In October 2001, the United States and allies attacked Afghanistan;
in March 2003, they attacked Iraq. The war in Iraq lasted 10 years and
the war in Afghanistan is still raging. In the Iraq War (2003 to 2011), a
total of 4,487 servicemen and women, including officers, were killed,
and 31,965 were wounded, some most grievously.
In the Afghan War (2001
to the present time), 2,031 servicemen and women, including officers,
lost their lives, and 9,971 were wounded, some most grievously.
General David H Petraeus has served in both wars: as Commander
Multi-National Force (MNF) in Iraq for 19 months, and as Commander
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan for 12
months. He has also served as the Commander CENTCOM and as Director of
the CIA from which post he resigned
on November 9, 2012, citing an extramarital affair as the reason. In
other words, he is an important general with a sterling career behind
him.
Now, here, in abbreviated form with my own words in places, is part of a timeline put together by
CNN’s
Dana Ford, Phil Gast, Michael Pearson, Carol Cratty, wires and staff,
on this affair. It would be interesting for Pakistanis to note that the
domestic agency, the FBI, was the investigating agency that is
responsible, not only for investigating the CIA chief (a former mighty
General, note again) but for the final denouement too: “The affair came
to light during an FBI investigation of a complaint that author Paula
Broadwell, 40, was allegedly sending harassing e-mails to another woman
close to Petraeus,” a US official said.
In 2006, Broadwell met General Petraeus when he spoke at Harvard,
where she was a graduate student, according to the preface of the book
she co-authored,
All In: The Education of General David Petraeus.
“She told the general about her research interests and he agreed to put
her in touch with people studying the same issues.” In 2008, Broadwell
began her PhD dissertation on Petraeus and his “innovative leadership
skills”.
In June 2010, Petraeus replaced General Stanley McChrystal
as the top commander in Afghanistan and Broadwell decided to turn her
research into a book and follow Petraeus to that country. “‘We had a
relationship before I went there as far as this dissertation was
concerned, so it just took it to another level,” Broadwell told
CNN’s Brooke Baldwin in February’.”
The affair started when Petraeus took over as Director of the CIA in
October/November 2011. In May 2012, when unwanted and threatening
e-mails were sent to a Petraeus family friend, Jill Kelley, she went to
the FBI who traced the mails to Broadwell. These mails apparently had to
do with Broadwell telling Kelley to mind her own business, so to say.
The FBI gained access to Broadwell’s computer and examined it thoroughly
and interviewed her several times.
Petraeus and Broadwell ended their affair in the summer of 2012, but
because the FBI sleuths also came across e-mails from Petraeus to
Broadwell, the Director of the CIA was interviewed by FBI agents too. In
the meanwhile, “in October 2012, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was
made aware of an extramarital affair involving Petraeus. Doug Heye, a
spokesman for the congressman said Cantor, a Republican, was tipped to
the information by an FBI employee. The Congressman had a conversation
with the official, described as a whistle-blower, about the affair and
potential national security concerns involved in the matter, he said.”
On November 6, 2012 , America re-elected President Barack Obama. The
same day, Petraeus told Director of National Intelligence James Clapper
about the affair who advised Petraeus to resign. On November 9,
Petraeus, after getting the president’s go-ahead, stepped down.
The saga is by no means over: General John Allen, the present Commander ISAF, who took over from Petraeus (!), “is under investigation for “potentially inappropriate” e-mails
with Jill Kelley, the woman who was allegedly harassed by Paula
Broadwell, and who went to the FBI in the first instance. Curiouser and
curiouser, when you consider that the Petraeuses and the Allens and the
Kelleys and Jill Kelley’s sister, Natalie Khawam are old friends from
when they were all together in Tampa, Florida.”
Be which as it may, and despite the fact that this scandal has been
headline news on every channel/newspaper all over the world with all
sorts of stories of the Kelley/Khawam sisters bankruptcy; the latter
being described by a court thus: “appears to lack any appreciation or
respect for the importance of honesty and integrity in her interactions
with her family, employers, and others with whom she comes in contact,”
etcetera, the CIA/US Army has not put the blame for any of this on to
the Russians or the Chinese, even the Taliban! Neither have they called
it a conspiracy by a traitorous press!
A general or two made the wrong call and faced the consequences like
he should have done/will do, for I do think we are going to see more of
the Allen affair. There is no hiding behind the sacredness of the
uniform; behind the killed and the wounded of the US military; behind
false and fake narratives of ‘
Ghairat’ and other such nonsense.
Indeed, Piers Morgan asked the famous film director, the sterling Oliver Stone, just the other night on
CNN
if criticising/exposing a general during a time of war borders on
treason. The answer was classic Oliver Stone and fits our situation down
to the ground. No, said Stone, for the same was said about Rome’s
Praetorian Guard until it was so bloated with Imperial largesse that it
became more powerful than Caesar and began to make and break kings and
the Senate and generally interfered in politics.
Incidentally, one week after Petraeus resigned and a day after the
investigation into Allen’s matter began, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta stripped General William ‘Kip’ Ward, former Commander US Africa Command of a star
“for lavish travel and other unauthorised expenses”… “which means that
he will now retire as a three-star lieutenant general despite arguments
from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff against the demotion.
Ward also has been ordered to repay the government $82,000.” (Words in
quotes courtesy the
Washington Post).
Are you listening, our political leaders? For the time is NOW for you
to gird your loins, please, and ensure civilian supremacy. No one will
eat you up, as we natives say!