Retired General David Petraeus pleads guilty to charges of mishandling classified information

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**KalashnikovMarine**

Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
KalashnikovMarine wrote:
AlexHolker wrote:
If only Obama & Co cared half as much about rapists and torturers as they do about keeping secrets from the American people.

If the general was an actual whistleblower I'd agree with this.

Wasn't one of Big O's campaign things running a transparent government?

You are correct, and now that he is showing transparency, people are complaining about something else. He can't win.

...what transparency are you talking about? The way Obama takes down actual whistleblowers it's like he's reading stalin's playbook.

**Ouze**

KalashnikovMarine wrote:
...what transparency are you talking about? The way Obama takes down actual whistleblowers it's like he's reading stalin's playbook.

You mean he's having millions of perceived political opponents shot in the head or sent with their families to be worked to death in labor camps without trial?

**KalashnikovMarine**

More the sense of any one stepping out of line has the boot dropped on them, even if they do reveal illegal U.S. behavior, plenty of whistleblowers going to prison that didn't get the same press as Eddy Snowden.

Not sure about unmarked graves. Never know what's going on in Nevada. The U.S. government does have the right to black bag you now and even has a "classified" kangaroo court for your trial.

**Ouze**

KalashnikovMarine wrote:
The U.S. government does have the right to black bag you now and even has a "classified" kangaroo court for your trial.

Well... I can't come up with a compelling argument against that. I also couldn't mention gulags, since of course, we actually do have a gulag now.

sigh.

**loki old fart**

This can't be a case of the American government, "who wouldn't think of spying on it's own people" clearing the way for better yes men. Could it ? How many more top brass have been retired.

**whembly**

So... the guy who helped win war in Iraq to be prosecuted by man who lost it.

Do I have that right?

Interestingly enough, there's bi-partisan efforts to encourage Obama to grant Petraeus a Prez Pardon.

**djones520**

whembly wrote:
So... the guy who helped win war in Iraq to be prosecuted by man who lost it.

Do I have that right?

Interestingly enough, there's bi-partisan efforts to encourage Obama to grant Petraeus a Prez Pardon.

I won't throw Iraq at Obama. He could have tried pushing harder for a continued SOFA that kept us there, but what happened in Iraq falls squarely on the Iraqi's soldiers. Their the ones who decapitated their own command structure after we left, which put their military into the shambles that got steam rolled by ISIS.

**Ahtman**

djones520 wrote:
I won't throw Iraq at Obama.

But it is so easy and partisan. Don't let facts rule your life.

**whembly**

djones520 wrote:
whembly wrote:
So... the guy who helped win war in Iraq to be prosecuted by man who lost it.

Do I have that right?

Interestingly enough, there's bi-partisan efforts to encourage Obama to grant Petraeus a Prez Pardon.

I won't throw Iraq at Obama. He could have tried pushing harder for a continued SOFA that kept us there, but what happened in Iraq falls squarely on the Iraqi's soldiers. Their the ones who decapitated their own command structure after we left, which put their military into the shambles that got steam rolled by ISIS.

I was being facetious.

**Torga_DW**

Wait! What? You're calling iraq a win? The iraqi soldiers decapitated their command structure now?

**Jihadin**

We forget that quite a few Iraqi soldiers were executed by ISIS? The one's being herded in their tighty whitey's (and assorted colors) and boxers.

**Hordini**

Torga_DW wrote:
Wait! What? You're calling iraq a win? The iraqi soldiers decapitated their command structure now?

It wasn't Iraqi soldiers that purged sections of their officer corps after the US left, it was the Iraqi government. And yes that is a real thing that happened.

**Torga_DW**

Hordini wrote:
Torga_DW wrote:
Wait! What? You're calling iraq a win? The iraqi soldiers decapitated their command structure now?

It wasn't Iraqi soldiers that purged sections of their officer corps after the US left, it was the Iraqi government. And yes that is a real thing that happened.

the key words being: after the US left. Iraq used to have a command structure, his name was saddam.

**Hordini**

Torga_DW wrote:
Hordini wrote:
Torga_DW wrote:
Wait! What? You're calling iraq a win? The iraqi soldiers decapitated their command structure now?

It wasn't Iraqi soldiers that purged sections of their officer corps after the US left, it was the Iraqi government. And yes that is a real thing that happened.

the key words being: after the US left. Iraq used to have a command structure, his name was saddam.

Yeah, and that's not what we are talking about.

**dogma**

whembly wrote:

Interestingly enough, there's bi-partisan efforts to encourage Obama to grant Petraeus a Prez Pardon.

