An early, disguised hint of Petraeus affair?
UPDATE deserving of a “Seriously?!”
From the Washington Post:
“The collapse of the dazzling career of CIA Director David H. Petraeus was triggered when a woman whom he was having an affair with sent threatening e-mails to another woman close to him, according to three senior law enforcement officials with knowledge of the episode.
The recipient of the e-mails was so frightened that she went to the FBI for protection and help tracking down the sender, according to the officials. The FBI investigation traced the threats to Paula Broadwell, a former military officer and a Petraeus biographer, and uncovered explicit e-mails between Broadwell and Petraeus, the officials said….
The identity of the woman who received the e-mails was not disclosed, and the nature of her relationship with Petraeus is unknown. The law enforcement officials said the e-mails indicated that Broadwell perceived the other woman as a threat to her relationship with Petraeus.”
——————-
Back in July, the “Ethicist” column in the New York Times Magazine published a strange, anonymous letter that in hindsight probably set many a tongue wagging in Washington, D.C., and is doing so again in light of recent news events.
Here’s the letter:
My wife is having an affair with a government executive. His role is to manage a project whose progress is seen worldwide as a demonstration of American leadership. (This might seem hyperbolic, but it is not an exaggeration.) I have met with him on several occasions, and he has been gracious. (I doubt if he is aware of my knowledge.) I have watched the affair intensify over the last year, and I have also benefited from his generosity. He is engaged in work that I am passionate about and is absolutely the right person for the job. I strongly feel that exposing the affair will create a major distraction that would adversely impact the success of an important effort. My issue: Should I acknowledge this affair and finally force closure? Should I suffer in silence for the next year or two for a project I feel must succeed? Should I be “true to my heart” and walk away from the entire miserable situation and put the episode behind me?
NAME WITHHELD
As Chuck Klosterman, author of the ethics column, noted in his perceptive response, “The fact that you’re willing to accept your wife’s infidelity for some greater political good is beyond honorable. In fact, it’s so over-the-top honorable that I’m not sure I believe your motives are real. Part of me wonders why you’re even posing this question, particularly in a column that is printed in The New York Times… I halfway suspect you’re writing this letter because you want specific people to read this column and deduce who is involved and what’s really going on behind closed doors (without actually addressing the conflict in person). That’s not ethical, either.”
– Jay Bookman
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785 comments Add your comment
josef
November 11th, 2012
4:57 pm
DOGGONE
I would agree…this is one of those places a Venn diagram is of use!
getalife
I’m avoiding this latest teapot tempest like the plague…much ado about nothing…
getalife
November 11th, 2012
5:01 pm
“But one of the things we do lose sight of is that there is revolution against the current regime and there is revolution against the state. Two different balls of wax.”
Spoken like a true Rebel.
I have to call bs on that one.
They are the same.
Tundra Dude
November 11th, 2012
5:01 pm
getalife:
Great Saint game
(can’t keep a good team down, forever)
getalife
November 11th, 2012
5:03 pm
“getalife:
Great Saint game
(can’t keep a good team down, forever)”
It was a great game but think the Falcons will win the next one at home.
getalife
November 11th, 2012
5:06 pm
“much ado about nothing…”
Best reality show on television.
I think we will get accountability on this one.
josef
November 11th, 2012
5:14 pm
getalife
That’s a true rebel with a lower case “r,” proud descendant of long lines thereof as the Spanish gitanos say “de las cuartro costas.” There are revolutions which, most optimistically, are peaceful efforts to change/alter the actual government of the state without altering the framework of the state and there are those, most often not quite so peaceful, which aim to alter the framework of the state itself. The former can, and often does, degenerate into the latter. We see the prime example of that in Syria now and it is turning into a battle between those opposed to and revolting against the regime (government) and those who would alter the framework of the state itself, the Shariahist inspired.
josef
November 11th, 2012
5:15 pm
getalife
And which kind of Rebel with an upper case am I? The Philip Phillips kind…
JamVet
November 11th, 2012
5:23 pm
So, the Falcons lose and soon we’ll see if UGA’s pansy schedule comes back to bite them in the arse…
Mr_B
November 11th, 2012
5:35 pm
josef: I would submit that an attempt to alter a regime rather than the structure of the state would be more accurately described as a coup d’etat.
