Why don´t you ask her?

Petraeus´ military career portrays a textbook example of a REMF.


Girl´s Hubby

From the mindset of those on the left, it is difficult to judge anything military with the truth. The left hates the military, sees no reason for armed forces, and constantly sneers at anyone in uniform. They would have us sit like hippies singing, "Kumbala", and chanting peace mantras, ignoring aggression until America is on her knees. Fighting wars is an imperfect science and only as good as the current intelligence, there were numerous errors made during the World wars and Vietnam, but most ended in victories. The defeats or stalemates occur when the soldiers listen to the politicians! Give Petraeus a break, at least he has earned that much!

Looks like he´s destined to be the [ahem] butt of jokes, a la #1´s reply. At least in the short term.

In the long term? --hard to predict, as we can no longer expect an objective evaluation to eventually be published. Particularly after our future Islamicist overlords have beaten America into dhimmitude.

Yo..yo...P4 is a sawed off little ladder climbing prig who married the West Point Commander´s daughter, who brooked no "immoral" behavior from his subordinates. No drinking. No smoking. No banging the natives. The problem is when you lead like that and you stumble and fall there aren´t many folks around willing to give you a "pass" or a hand up. Yo..wiener boy how do you like it NOW??

I´m more stunned that two general officers in a war zone failed to understand that email is not secure. What else did these two idiots send via email?

History will judge him well because history is written by academics. Petraeus is seen as one of them, owing to his PdD from Princeton.

When the military started promoting on gender, race and nationality not merit a downgrade was bound to happen.

When foolish generals stoop to folly,
and find too late that women betray,
What wives can soothe their melancholy?
What lawyers can wipe their sins away?

homage à Oliver Goldsmith

I´m with #3, but not well informed about his command. Put the affair aside and I think he did a good job. Our commanders have to lead with their right hand tied to their left foot. I suspect his wife has been well aware of the emotional difficulties and the proclivities of long term separations.

A very good friend fought in close contact with him for five years as a sniper under his command in Iraq and Iran and says he´d gladly follow him into battle any day. Not sure about the details because much of his work is classified, but he says he´s getting a bad rap and that´s good enough for me.

Short term media assaults are against him, but long term is in his favor! The media will tire and go on to other destructive enterprises.

We´ve had two generals removed because of their relationships with the press - McChrystal and Petreus. A sensible rule would be to never talk to the press.

Did this writer ever wonder how good Bill Clinton was at his job when he was conducting business on the telephone while engaged in sexual activity with Monica in the Oval Office? Mr. Filkins proves only his ingratitude toward the military who gave him the freedom to express his opinions.

Re: #3 and 11: The left leaning author does not knocking Petraeus but touts his counterinsurgency strategy of paying the bad guys rather than killing them. His approach was more political and worked for a while in Iraq but Afghanistan lacks the infrastructure and the Taliban aren´t staying bought.

#14, I gotta agree for the most part. Iraq and Afghanistan are two totally individual cultures and completely diverse groups of people.

Iraq was for decades a very well educated society for the area that wanted self-rule. Saddam Hussein subverted that with stealth then fear and terror. Much like what is happening here in the US.

Afghanistan on the other hand has for centuries been the definition of a nation ruled in tiny enclaves by uneducated, barbaric warlords who ruled as despots to control their territory. They were not unlike the territorial gangs that permeate some of our larger cities here at home. They have not been changed in centuries in spite of numerous invasions, i.e. Russia, and the US. There is little hope of ever "civilizing" Afghanistan. Petraeus gave it the one/two, but was not, like many other invaders, ever able to get in the third punch. As Napoleon once said, I have a lot of good generals. I just need a lucky one.

Yes, do set the affair aside.

He was not such a hot general, since he got co-opted by The Punk and let his operatives (and the SEALs) swing in the wind in Benghazi.

Mostly a shallow little article, some of it may come as news to New Yorker readers but not to anybody who has paid attention.

Filkins does not even consider that we could have succeeded faster and better by killing more enemy, he seems so horrified by the thought he doesn´t even go near it.

FTA: "As Petraeus knows, one of the first principles of counter insurgency policy is that any successful campain must have a credible local partner. The Americans do not have that in Afghanistan and they never have." In the Middle East, other than Israel, we never will. So our intellectual mediocre darlings of moderate politicians and leftist press people, will "unexpectedly" lose. War, especially war with barbarians, is not police work and nation building. It is hell. It tears men limb from limb, only to come home and find they are on a Jannet Napolitano "suspect terrorist list." It also should not be for making a permenant theater to waste our treasure, and turn internationalist, politically corrrect soldiers into future America-lite politicians.

Not one word of praise for our commander in chief, President George W. Bush, who immplemented the surge. Interesting, hey?
And who voted against the surge? Current President Zero, the kenyan klown. And who else voted against the surge? I do believe Jon Cary did.
In my opinion, we have got to stop trying to finesse these wars against the filthy islamofascist terrorist pigs. Especially the barbarians in Afghanistan - if we are going there, we have to kill them. That is war. That is what they understand. And do it in the most effective way possible - carpet bombing.

General David Petraeus abandoned any principles. He is covering up for obama. He knows what happened and is keeping quiet. I suspect a large payoff is in the works.

I don´t believe it is a payoff. I think he is being blackmailed. Isn´t that against the law?