If Petraeus is charged and convicted I imagine Obama would likely pardon him in the standard, Presidential fashion.

Though, I suppose he could also pardon him early citing the fact that Petraeus has cancer.

**Torga_DW**

Hordini wrote:
Torga_DW wrote:
Hordini wrote:
Torga_DW wrote:
Wait! What? You're calling iraq a win? The iraqi soldiers decapitated their command structure now?

It wasn't Iraqi soldiers that purged sections of their officer corps after the US left, it was the Iraqi government. And yes that is a real thing that happened.

the key words being: after the US left. Iraq used to have a command structure, his name was saddam.

Yeah, and that's not what we are talking about.

I rather think it is. You can't talk about Petraeus 'winning' the iraq war without mentioning saddam, especially given the state the country is in after his removal. American presence was the only thing holding the place together afterwards.

**Hordini**

Torga_DW wrote:
Hordini wrote:
Torga_DW wrote:
Hordini wrote:
Torga_DW wrote:
Wait! What? You're calling iraq a win? The iraqi soldiers decapitated their command structure now?

It wasn't Iraqi soldiers that purged sections of their officer corps after the US left, it was the Iraqi government. And yes that is a real thing that happened.

the key words being: after the US left. Iraq used to have a command structure, his name was saddam.

Yeah, and that's not what we are talking about.

I rather think it is. You can't talk about Petraeus 'winning' the iraq war without mentioning saddam, especially given the state the country is in after his removal. American presence was the only thing holding the place together afterwards.

Yes, American presence allowed the Iraqis to develop a relatively effective command structure and officer corps, and shortly after we left, they wrecked it. Just in time for ISIS to move in and take the territory they now hold.

**Frazzled**

If he did the crime he should do the time.

**LuciusAR**

A high ranking official passing classified information to his mistress is such a cliché I’m amazed to see still happen in real life. People have been imprisoned for it and the past and rightly so.

I understand Generals having mistresses, many great military minds have been serial philanderers, but for goodness sake you never take classified information into that sort of environment.

**loki old fart**

LuciusAR wrote:
A high ranking official passing classified information to his mistress is such a cliché I’m amazed to see still happen in real life. People have been imprisoned for it and the past and rightly so.

I understand Generals having mistresses, many great military minds have been serial philanderers, but for goodness sake you never take classified information into that sort of environment.

I used to be a serial philanderer, but it was getting expensive.

**Easy E**

Shock: General falls for the old Honeypot trap! Isn't that one of the oldest tricks in the book of espionage?

I'm just surprised the Feds are bothering to prosecute it.

**Orlanth**

Hordini wrote:

Yes, American presence allowed the Iraqis to develop a relatively effective command structure and officer corps, and shortly after we left, they wrecked it. Just in time for ISIS to move in and take the territory they now hold.

was tribalism the deciding factor?

My current guess is that if they had a professional officer corps aware of the risks its couldn't collapse too quickly. But if but the newly unshackled Iraqi government wanted to shift power around in favour of people from the same tribe as the guy in charge, then the officer cadre could be undermined in a matter of days.

**djones520**

Orlanth wrote:
Hordini wrote:

Yes, American presence allowed the Iraqis to develop a relatively effective command structure and officer corps, and shortly after we left, they wrecked it. Just in time for ISIS to move in and take the territory they now hold.

was tribalism the deciding factor?

My current guess is that if they had a professional officer corps aware of the risks its couldn't collapse too quickly. But if but the newly unshackled Iraqi government wanted to shift power around in favour of people from the same tribe as the guy in charge, then the officer cadre could be undermined in a matter of days.

Doubt it. It was Mawlaki who did that damage if I recall correctly. He probably didn't trust them, since they were American trained.

**Orlanth**

Easy E wrote:

I'm just surprised the Feds are bothering to prosecute it.

That doesn't surprise me at all. Obama should and Ithink will go easy on him. he was/is a loyal man who thought with his dick, but was not a traitor. And the woman concerned held rank in her own right and should have been trustworthy and well vetted.

What 'surprises' me is the complete lack of attention to a BFE caught with info she wasn't supposed to have. That is a far more serious accusation, its secure data theft rather than mishandling, and it wouldn't take long to present a case.
Yet she is still all free as a bird.

Something stinks.

**Grayest Knight**

Did Petraeus betray us?

**Torga_DW**

Hordini wrote:
Yes, American presence allowed the Iraqis to develop a relatively effective command structure and officer corps, and shortly after we left, they wrecked it. Just in time for ISIS to move in and take the territory they now hold.

