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New reports claim that Paula Broadwell’s husband, Dr. Scott Broadwell, sent a letter to New York Times advice column The Ethicist back in July that revealed he knew of her affair with CIA Director David Petraeus.
That intriguing possibility has been raised after canny observers dug out the July 13th edition of Chuck Klosterman’s The Ethicist and pointed to extraordinary coincidences between one readers letter and the now scandalous love tryst.
Writing about a deepening relationship he knew his wife was having with a “government executive” whose job “is seen worldwide as a demonstration of American leadership” the anonymous man offers up what could be considered in hindsight as striking information.
The letter writer explains that “exposing the affair will create a major distraction that would adversely impact the success of an important effort”, and asks The Ethicist whether it is OK for him to “suffer in silence for the next year or two for a project”.
Indeed, he seems pained to make it clear he believes the mission “must succeed” and wants to know if he should confront his wife in some way and “finally force closure” or if he should “suffer in silence for the next year or two”.
The reader tells The Ethicist that has “watched the affair intensify over the last year” – which matches the timeline of the affair from August 2011 until around several months ago.
However, some have questioned whether the coincidences are just that and if the letter really was penned by Scott Broadwell.
Slate writer Allison Benedikt asked: “What government executive is not having an affair with some guy’s wife?”
Another writer with the publication added: “Would anyone really repeatedly refer to heading the CIA as a <<project>>? Doesn’t sound quite right.”
Those supporting the belief that the letter came from Scott Broadwell, point to Chuch Klosterman’s insightful reply to the anonymous man’s dilemma.
He tells the letter writer that he should tell his wife he wanted to separate, “just as you would if she were sleeping with the mailman”.
He claims there is no reason to reveal the affair in a public fashion, but having offered this clear-cut advice he goes slightly further.
“The fact that you’re willing to accept your wife’s infidelity for some greater political good is beyond honorable,” replied Chuck Klosterman on July 13th to the letter.
“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.”
Paula Broadwell served in the military for more than a decade, lives in Charlotte with her radiologist husband, Dr. Scott Broadwell
Heartbroken Husband or Whistleblower? The New York Times Letter in Full
“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
The contoversial resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus on Friday threatens to undermine next week’s hearings into the deadly attack at the U.S. Consulate in Libya, at which he was scheduled to testify.
David Petraeus resigned as head of the CIA following revelations he had engaged in an extramarital affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell and acknowledging that he “showed extremely poor judgment”.
The highly-decorated general, 60, had recently traveled to Libya and the Middle East, and was to testify about the Benghazi attack next week behind closed doors to the House and Senate intelligence committees.
Fears have also emerged as his resignation comes at an extremely sensitive time. The administration and the CIA have struggled to defend security and intelligence lapses before the attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three others.
It was an issue during the presidential campaign that ended with Barack Obama’s re-election Tuesday.
David Petraeus had led the CIA for only 14 months. His sudden departure threatened to usher in a period of instability at the spy agency, which is grappling with a leveling off in its budget after a decade of steady increases.
The agency is also fending off questions about its performance before and after the attack that led to the death of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi, Libya.
U.S. officials insisted that the CIA’s handling of the Benghazi incident had nothing to do with David Petraeus’ decision to resign.
The CIA has come under intense scrutiny for providing the White House and other administration officials with talking points that led them to say the Benghazi attack was a result of a film protest, not a militant terror attack.
It has become clear that the CIA was aware the attack was distinct from the film protests roiling across other parts of the Muslim world.
Michael Morell rather than David Petraeus now is expected to testify at closed congressional briefings next week on the September 11 attacks on the consulate in Benghazi.
According to the New York Times, David Petraeus told the White House of the affair, only one day after Barack Obama secured a second term in the White House.
The president did not immediately accept it, aides told the Times, and only reluctantly agreed to it on Friday.
David Petraeus resigned as head of the CIA following revelations he had engaged in an extramarital affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell
News Corps’ Rupert Murdoch was one of masses who took to Twitter to voice his opinion. The 81-year-old Aussie wrote: “Petraeus resignation. Timing, everything suspicious. There has to be more to this story.”
Chiming in with her own conspiracy theory, conservative talk show radio host Laura Ingraham wrote: “CIA Chief Petraus resignation…something about this stinks to high heaven.”
She added: “COINCIDENCE?! Petraeus is set to testify NEXT week at a closed door session on Capitol Hill about Benghazi. Did BHO push him out? This stinks!”
But some, like Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington, reacted to the news in a very forgiving fashion.
“Turns out Petraeus is (sic) human being. And of course we definitely can’t have human beings in government!” she wrote.
For the director of the CIA, being engaged in an extramarital affair is considered a serious breach of security and a counterintelligence threat.
If a foreign government had learned of the affair, the reasoning goes, David Petraeus or the person with whom he was involved could have been blackmailed or otherwise compromised. Military justice considers conduct such as an extramarital affair to be possible grounds for court martial.
Failure to resign also could create the perception for the rank-and-file that such behavior is acceptable.
