WASHINGTON (AP) — Paula Broadwell first met fellow West Point graduate David Petraeus in the spring of 2006, when she was a graduate student at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
He was a lieutenant general working on a counterinsurgency manual that would be tested during his command in
Iraq. The university had invited him to give a speech.
Broadwell was in the
Army Reserve
after being recalled three times to active duty since the Sept. 11
attacks to work on counterterrorism issues and intended to return to
active duty or get into the policy world, according to the preface of
the Petraeus biography she would later write with a
Washington Post editor.
Petraeus, who held much-praised military commands in
Iraq and Afghanistan,
resigned Friday after admitting he had an extramarital affair, a
disclosure that ended the retired four-star general's civilian career as
director of the CIA.
He carried on the affair with Broadwell, now
40, according to several U.S. officials with knowledge of the
situation. The officials spoke anonymously because they were not
authorized to discuss publicly the investigation that led to the
resignation. The FBI discovered the relationship by monitoring Petraeus'
emails, after investigators were alerted that Broadwell may have had
access to his personal email account, two of the officials said.
Broadwell wrote in the preface to "All In: The Education of General
David Petraeus,"
published by Penguin in January, that while at Harvard, Petraeus passed
along his card and offered to help her academic work on leadership. The
book's ranking on Amazon.com jumped from 76,792 on Friday to 111 by
midday Saturday.
"I later discovered that he was famous for this
type of mentoring and networking, especially with aspiring
soldier-scholars," Broadwell wrote, adding that "I took full advantage
of his open-door policy to seek insight and share perspectives."
Broadwell
is a research associate at Harvard's Center for Public Leadership and a
Ph.D. candidate in the Department of War Studies at King's College
London, according to her biography on Penguin's website. According to
The Bismarck (N.D.) Tribune, she grew up in North Dakota and moved to
Charlotte, N.C., more than three years ago with her husband, a
radiologist, and their two young sons.
The book began as research
for her dissertation, a case study of Petraeus' leadership. It evolved
into an authorized biography written with Washington Post editor Vernon
Loeb after President Barack Obama put Petraeus in charge of Afghanistan
in 2010.
Two years earlier, she wrote in the book's preface, while
visiting Washington he had invited her to join him and his team for a
run along the Potomac River.
"I'd earned varsity letters in
cross-country and indoor and outdoor track and finished at the top of my
class for athletics at West Point; I wanted to see if he could keep
stride during an interview. Instead it became a test for me," she wrote.
He eventually increased the pace "until the talk turned to heavy
breathing, and we reached a 6-minute-per-mile pace. It was a signature
Petraeus move. I think I passed the test, but I didn't bother to
transcribe the interview."
In the Army Reserve, she specialized in
military intelligence, spending time at the U.S. Special Operations
Command and the FBI Counterterrorism Task Forces before pursuing an
academic career, according to her Penguin bio. She "lived, worked, or
traveled in more than 60 countries during more than 15 years of military
service and work in geopolitical analysis and counterterrorism and
counterinsurgency operations," her bio states.
Broadwell made multiple trips to
Afghanistan, with unprecedented access to Petraeus, and also spent time with his commanders across the country.
When
Petraeus left the military and took the job at the CIA, Broadwell kept
in contact with him and sometimes was invited to his office for events
such as his meeting with actress Angelina Jolie.
"History has yet
to fully judge Petraeus' service in Iraq and Afghanistan, his impact on
the U.S. military and his rank among America's wartime leaders,"
Broadwell wrote in the preface. "But there is no denying that he
achieved a great deal during his 37-year Army career, not the least of
which was regaining the strategic initiative in both wars" after Sept.
11, 2001.
"His critics fault him for ambition and self-promotion. I
will note in the pages that follow that he is driven and goal-oriented,
but his energy, optimism and will to win stand out more for me than the
qualities seized on by his critics."
In an interview with The
Bismarck Tribune shortly after the biography was published, Broadwell
said Petraeus was a motivational force not only for organizations but
individuals as well.
"He inspires people of all ages to improve
themselves. On that note, I would conclude that his sheer energy whether
applied to soldiering, scholarly pursuits, public outreach or mentoring
can be equally empowering for an organization or an individual
subordinate," Broadwell said.
With the book done, Broadwell told
friends she was returning to her dissertation, using part of her
research on Petraeus to complete her doctorate.