But what do I know?
josef
November 11th, 2012
5:40 pm
ZamVet
“….UGA’s pansy schedule…”
Homophobic bigot! The dictionary is your friend as you have often made a point of…
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
n. Any of various plants of the genera Achimenes or Viola, especially V. tricolor or its hybrids, having flowers with velvety petals of various colors.
n. A deep to strong violet.
n. Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a man or boy who is considered effeminate.
n. Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a homosexual man.
josef
November 11th, 2012
5:42 pm
Mr B
Shalom.
“A coup d’état typically uses the extant government’s power to assume political control of the country. In Coup d’État: A Practical Handbook, military historian Edward Luttwak states that “[a] coup consists of the infiltration of a small, but critical, segment of the state apparatus, which is then used to displace the government from its control of the remainder.” The armed forces, whether military or paramilitary, are not a defining factor of a coup d’état.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coup_d‘%C3%A9tat
getalife
November 11th, 2012
6:00 pm
josef,
“There are revolutions which, most optimistically, are peaceful efforts to change/alter the actual government of the state without altering the framework of the state.”
Those are movements not revolutions.
getalife
November 11th, 2012
6:07 pm
trump and all gop losers can self deport instead of calling for a revolution.
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
6:10 pm
“Those are movements not revolutions”
Not by this definition:
“an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed. “
josef
November 11th, 2012
6:10 pm
getalife
No. That’s parsing. A movement need not be a revolution. A revolution is generally predicated on a movement, the latter being the earlier steps of the former. Movement and revolution are broad terms. We can have the labor movement, the gay rights movement, the women’s movement, the civil rights movement, etc. We can have the industrial revolution, the revolution of rising expectations, the technological revolution, A rebellion is another thing, we can have the youth rebellion of the 1960s, the War of the Rebellion, the Catholic Rebellion in Ulster,etc. etc, The aims are to alter the fabric of the society and to fundamentally change to government/regime, but not the fundamental structure/framework of the state.
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
6:11 pm
“trump and all gop losers can self deport instead of calling for a revolution”
Heck, let ‘em call. Keep ‘em busy. Doesn’t matter how much they “call” they aren’t going to get one. It’s all a ploy to keep themselves in the news anyway.
Georgia
November 11th, 2012
6:12 pm
If the second woman in Tampa was not a paramour of Patraeus, then we need to focus a microscope on Broadwell. Who is this person?
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
6:19 pm
“If the second woman in Tampa was not a paramour of Patraeus, then we need to focus a microscope on Broadwell. Who is this person?”
Too early to tell, maybe…but if she was jealous, that’s not neccessarily proof the she was correct in her suspicions.
getalife
November 11th, 2012
6:39 pm
“It’s all a ploy to keep themselves in the news anyway.”
I know.
Sad that it works.
josef
November 11th, 2012
6:39 pm
QUESTIONS
I’ve not been “following” this one at all…would somebody tell me:
(1) Why should I?
(2) What sets this one apart?
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
November 11th, 2012
6:46 pm
Well, I’m kinda disappointed by the press coverage of this Petraeus affair. I don’t need to know anymore about the who or the when or the where. But I’d sure like to know about the how. Can’t they get this Ken What’s-his-name to do a investigation? I mean, was there cigars involved? A good solid Republican wants to know and he don’t give a hang if it costs a few million bucks.
getalife
November 11th, 2012
6:47 pm
josef,
Facts will drip out for a while so if you follow politics, the answer is yes.
It is a movie in progress.
Pretty good movie so far.
Banderson
November 11th, 2012
6:48 pm
josef
1. It’s got a mixture of sex and power – good tv movie stuff
2. The events aren’t that interesting, but the conspiracy theories posited are entertaining
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
November 11th, 2012
6:49 pm
(1) Why should I?
4 out of 5 historians are following this.
(2) What sets this one apart?
Those are MAJOR historians.
getalife
November 11th, 2012
6:52 pm
We don’t know the ending of the movie yet.
It is a pretty big political bombshell.
josef
November 11th, 2012
7:01 pm
Okay, so, it’s a second rate. Grade B Christine Keeler story?
K’Chak
one of your better ones…
josef
November 11th, 2012
7:06 pm
So, I would be advised to wait for the movie? Who’s being considered for the lead roles? Who’s directing?
getalife
November 11th, 2012
7:16 pm
If cantor knew, who else knew?
All of the gop?
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:21 pm
“All of the gop?”
and kept quiet about it all through this campaign? I’d find that hard to believe.