At FBI headquarters, spokesman Paul Bresson declined to comment on the information that the affair had been discovered in the course of an investigation by the bureau.
In a statement from the president, Barack Obama said: “I am completely confident that the CIA will continue to thrive and carry out its essential mission.”
But there is no indication that he broke any agency rule in connection with his admitted affair, sources familiar with the matter said.
The CIA has no broad rule banning officials from engaging in extramarital affairs, though if discovered, liaisons by CIA personnel with suspected foreign agents would pose security problems for a U.S. spy.
Barack Obama, who accepted David Petraeus’ resignation in a phone call with him Friday afternoon, said that Michael Morell, the agency’s long-time deputy director, would serve as acting CIA chief.
Michael Morell, who is well respected at both the White House and on Capitol Hill, had previously served as acting director following the departure of former CIA chief Leon Panetta.
He is a leading candidate to be David Petraeus’ permanent successor, sources said.
Other possible candidates being discussed on Capitol Hill include John Brennan, Barack Obama’s chief counter-terrorism adviser; Obama national security adviser Thomas Donilon; and former congresswoman Jane Harman, who chaired the House intelligence committee.
David Petraeus’ resignation also adds a new vacancy on Barack Obama’s national security team. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said she will leave after Barack Obama’s first term, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is widely expected to leave as well.
David Petraeus’ wife, Holly, has been an advocate for U.S. veterans and head of the Office of Servicemember Affairs at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Last month, David and Holly Petraeus appeared together at a reception at the Canadian Embassy in Washington to celebrate the premiere of the Ben Affleck film Argo, which chronicles a successful operation in which the CIA and Canadian diplomats smuggled a group of U.S. officials out of Tehran during the 1979-80 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis.
In a letter to the CIA workforce, David Petraeus said that he met with Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday and asked “to be allowed, for personal reasons, to resign from my position”.
“After being married for 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair,” David Petraeus wrote.
“Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours.”
Barack Obama, who was re-elected to a second term on Tuesday, said in a statement that he accepted David Petraeus’ resignation, praising him for his work at the CIA and for leading U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The sudden and dramatic turn of events appeared to end the public career of a widely admired man who played a key role in the Iraq war, led the U.S. Central Command and commanded U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan.
David Petraeus’ name had circulated speculatively as a possible Republican presidential nominee before Barack Obama tapped him as CIA chief. Before taking the CIA post, he retired as an Army general after nearly four decades of military service.
Former CIA Director David Petraeus sent his mistress Paula Broadwell a sexually explicit email about having sex under a desk and continued to pursue her even after she had broken off the affair it has been revealed.
The racy communications between the married four-star general and his lover, Paula Broadwell, were uncovered when the FBI began an investigation after they suspected corruption between the pair.
Instead the FBI found evidence of a potentially compromising affair for America’s top intelligence official which would have been a breach of national security requirements and led to David Petraeus’ dramatic resignation yesterday.
David Petraeus stepped down yesterday after confessing to cheating on his wife of 37 years, Holly – behavior he explained was ‘unacceptable’ for a senior administration official.
The affair was uncovered after the FBI launched an investigation into the biographer, Paula Broadwell, for allegedly hacking into the former general’s email, NBC News and Slate reported.
Paula Broadwell, who researched the book All In for three years, had extensive access to David Petraeus in Afghanistan
Paula Broadwell, who researched the book All In for three years, had extensive access to David Petraeus in Afghanistan. Yet sources told NBC it is unlikely she will face criminal charges after the alleged hacking, stressing that David Petraeus himself is under no investigation.
He first met Paula Broadwell six years ago when he addressed students at Harvard University, where she is a researcher, and they eventually got to know each other better during mile-long runs.
Paula Broadwell, who served in the military for more than a decade, lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her radiologist husband, Dr. Scott Broadwell, and their two young sons, Lucien and Landon.
CIA Director David Petraeus resigned on Friday after allegedly having an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, it has been claimed.
The alleged affair was uncovered after the FBI launched an investigation into the biographer, Paula Broadwell, for allegedly hacking into the former general’s email, NBC News and Slate reported.
Paula Broadwell, who researched the book All In for three years, had extensive access to David Petraeus in Afghanistan. Yet sources told NBC it is unlikely she will face criminal charges after the alleged hacking, stressing that David Petraeus himself is under no investigation.
David Petraeus stepped down yesterday after confessing to cheating on his wife of 37 years, Holly – behavior he explained was “unacceptable” for a senior administration official.
He first met Paula Broadwell six years ago when he addressed students at Harvard University, where she is a researcher, and they eventually got to know each other better during mile-long runs.
Paula Broadwell, who served in the military for more than a decade, lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her radiologist husband, Dr. Scott Broadwell, and their two young sons, Lucien and Landon.
In the biography, Paula Broadwell revealed she first met David Petraeus during his visit to Harvard in spring 2006 when he was a Commander at Fort Leavenworth.
“I was among the students invited by the school to meet with the general at a dinner afterward, because of my military background,” she explained.
