Petraeus Scandal Grows to Include Top General in Afghanistan

[Conley]

PERTH, Australia — Gen. John R. Allen, the top American and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has become ensnared in the scandal over an extramarital affair acknowledged by David H. Petraeus, a former general. General Allen is being investigated for what a senior defense official said early Tuesday was “inappropriate communication” with Jill Kelley, a woman in Tampa, Fla., who was seen by Mr. Petraeus’s lover as a rival for his attentions.

In a statement released to reporters on his plane en route to Australia early Tuesday, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said that the F.B.I. on Sunday had referred “a matter involving” General Allen to the Pentagon.

Mr. Panetta turned the matter over to the Pentagon’s inspector general to conduct an investigation into what a defense official said were 20,000 to 30,000 pages of documents, many of them e-mails between General Allen and Ms. Kelley, who is married and has children.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/us/top-us-commander-in-afghanistan-is-linked-to-petraeus-scandal.html

This just keeps getting worse...black marks all around

[Deadwood]

PERTH, Australia — Gen. John R. Allen, the top American and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has become ensnared in the scandal over an extramarital affair acknowledged by David H. Petraeus, a former general. General Allen is being investigated for what a senior defense official said early Tuesday was “inappropriate communication” with Jill Kelley, a woman in Tampa, Fla., who was seen by Mr. Petraeus’s lover as a rival for his attentions.

In a statement released to reporters on his plane en route to Australia early Tuesday, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said that the F.B.I. on Sunday had referred “a matter involving” General Allen to the Pentagon.

Mr. Panetta turned the matter over to the Pentagon’s inspector general to conduct an investigation into what a defense official said were 20,000 to 30,000 pages of documents, many of them e-mails between General Allen and Ms. Kelley, who is married and has children.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/us/top-us-commander-in-afghanistan-is-linked-to-petraeus-scandal.html

This just keeps getting worse...black marks all around



I am surprised, no astonished at how much play this, what shall we call it -- swinging dick gate? -- is getting in the mainstream press.

Oh wait....

My bad.....the election is over...

..and they can blame it on NATO

[shaarona]

I am surprised, no astonished at how much play this, what shall we call it -- swinging dick gate? -- is getting in the mainstream press.

Oh wait....

My bad.....the election is over...

..and they can blame it on NATO

The Benghazi hearings start on Thursday........

[Cigar]

I give it a day or two ... then it will be Obama's Fault.

[Cigar]

The Benghazi hearings start on Thursday........

Keep Hope Alive.

[Conley]

I am surprised, no astonished at how much play this, what shall we call it -- swinging dick gate? -- is getting in the mainstream press.

Oh wait....

My bad.....the election is over...

..and they can blame it on NATO

I think it's a legit story because these are men in charge of our national security. Like Bubba in Oval Office, when these individuals put themselves in compromising situations it can affect their ability to do the job. If it was the CEO of a company then I wouldn't look at it in the same light.

Also, under military code infidelity is a crime but not sure how often that gets invoked.

But yeah, a sex scandal is going to get heavy press regardless.

[Deadwood]

I think it's a legit story because these are men in charge of our national security. Like Bubba in Oval Office, when these individuals put themselves in compromising situations it can affect their ability to do the job. If it was the CEO of a company then I wouldn't look at it in the same light.

Also, under military code infidelity is a crime but not sure how often that gets invoked.

But yeah, a sex scandal is going to get heavy press regardless.

So, you're saying if somebody was fucking somebody Benghazi would have gotten more play?

[Conley]

So, you're saying if somebody was fucking somebody Benghazi would have gotten more play?

No doubt

[shaarona]

No doubt

This gets weirder by the hour.

Paula Broadwell's driver's license was found on a jogging trail in a park in DC and Jill Kelly is demanding protection from 911.

Why on earth would her home have been heavily guarded?

http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/macdill/petraeus-friend-jill-kelley-found-place-hosting-military-parties/1261272

[wazi99]

Something smells about this new report of possible miss conduct. That could mean anything and sounds like they are trying to force him out.

[GrassrootsConservative]

I give it a day or two ... then it will be Obama's Fault.

So you're giving Obama less than a day to blame it on George Bush?
I think you're underestimating our arrogant prick of a president.

[shaarona]

So you're giving Obama less than a day to blame it on George Bush?
I think you're underestimating our arrogant prick of a president.


I think you have missed several developments. Jill Kelly is asking for protection and Paula Broadwell's drivers license was found on a jogging trail in DC.

All these people are questionable.. Who sends 20-30 thousand personal emails?

Who was WORKING?