Recon 0311 2533
November 11th, 2012
7:21 pm
With the facts coming out it is clear Petraeus used extreme poor judgement and the Obama administration’s DOJ sat on this until after the election. We don’t know at this point when the president was informed but congressional leadership wasn’t told in a timely manner nor as far as we know now was the president but that’s uncertain. This is very troubling and the public needs to know. It’s the duty of congress to find out and divulge the truth regardless of how far up the chain it goes.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
November 11th, 2012
7:24 pm
So, I would be advised to wait for the movie?
Who’s being considered for the lead roles?
Petraus — Tommy Lee Jones
Broadwell — Lindsay Lohan
Jill Kelly — To be determined
Who’s directing?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
November 11th, 2012
7:26 pm
Oops
Who’s directing?
Clint Eastwood
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:27 pm
“and the Obama administration’s DOJ ”
What evidence do you have of that?
Recon 0311 2533
November 11th, 2012
7:28 pm
This is no joke people, it’s very serious. We don’t know at this point if there’s linkage to Benghazi but Americans died and we can’t discount that tragedy.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
November 11th, 2012
7:31 pm
With the facts coming out it is clear Petraeus used extreme poor judgement and the Obama administration’s DOJ sat on this until after the election.
Another “rush to judgment” by Fox conspiracy groupies….
I am sure that, absent this newest “conspiracy”, the conned would have had readily accepted a second Obama term.
josef
November 11th, 2012
7:33 pm
K’chak
With that line-up, I think I WILL wait for the movie…
Wa-do Del
A link to Benghazi…post please…
stands for decibels
November 11th, 2012
7:33 pm
just don’t do the puppy years…
Ok, Fred, I got the joke (wonder if anyone else did.)
I hadn’t thought about Clifford’s Puppy Days in many years, but it actually makes me a little sad to think about it now. They had this great franchise, then their star voice up and dies, and they tried to make a go of it as a “prequel” series…
Recon 0311 2533
November 11th, 2012
7:34 pm
“What evidence do you have of that?”
Oh, please we know that the investigation had been going on well before the election and the what, when, why and how is in the early stage of what hopefully will be a comprehensive investigative inquiry.
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:35 pm
“I am sure that, absent this newest “conspiracy”, the conned would have had readily accepted a second Obama term”
Yeah, and the best part is we already know that if no connection to Benghazi is found…they’ll just claim it was suppressed. They have the best of both worlds. There’s a conspiracy no matter what happens!
josef
November 11th, 2012
7:36 pm
Wa-do Del
Nevermind…I found it…
http://wikitravel.org/en/Benghazi
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:39 pm
“Oh, please we know that the investigation had been going on well before the election and the what, when, why and how is in the early stage of what hopefully will be a comprehensive investigative inquiry.”
In other words you don’t have ANY evidence that the DOJ “sat” on this…you just WANT it to be true. See what I said above about having the best of both worlds and thank you for verifying it for me.
Recon 0311 2533
November 11th, 2012
7:40 pm
Can’t believe the numb skulls on here who think this is a trivial matter.
Jm
November 11th, 2012
7:40 pm
4 more years of stagnation
Wonderful
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:42 pm
“Can’t believe the numb skulls on here who think this is a trivial matter”
And who, exactly, said it was trivial?
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:43 pm
“4 more years of stagnation”
Beats “taking the country back” to a depression.
Recon 0311 2533
November 11th, 2012
7:44 pm
“In other words you don’t have ANY evidence that the DOJ “sat” on this”
No…but you don’t have any evidence that they did not. It’s a matter of investigation regardless of your very premature biased opinion.
stands for decibels
November 11th, 2012
7:44 pm
Yeah, if it were trivial, it wouldn’t be worth joking about. Sheesh.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
November 11th, 2012
7:44 pm
First we have the birthers. Then we have jobbers, skew-ers, and ring-ers.
Anyone want to take a stab at naming this new group of conspiracy nuts?
stands for decibels
November 11th, 2012
7:46 pm
There’s a conspiracy no matter what happens!
Why should the next four years be different from the previous four?
josef
November 11th, 2012
7:46 pm
K’chak
Dumb F*ckers?
Lord Help Us
November 11th, 2012
7:46 pm
Benghazi…Petraeus…should keep em crazy until 2016.
Thanks for playing…again…cons.
stands for decibels
November 11th, 2012
7:47 pm
but you don’t have any evidence that they did not.