“I introduced myself to then–Lieutenant General Petraeus and told him about my research interests; he gave me his card and offered to put me in touch with other researchers and service members working on the same issues.”
Paul Broadwell added that this was not a one-off as he often “does a lot of mentoring”.
As she pursued her PhD in public policy in 2008, she contacted him to ask if she could interview him and they kept in touch via email.
“A few months into my research, General Petraeus, who was then leading Central Command, invited me to go for a run with him and his team along the Potomac River during one of his visits to Washington,” she wrote.
“I figured I could interview him while we ran.”
Paula Bradwell explained that, after earning varsity letters in cross-country and indoor and outdoor track, she wanted to test him to see if he could keep up with her as she interviewed him.
“Instead it became a test for me,” she said.
“As we talked during the run from the Pentagon to the Washington Monument and back, Petraeus progressively increased the pace until the talk turned to heavy breathing and we reached a six-minute-per-mile pace. It was a signature Petraeus move.”
Paula Broadwell served in the military for more than a decade, lives in Charlotte with her radiologist husband, Dr. Scott Broadwell
Promoting the book on The Daily Show with John Stewart in January, she insisted that these mile-long runs together were nothing out of the ordinary.
“This is a typical mechanism for him to get to know young people,” she said.
“He’s done it throughout his life. That was the foundation of our relationship.”
In another often awkward radio interview in January, host Don Imus said that the pair must have “obviously” liked each other.
She responded: “You know, as I said earlier, he has a number of mentees and that’s one thing that’s different when you compare him to other Senior Commanders.
“But, yeah, we had a lot of rapport. I think some of that comes from a common ground of having gone to West Point [to the U.S. Military Academy].”
Of her reported rival, she added: “He is married to Holly Petraeus, who is a wonderful Military spouse and done so much for their children and for children of fallen soldiers, I respect her immensely.”
The book’s description explains Paul Broadwell conducted research for three years and was “afforded extensive access by General Petraeus, his mentors, his subordinates and his longtime friends”. Its website adds Paula Broadwell was embedded in Afghanistan with David Petraeus for a year between July 2010 and 2011.
Paula Broadwell graduated with honors from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, and came top of her class in physical fitness. David Petraeus also attended the academy and married his wife Holly there.
She has more than a decade of military service and nearly two decades of work in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency.
Paula Broadwell is studying for her PhD at Kings College in London, and is also a research associate at Harvard University’s Center for Public Leadership. For her studies and the biography, she spent most of 2011 in Afghanistan as an embedded author.
As well as contributing to book chapters, appearing on television interviews and writing opinion pieces for The New York Times and the Boston Globe about leadership and women in defense, she has also worked as a model and demonstrator for KRISS, a .45 caliber machine gun manufacturer.
Last week, Paula Broadwell wrote an article entitled David Petraeus’s Rules for Living in Newsweek.
One read: “We all will make mistakes. The key is to recognize them and admit them, to learn from them, and to take off the rear view mirrors – drive on and avoid making them again.”
David Petraeus had been sworn in as head of the CIA in September 2011 after serving as head of the coalition forces first in Iraq and then in Afghanistan.
President Barack Obama accepted David Petraeus’ resignation but described him as “one of the outstanding General officers of his generation” as he added: “By any measure, through his lifetime of service David Petraeus has made our country safer and stronger.”
Deputy director Michael Morell will serve as acting head of the agency until a permanent replacement for David Petraeus is appointed.
In his resignation letter addressed to CIA agents, david Petraeus wrote that “such behavior is unacceptable” for a senior administration official.
The fact of an affair would not in itself normally merit a resignation, unless the affair created a security risk, for instance if it was with a foreigner or a journalist. Blackmail would also be an issue, though publicly admitting the affair would prevent that.
An affair with a subordinate CIA employee might make a resignation almost inevitable – or it is possible that David Petraeus stepped down because he felt his leadership and integrity had been compromised.
One of the most puzzling aspects of the resignation is its proximity to next week’s congressional hearings on Benghazi, which David Petraeus has said he will not now attend, even though being out of office would not preclude his doing so.
David Petraeus admitted he had shown “extremely poor judgement” in the letter he sent to his CIA colleagues confirming that he was stepping down.
He added that it had been “the greatest of privileges” to work at the agency, saying: “Teddy Roosevelt once observed that life’s greatest gift is the opportunity to work hard at work worth doing.”
David Petraeus, 60, has been married to Holly, née Knowlton, since 1975, after they meet when he was a military cadet at West Point and she was the daughter of the academy’s superintendent.
When he was sworn in as director of the CIA by Vice President Joe Biden, Holly held the Bible on which he swore his oath of office.
Holly Petraeus is head of the Office of Servicemember Affairs, a department of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which is responsible for ensuring members of the military are not taken advantage of by banks and other financial businesses.
The official offered his resignation to Barack Obama on Thursday, and the President accepted the offer on Friday.
Barack Obama issued a statement thanking David Petraeus for his “extraordinary service”, saying he had “served with characteristic intellectual rigor, dedication, and patriotism”.
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