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Bill Maher on Gen. Petraeus... (Original Post) babylonsister Nov 2012 OP
well, honestly - if he can't keep his affairs secret how competent can the man be? Tuesday Afternoon Nov 2012 #1
He had nothing to do with the affairs being outed, but babylonsister Nov 2012 #2
really, I could give a shit but, other people do. just a joke. no intent to offend. and Yes, Tuesday Afternoon Nov 2012 #6
for national security reasons, affairs are unacceptable; pave the way for blackmail, etc amborin Nov 2012 #10
now that is funny nt msongs Nov 2012 #4
pretty much, yeah Tuesday Afternoon Nov 2012 #9
I read this little diddy a while ago and wondered if Allen is a target too? notadmblnd Nov 2012 #3
RTV says: Iran Hawk Petraeus Pushed Out for Warmongering GiaGiovanni Nov 2012 #12
It just gets curiouser and curiouser notadmblnd Nov 2012 #14
Yes it does. It's hard to tell what the heck is going on. GiaGiovanni Nov 2012 #17
Well, I do. It has to do with judgment, ability to control your behavior.... Honeycombe8 Nov 2012 #5
"Could he really focus on his high level security job with all that nutso stuff going on?" marions ghost Nov 2012 #15
The "girls" are first generation Lebanese. They are no friends of Israel. Indeed, there is more. libdem4life Nov 2012 #7
I understand Mrs. Kelly is. However, look at Broadwell and her connections. notadmblnd Nov 2012 #8
because he was head of an agency that asks all its employees if they've ever had an affair. unblock Nov 2012 #11
Rachel talked about this last night: heads of CIA need only inform that they are having an affair GiaGiovanni Nov 2012 #18
Everyone knows there is more to it than him just banging a couple chicks on the side Thrill Nov 2012 #13
Bill needs an education on Betrayus.... eom Carolina Nov 2012 #16

babylonsister

(171,102 posts)
2. He had nothing to do with the affairs being outed, but
Tue Nov 13, 2012, 09:31 PM
Nov 2012

we're talking 'affairs', not nat'l security.

Anyway, he's toast, but are we too concerned with other people's sex lives? This is blowing up; too bad people weren't equally disturbed by various wars.

Tuesday Afternoon

(56,912 posts)
6. really, I could give a shit but, other people do. just a joke. no intent to offend. and Yes,
Tue Nov 13, 2012, 09:38 PM
Nov 2012

the Wars do disturb me. Let us get our priorities straight here.

amborin

(16,631 posts)
10. for national security reasons, affairs are unacceptable; pave the way for blackmail, etc
Tue Nov 13, 2012, 09:56 PM
Nov 2012

and if the top guy gets away with a breach, all the underlings would have grounds for.....

plus, the main thing: P is BAD NEWS..wrong on Iran, wrong on Afghanistan, etc....

notadmblnd

(23,720 posts)
3. I read this little diddy a while ago and wondered if Allen is a target too?
Tue Nov 13, 2012, 09:32 PM
Nov 2012

snip
So who would have an interest in getting rid of Petraeus? Here’s where the Cantor connection comes in. The tip by an anonymous “FBI employee” that wound up in Cantor’s office two weeks ago came through Rep. David Reichert, Republican of Washington state, who has a friend who knows the whistleblower. Cantor then spoke to the whistleblower directly, who put him in touch with FBI Director Mueller.

Cantor is a great friend of Israel, and Petraeus — not so much. The General was attacked, as you’ll recall, by partisans of the Lobby, including Abe Foxman, when he delivered testimony before Congress citing Israel as a strategic liability in the Middle East. As the executor of the new Obamaite policy of sidling up to Islamists, not only in Libya but also in Syria and Egypt, Petraeus was no doubt seen by the Israelis as an enemy to be neutralized.


snip

Will we ever know the full story? At this point, the story is so hot that it may burn the cover story — “it’s all about sex” — right off the wrapper. Because there’s more — a lot more — here than meets the eye. When Cantor pledged to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he and his fellow Republicans “will serve as a check on the administration” in regard to the President’s policy toward Israel, he was clearly aligning himself with a foreign leader against American interests as perceived by the White House. But would he really go this far — deliberately taking down a key figure, one beloved by Republicans, in order to keep his promise to Netanyahu?

http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2012/11/11/a-covert-affair-petraeus-caught-in-the-honeypot/

 

GiaGiovanni

(1,247 posts)
17. Yes it does. It's hard to tell what the heck is going on.
Tue Nov 13, 2012, 10:47 PM
Nov 2012

The only thing that seems very clear is that a CIA director doesn't get fired for an average extra-marital affair.

Honeycombe8

(37,648 posts)
5. Well, I do. It has to do with judgment, ability to control your behavior....
Tue Nov 13, 2012, 09:36 PM
Nov 2012

things like that.

Having a short affair or fling is one thing. But to have a drawn out affair with someone so VISIBLE (she was on the Daily Show, gave speeches and interviews, etc.) and obviously screwy (pardon the pun) is bizarre. Broadwell was sending threatening (sort of) emails to another woman who apparently wasn't even having an affair with Petraeus.

Messy, distracting. Could he really focus on his high level security job with all that nutso stuff going on?

Still, if he had stayed, I'd have been okay with that. I don't know the ins and outs (pardon the second pun) of the CIA. As I heard on TV, he certainly couldn't be blackmailed at this point.

marions ghost

(19,841 posts)
15. "Could he really focus on his high level security job with all that nutso stuff going on?"
Tue Nov 13, 2012, 10:43 PM
Nov 2012

That's more my take on it.

The security risk of affairs is something the military has zero tolerance for. I understand why they do that. It's all about discipline and duty to protect the country. OK.

But I find myself more thinking, OMG--they really can NOT be performing on the job very well. Incompetence.

notadmblnd

(23,720 posts)
8. I understand Mrs. Kelly is. However, look at Broadwell and her connections.
Tue Nov 13, 2012, 09:48 PM
Nov 2012

it could explain why Kelly (who is no angel and had no intimate relationship with Petraeus) got harassed by Broadwell.

unblock

(52,352 posts)
11. because he was head of an agency that asks all its employees if they've ever had an affair.
Tue Nov 13, 2012, 10:02 PM
Nov 2012

i may be slightly overstating the case as i'm not sure *all* cia employees have clearances and i'm not sure *everyone*who gets a clearance gets asked that question.

i do know that *i* once had a secret clearance and i *was* asked that question.
had the polygraph reader felt i was lying, i would have been denied my clearance and i would have immediately lost my job because i was working on a secret project and was of no use to my employer without a secret clearance.

you can't credibly run the show at a place like that if you fail the test that you insist every low-level employee take and pass.



just to note, the correct answer is to tell the truth, whatever it is. they're not there to particularly judge your morality, they're only there to determine your vulnerability to blackmail. so an answer such as "yes i did and i immediately posted it on facebook and i'd do it again" is fine as long as it's the truth. in any event it appears patreus failed on all accounts as he not only had an affair but also tried to keep it secret, which made him officially vulnerable to blackmail.

 

GiaGiovanni

(1,247 posts)
18. Rachel talked about this last night: heads of CIA need only inform that they are having an affair
Tue Nov 13, 2012, 10:49 PM
Nov 2012

They apparently don't get fired as they would in the military.

Thrill

(19,178 posts)
13. Everyone knows there is more to it than him just banging a couple chicks on the side
Tue Nov 13, 2012, 10:23 PM
Nov 2012

I think those emails tell the story of a shady General

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