Do you have any evidence that a giant red dog DOESN’T live on Birdwell Island? WELL??
Recon 0311 2533
November 11th, 2012
7:47 pm
“And who, exactly, said it was trivial?”
Well you seem to be discounting it. Do you think this warrants a full congressional investigative inquiry?
Keep Up the Good Fight!
November 11th, 2012
7:47 pm
I can’t believe the numb skulls on here who think everything is to be overblown in import because of their whiney political goals.
Doggone….but but but… Obama is “sitting on the evidence right”?
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:47 pm
“No…but you don’t have any evidence that they did not”
Nor do I need any. The investigations and reports will answer that one way or the other. I am content to wait and not postulate ahead of the evidence.
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:49 pm
“Well you seem to be discounting it”
Nope, just the conspiracy theorists trying to milk it.
Jm
November 11th, 2012
7:49 pm
Doggone 7:43
We’ll see how things look in January
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:50 pm
“Doggone….but but but… Obama is “sitting on the evidence right”?”
You’ll have to get with Recon about that…he certainly seems to think so…on no evidence whatsover expect his own wish that it was true.
Recon 0311 2533
November 11th, 2012
7:50 pm
The libs don’t care about national security, only politics.
Jm
November 11th, 2012
7:50 pm
David McCullough
Teaching degrees for undergrad should be banned
Amen
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:51 pm
“We’ll see how things look in January”
And what do you expect to happen in January?
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:51 pm
“The libs don’t care about national security, only politics”
Got proof?
josef
November 11th, 2012
7:53 pm
Somebody fill me in. What is “it” relative to an affair and sitting on “it?”
Lord Help Us
November 11th, 2012
7:53 pm
Have any of the bat crap crazy ‘gates’ the cons have ginned up against Obama turned out to be anything other than bs?
Why should ANYONE believe you?
Recon 0311 2533
November 11th, 2012
7:53 pm
Doggone, doggone won’t answer my 7:47 question.
Jm
November 11th, 2012
7:55 pm
Doggone
I expect Obama’s ideology will hurt the economy
If fiscal cliff happens, Obama failure, economy hurt
If Obama gets everything he wants, including higher taxes on the rich and no real other reforms, the economy will be hurt
Obama is bad for America, but he’s here for the next four years….
Recon 0311 2533
November 11th, 2012
7:55 pm
“Got proof?”
You’re certainly helping to prove it.
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:56 pm
“Doggone, doggone won’t answer my 7:47 question”
Sure I will, since you insist. No, not at this time. I think they should stay out of it until the FBI finishes their investigation.
Jm
November 11th, 2012
7:56 pm
God bless term limits
josef
November 11th, 2012
7:56 pm
JM
“Teaching degrees for undergrad should be banned”
A certificate from a normal school and literally standing examination before a board of examiners ought to be sufficient.
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:57 pm
“Somebody fill me in. What is “it” relative to an affair and sitting on “it?””
As best I can tell..some perceived connection between the Patraeous affair and Benghazi. At this point in time there doesn’t appear to BE any such connection, so…of course…that is proof that a connection exists. Right?
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:58 pm
“I expect Obama’s ideology will hurt the economy”
By January?! Man, that’ll be some QUICK action.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
November 11th, 2012
7:59 pm
… including higher taxes on the rich and no real other reforms, the economy will be hurt
Loooong before you were born, we had higher tax rates and we got along just fine.
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
7:59 pm
“You’re certainly helping to prove it”
Remember, just because you WISH something was true it’s not evidence that it is.
josef
November 11th, 2012
8:00 pm
DOGGONE
So, was Petraeus getting his dangles dingled when the attack was going on? Is there any film in real time?
Keep Up the Good Fight!
November 11th, 2012
8:00 pm
Hmmm…. so Issa and the GOP are “libs”? They revealed classified info.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
November 11th, 2012
8:01 pm
I think the Ftroopers need a feinting couch wing in their little post.
getalife
November 11th, 2012
8:01 pm
Pretty sure the gop leadership knew if cantor knew.
It is a national security issue.
Fire them.
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
8:01 pm
“So, was Petraeus getting his dangles dingled when the attack was going on? Is there any film in real time”
You;ll have to ask Recon…he seems to see a connection
Lord Help Us
November 11th, 2012
8:02 pm
If there is a soiled blue dress involved, i am interested. otherwise…not so much…
Keep Up the Good Fight!
