Petraeus Apologizes For Giving Classified Info To Paula Broadwell

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

By DEB RIECHMANN
The Associated Press
September 22, 2015

Retired Army Gen. David Petraeus apologized to Congress on Tuesday for sharing classified information with his biographer and lover, Paula Broadwell. It was his first public testimony before lawmakers since resigning as CIA director.

Petraeus appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee, offering his recommendations for how the U.S. should address what he called a “revolutionary upheaval that is unparalleled in its modern history.”

He said the progress achieved so far in fighting Islamic State militants in Iraq has been “inadequate” and suggested the U.S. increase support to Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribal and Kurdish fighters. In Syria, he recommended the U.S. take a harder stance against President Bashar Assad. He supported setting up enclaves protected by coalition airpower where moderate Sunnis could be supported, civilians could find refuge and additional forces could be trained. Later, he added that while it might not be necessary, he was “not at all opposed to seeing U.S. troops on the ground in an enclave” in an advise and assist role.

“The Middle East is not part of the world that plays by Las Vegas rules: What happens in the Middle East is not going to stay in the Middle East,” he warned.



Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article36151551.html

[TwilightGardener]

1. Should be in jail, not flattered with giving "expert" testimony before Congress.

Go away, dude. You've done enough. Really.

[Angry Dragon]

6. also my thoughts

he should have been tried for treason

[chervilant]

2. Apologizes?!?

He should be prosecuted, and he really shouldn't be offering advice on the endless "war on terror" that only exists to enrich the already obscenely wealthy corporate megalomaniacs.

[underpants]

3. Why not just pay ISIS not to attack?

That is what Patreus did everywhere else.

[Warren Stupidity]

4. So if you give out classified data all you

have to do is apologize to make it right?

Sounds good to me. The DOJ ought to send Snowden an official letter explaining this procedure to him, making it clear and unretractable that an apology wipes the slate clean.

[Purveyor]

5. Ahhhh but does one 'wipe the slate clean' with a cloth or something? :) eom

[Nihil]

12. Of course!

Can't have people thinking that there is a different meaning of "justice" for
the 1% than for the proles can we?

[W T F]

7. Such a lopsided reaction to Petraeus and Edward Snowden.

[mpcamb]

14. Right. It has to do with motive.

[Javaman]

8. betray us. nt

[onyourleft]

9. Too little, too late.

Where is the jail time?

[Gregorian]

10. One of us; One of us.

[Turbineguy]

11. Don't forget

to say your prayers!

[Octafish]

13. Is David Petraeus Dirty? Ted Westhusing Said So, and Then He Shot Himself.

Col. Westhusing was in charge of training the new Iraqi army and overseeing civilian contractors.
He is remembered as a good man, a brilliant man who followed the Cadet Code:
"I will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do.”



Col. Westhusing was the Army's chief ethicist and someone who suspected something was wrong with David Petraeus, way back when. Then, just when he was about to come home to his loving wife and family, he became a suicide.

Is David Petraeus Dirty? Ted Westheusing Said So, and Then He Shot Himself

By Melina Hussein Ripcoco, Brilliant at Breakfast
Alternet.org
April 8, 2008

Ted Westhusing, was a champion basketball player at Jenks High School in Tulsa Oklahoma. A driven kid with a strong work ethic, he would show up at the gym at 7AM to throw 100 practice shots before school. He was driven academically too, becoming a National Merritt Scholarship finalist. His career through West Point and straight into overseas service was sterling, and by 2000 he had enrolled in Emory University to earn his doctorate in Philosophy. His dissertation was on honor and the ethics of war, with the opening containing the following passage: "Born to be a warrior, I desire these answers not just for philosophical reasons, but for self-knowledge." Would that all military commanders took such an interest in the study of ethics and morality and what our conduct in times of war says about our development as human beings. Would that any educational system in this country taught ethics, decision making, or even political science that's not part of an advanced degree anymore.

Ted Westhusing, the soldier, philosopher and ethicist, was given a guaranteed lifetime teaching position and West Point by the time he had finished with his service and his education. he felt like he could do more for his country by trying to shape the minds coming out of the academy that were the ones that would be military commanders. He had settled into that life with his wife and kids, when in 2004 he volunteered for active duty in Iraq, feeling like the experience would help his teaching. He had missed combat in his active duty and it seemed like an important piece for someone who not only philosophized about war, but who was also preparing the military's future leaders.

But more than that, he was sure that the Iraq mission was a just one; he supported the cause and he bought the information that was put in front of him. Considering that vials of powder were being tossed around hearings by the highest level of military commanders how could he not? This was a man who was so steeped in the patriotism of idealistic military fervor that he barely could fit in regular society. His whole being was dedicated to this path, and he was proud to serve his country.

Once in Iraq, he found himself straddling the fence between a questioning philosopher and an unquestioning soldier. Westhusing had thought he was freeing a country in bondage, keeping America safe from a horrible threat, and spreading democracy to a grateful people. But the reality of what was happening in this out of control war was too much for him. His mission was to oversee one of the most important tasks left from the war; retraining the Iraqi military by overseeing the private contractors that had been put in charge of it.

As the assignment went on he found that everywhere he looked he was seeing corrupt contractors doing shoddy work, abusing people, and stealing from the government. These contractors were being paid to do many of the jobs that would normally be done by a regulated military, and they bore out the worst fears of those who don't believe in outsourcing such vital work. He responded to the corruption that he saw by reporting the problems up the line, but the response from his commanding officers was disappointing. He had, for much of his career, idolized military commanders, and in that assignment he found himself with some of the military's most famous faces, doing the most important job, but he was terribly disappointed and alarmed to realize that they were greedy and corrupt themselves.

CONTINUED...

http://www.alternet.org/story/81678/is_david_petraeus_dirty_ted_westhusing_said_so,_and_then_he_shot_himself

COMPLETE ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.ripcoco.com/2008/04/is-david-petraeus-dirty-ted-westheusing.html

War is where the money is these days. Still, what kind of person would make money off war?

[Kennah]

15. So that's what the kids are calling it these days n/t