[Calypso Jones]

isn't it interesting that someone's driver's licence is always found in some jogging trail by the gov't. HOW DOES that happen? :wink:

[shaarona]

isn't it interesting that someone's driver's licence is always found in some jogging trail by the gov't. HOW DOES that happen? :wink:

Well, the DC police have it..

[waltky]

Just like Uncle Ferd says - dem womens'll mess ya up...
:embarrassed:
Top U.S. commander in Afghanistan under investigation
November 13th, 2012 - The spiraling scandal that took down David Petraeus has apparently claimed another powerful general, as authorities announced that Gen. John Allen is under investigation for allegedly sending inappropriate messages to Jill Kelley, a woman who has been linked to the Petraeus scandal.


Allen, who is the commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, has disputed that he has committed any wrongdoing, a senior defense official said. Details of the latest angle of the scandal that has shaken the highest level of the military were sketchy early Tuesday morning. Some details about Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, came from a terse overnight statement by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. "On Sunday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation referred to the Department of Defense a matter involving General John Allen, Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (or ISAF) in Afghanistan," part of the statement said. "Today, the secretary directed that the matter be referred to the Inspector General of the Department of Defense for investigation."

A defense official told CNN that there is a"distinct possibility" that the investigation into Allen is connected to the investigation that led to the resignation of Petraeus. Allen will still retain his position as the commander of ISAF as the investigation continues, the Pentagon said. But Panetta asked that Allen's nomination to become NATO's supreme allied commander be put on hold, the statement said.

The confirmation hearing to see if Allen would get that lofty military post was scheduled for Thursday. The investigation was in its early stages but authorities were looking into some 20,000 to 30,000 pages of documents, the defense official said.

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/?hpt=wo_bn1

See also:

Analysis: Will national security scandal create national security risk?
November 13th, 2012 - The fallout from the scandal involving now disgraced CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus and possible connection to top Afghan commander Gen. John Allen comes at a transition time for the Obama administration. Just a week after the election, one of Washington's favorite guessing games started as politicians, journalists and every other political wonk started to calculate who could be filling the major Cabinet positions that would be opening as some get set to step down. It raises the question of what effect all this could have on the country's national security.


Secretary of State Hillary Clinton long ago announced she would be leaving and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, said this week that he does want to return to his home in California. Asked how long he plans to stick around the Pentagon, he responded to reporters, "Who the hell knows?" In the military, regularly scheduled command changes were getting set as well, as Allen was moving to head the European Command and a new commander was preparing to take over in Afghanistan. Both have to be confirmed by the Senate and a confirmation hearing is set for Thursday with the Senate Armed Services Committee. But in light of the scandal, is the president at risk of losing too much of his foreign policy brain trust as Petraeus departs and Allen works under the haze of an investigation?

White House spokesman Jay Carney addressed that question Tuesday, saying the president, "has great confidence in the acting CIA director. He has confidence in his military, and the secretary of Defense and the Defense Department to carry out the missions that he has assigned to them." Mark Jacobson, a former NATO adviser to Petraeus while he was in Afghanistan and now a fellow at the policy analysis group The German Marshall Fund, says a scandal like this would not affect national security. "What it is, is a loss for the CIA, which does need some restructuring, as does the Pentagon, Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. Folks need to move away from Afghanistan and Iraq and start looking at the long-term strategic picture and I think Petraeus was the right guy to do that for the agency," Jacobson said. "There was a thought he (Petraeus) could be leaving to head up Princeton this year, so he might have left anyhow," Jacobson said.

But if the personal nature of the relationship between Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell, does not have a consequence on national security, surely the decision-making process of who will fill the open positions could have a trickle down effect. For instance, if the Obama administration loses its top CIA boss and its top commander in Afghanistan, on top of the departure of Clinton and the expected departure of Panetta, who could possibly oversee the sensitive diplomatic and military mission of the final two years of U.S. troops in Afghanistan?

Surprisingly, many in Washington think there are plenty of qualified people who can fill these gaps. In fact, many national security staffers on Capitol Hill we spoke with Tuesday believe the scandal will not hollow out those with national security experience in the administration. "It's not like there is a void of qualified people. If that was the case the president would have to keep Petraeus in his job," said one Capitol Hill staffer who asked not to be identified. But one senior Hill staffer thinks the Pentagon's decision to not outright fire Allen and keep him in his position is not only a signal that the military does not know if he was in the wrong, but also a way to protect him if he is found not to be at fault. "It would be a shame to lose a man with the experience he has in Afghanistan if they were to fire him only to find that he was not actually guilty of anything," the staffer said.

MORE (http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/13/analysis-will-national-security-scandal-create-national-security-risk/)