November 11th, 2012
8:02 pm
That should be “fainting” but “feinting” works as well
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
November 11th, 2012
8:04 pm
That should be “fainting” but “feinting” works as well
I noticed that too, and I agree.
stands for decibels
November 11th, 2012
8:06 pm
Unsurprisingly, Rassy and Gallup performed the crappiest in the last 21 days of the general election, among the heavy hitters…
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/10/which-polls-fared-best-and-worst-in-the-2012-presidential-race/
I don’t suppose I should expect the corporate media’s complicity in focusing on their BS national polling in order to make the race seem closer than it really was, to result in anyone getting fired or humiliated. (besides the guys who lost their races, of course.)
Jm
November 11th, 2012
8:08 pm
Josef 7:56 agrreed
Recon 0311 2533
November 11th, 2012
8:08 pm
” I think they should stay out of it until the FBI finishes their investigation.”
The FBI concluded during the course of there investigation over what’s been reported as several weeks and perhaps months that Petraeus was having an extramarital affair that involved the possibility of two women but we don’t know if or why the Administration leadership wasn’t informed. We have learned that congressional leadership was not informed as they should have been by law. Do you have another version that proves why it’s still an ongoing FBI investigation that would preclude congress from being informed?
Lord Help Us
November 11th, 2012
8:11 pm
Cons will hang onto benghazi like a starving dog on a pork chop…hoping…praying that it plays out like their mendacious fantasies…
Recon 0311 2533
November 11th, 2012
8:11 pm
“Remember, just because you WISH something was true it’s not evidence that it is.”
Now what do you assume I’m “wishing” and what proof do you have for your assumption?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
November 11th, 2012
8:12 pm
We have learned that congressional leadership was not informed as they should have been by law.
Really?
The first knowledge of the affair outside the FBI came from an agency whistle-blower who contacted a Capitol Hill Republican who told House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., got a tip from a friend who knew the whistle-blower, as reported by The New York Times.
Sources tell Fox News that Reichert talked to the whistle-blower, then referred him to Cantor. The whistle-blower talked to the majority leader’s office, then to Cantor directly. The whistle-blower — who purportedly was concerned about a possible national security breach — was then put in touch with FBI Director Robert Mueller.
“Our office stands by the accuracy of the New York Times article as it pertains to Rep. Reichert,” the congressman’s office said Sunday.” We have no further comment about our involvement.”
Cantor staffers said they didn’t immediately tell the House Intelligence Committee or chamber leaders because they didn’t know whether the tip was credible. So they turned it over to the FBI.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/11/new-details-in-petraeus-scandal-fbi-whistleblower-talked-first-to-house/
getalife
November 11th, 2012
8:13 pm
del,
cantor knew so the gop leadership knew. Heads should roll.
Lets get back to facts do matter.
Lord Help Us
November 11th, 2012
8:13 pm
Faketriots are just setting themselves up to be disappointed again.
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
8:13 pm
“Do you have another version that proves why it’s still an ongoing FBI investigation that would preclude congress from being informed?”
Sure…because they haven’t finished it yet.
Jm
November 11th, 2012
8:14 pm
Kam it’s not 1950 anymore
Time has advanced except for you maybe
Doggone/GA
November 11th, 2012
8:15 pm
“Now what do you assume I’m “wishing” and what proof do you have for your assumption”
Sorry, I’m not stupid enough to get caught up in circular arguments. You’ll have to do better than that.
St Simons - he-ne-ha
November 11th, 2012
8:16 pm
well, the bengazi teleprompter is the golden acorn
in this kenyanmuslin scandal-gate. Its so obvious, sheeple, duh
getalife
November 11th, 2012
8:18 pm
The General was getting “interviewed” at the time of the attack.
Happy cons?
Jm
November 11th, 2012
8:20 pm
PBS veterans day ceremony – nice
Lord Help Us
November 11th, 2012
8:21 pm
Gotta go…Faye is ‘on’
Recon 0311 2533
November 11th, 2012
8:21 pm
“Sorry, I’m not stupid enough to get caught up in circular arguments. You’ll have to do better than that.”
I’m not calling you stupid, you’re leaving that yourself as an open question, but I will call you evasive.
Jm
November 11th, 2012
8:21 pm
Though different than previous ceremonies
Very different
Lord Help Us
November 11th, 2012
8:22 pm
Make that Faith…MOMMA!