scandal somewhere in this administration and I keep noticing that Holder is in charge of both the ATF and FBI. Carry on Mr. Issa.