Do you think Petraeus should (not) have resigned?

[ha98ed14]

So Gen. David Petraeus resigned as head of the CIA because he had an affair. No one is reporting that his mistress worked at the CIA. Assuming she didn't, do you think he was right to resign?

[niccig]

At first I thought no as people have affairs and keep their job.

But then I read how it could be a dangerous situation as he could have been blackmailed about it. And there's an investigation into how much of his emails she got to read. He's in a position where you can't let yourself be potentially blackmailed or let non-authorized people see any communications. The communications part is a bigger deal for me, but there's no answer on what she did/didn't see, so that is still speculation.

Regular Joe, then no. Head of CIA, criteria is different. Call it double standard, but that's how I feel.

I think he resigned to get ahead of it before it blew up. And it sounds like he felt it was right thing to do for CIA. No hint that he got pushed, but maybe he did.

[AngB]

Only because of his specific job.

[HannaAddict]

Yes, it is the CIA!! He could be comprised/blackmailed etc. it is a no brainer that he resigns or is fired in that job. A CEO of a regular company, not
so much.

My husband called me today to tell me this story since about six months to a year ago we watched a piece about Petraeus and the biographer doing his bio, following him around and while watching I said it was obvious he was bleeping her and she was infatuated. He thought that was crazy then, but said I was right! It wasn't hard to see, they seemed besotted.

[TwinFoxes]

Yes, it is the CIA!! He could be comprised/blackmailed etc. it is a no brainer that he resigns or is fired in that job. A CEO of a regular company, not
so much.



:yeahthat: If HannaAddict suspected after seeing them on TV, think of who else could figure it out.

[brittone2]

Yes, it is the CIA!! He could be comprised/blackmailed etc. it is a no brainer that he resigns or is fired in that job. A CEO of a regular company, not
so much.


:yeahthat:

[lhafer]

Can't be in a position where you have national secrets and have the ability to be blackmailed.

My DH said -that just goes to show...if the head of the CIA can't have an affair without being found out - NO ONE can!! :hysterical:

[g-mama]

I think the timing is more than a little interesting. He'd been set to testify on the Benghazi attacks next week, for which the CIA has come under scrutiny, but now is no longer expected to do so.

[elbenn]

:yeahthat: If HannaAddict suspected after seeing them on TV, think of who else could figure it out.

If HannaAddict figured it out that easily, then shouldn't someone else at the CIA have figured this out earlier?

[crl]

Only because of his specific job.

:yeahthat:

Catherine

[TxCat]

Yes, it is the CIA!! He could be comprised/blackmailed etc. it is a no brainer that he resigns or is fired in that job. A CEO of a regular company, not
so much.



By this same logic, President Clinton should have resigned.

For the record, no, I don't think Petraeus should have resigned, but I think it's admirable in a way that he did so, putting the country first (although I think he was a very good CIA director, and his replacement may not be as good).

[HannaAddict]

By this same logic, President Clinton should have resigned.

For the record, no, I don't think Petraeus should have resigned, but I think it's admirable in a way that he did so, putting the country first (although I think he was a very good CIA director, and his replacement may not be as good).

CIA head is different than an elected official. Different mission, different expectations. But Clinton should have kept it in his pants. :) I don't believe e resigned to be admirable or for country, he resigned because of active FBI investigation and it compromised him.

[HannaAddict]

I think it was a Dateline show, where they had the biographer and Petraeus. If downloadable somewhere, it seemed totally obvious, though I was a criminal investigator prior to law school! :)

[Mamabear4]

My DH said -that just goes to show...if the head of the CIA can't have an affair without being found out - NO ONE can!! :hysterical:
Love this!!:hysterical:

[Multimama]

I think whether he should have resigned depends on details we don't know. Did the CIA know about the affair? Were they able to do background checks etc. on his mistress the way they would for any relationship? (If HannaAddict figured it out, I'm guessing the answer was yes.) And what did his wife know about the affair and when? You can't blackmail someone with their affair if their wife knows about it.

I don't really understand people in these types of positions (Clinton, etc.) who decide to have affairs, but I don't think an affair should be an automatic resignation. But he knew the circumstances and thought it was best to resign so I'm guessing there must have been some reason that that was the best choice, if only to prevent a big media hoopla about it.

[TwinFoxes]

Here's a quote from The Washington Post...

The collapse of the dazzling career of CIA Director David H. Petraeus was triggered when a woman with whom he was having an affair 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.

...so yeah, he should have resigned.

[Green_Tea]

A friend on FB posted this link (which is from last July). Read letter #2. Interesting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/magazine/a-message-from-beyond.html

[TxCat]

CIA head is different than an elected official. Different mission, different expectations. But Clinton should have kept it in his pants. :) I don't believe e resigned to be admirable or for country, he resigned because of active FBI investigation and it compromised him.

The President is Commander-in-Chief. Lewinsky had access to a lot of compromising info., which was discovered after the fact.

[Multimama]

Wow, it sounds like resigning was definitely the right thing to do.

And having an affair with your biographer? This person has made their career out of circulating information about you. It's like Britney Spears dating that guy from the paparazzi. Poor judgement is right.

[sntm]

@green tea, I remember reading that!!!

[Green_Tea]

@green tea, I remember reading that!!!

Wild, right?