If it only works while someone else is there to overseer it, i submit that it didn't actually work to begin with.

**djones520**

Torga_DW wrote:
Hordini wrote:
Yes, American presence allowed the Iraqis to develop a relatively effective command structure and officer corps, and shortly after we left, they wrecked it. Just in time for ISIS to move in and take the territory they now hold.

If it only works while someone else is there to overseer it, i submit that it didn't actually work to begin with.

Has nobody been reading what I've been saying? The civilian command structure tore apart the military leadership after we left. They didn't need to be overseen by us. They just needed to be left in place, and allowed to proceed as they had been trained.

**Torga_DW**

Ah, i'm talking about the government. The problem is the military reports to the government, not the other way around. Saddam was both, both needed to be replaced. What happened to the military was symptomatic of the problems with their government. Not saying it was a good thing, just not unexpected.

**Ouze**

Looks like he is taking a plea deal.

Petraeus reaches plea deal with Justice Dept.
Kevin Johnson and Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY 2:13 p.m. EST March 3, 2015

WASHINGTON — Former CIA director David Petraeus has reached a plea agreement with the Justice Department, concluding a years-long investigation into his divulging to his mistress secret information, including names of covert officers and war strategy, according to court documents.

The explosive details in the agreement show that Petraeus lied to investigators, divulged a massive amount of sensitive data to Paula Broadwell, his mistress and biographer, and worried about how she handled them in an interview she taped with him.

The criminal information filed in federal court in North Carolina states that from August 2011 to April 5, 2013, Petraeus did "unlawfully and knowingly'' remove classified materials and retained them at "unauthorized'' locations. Petraeus agreed to plead guilty to one criminal count of mishandling classified information.

The plea agreement includes a recommendation of two years probation and a $40,000 fine.

Petraeus declined to comment. An attorney for Petraeus, Robert Barnett, also declined to comment on the plea deal.

In court documents filed in support of the government's case, prosecutors alleged that Petraeus, while commander in Afghanistan, maintained eight so-called black books that contained classified and unclassified notes he took during meetings, conferences and briefings. And in late August 2011, he delivered the books to the private Washington residence where Broadwell — his biographer and mistress— was staying during a week-long trip to the area.

"The D.C. private residence was not approved for the storage of classified information,'' the documents state.

Among the mass of sensitive information contained in the books were the "identities of covert officers, war strategy, intelligence capabilities and mechanisms, diplomatic discussions … and deliberative discussions from high-level National Security Council meetings, and discussions with the president of the United States.''

Also contained in the "black books'' was national defense information, including secret code word information.

In a conversation recorded by Broadwell, she asked Petraeus about the whereabouts of the black books, and he acknowledged their sensitivity.

"By the way, where are your black books?'' Broadwell asks Petraeus, according to a transcript of an Aug. 4, 2011, conversation. "Um, well, they're really — I mean they are highly classified, some of them."

Yet, later that month Petraeus sent Broadwell an e-mail in which he "agreed to provide the black books to his biographer'' and left the binders there between Aug. 28 and Sept. 1.

The court documents also state that Petraeus lied to FBI agents Oct. 26, 2012, when they questioned him at CIA headquarters. Asked about his handling of classified information, Petraeus stated that he "had never provided any classified information to his biographer and he had never facilitated the provision of classified information to his biographer.''

"These statements were false,'' the court documents state. "Defendant David Howell Petraeus then and there knew that he previously shared the black books with his biographer.''

After acknowledging the affair and resigning from the CIA in November 2012, Petraeus signed an agency "security exit form,'' in which he assured authorities that there was "no classified material in my possession, custody or control at this time.''

"At the time he provided this assurance, the black books were still in the Petraeus residence,'' the court documents state.

A statement from the Justice Department added: "The criminal Information charges the defendant with one count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1924. The plea agreement and corresponding statement of facts, both signed by the defendant, indicate that he will plead guilty to the one-count criminal Information."

Petraeus was the most lauded general in the post-9/11 era, having devised the counterinsurgency strategy that tamped down violence in Iraq but did not result in creating the conditions he deemed necessary to build an inclusive government. U.S. troops withdrew in 2011, but now 3,000 have returned to advise Iraqi forces battling Islamic State extremists.

Petraeus went on to lead Central Command, which oversees military operations stretching from the Middle East to Afghanistan. President Obama chose him to command of all forces in Afghanistan after Gen. Stanley McChrystal was fired in 2010 after his staff was quoted in Rolling Stone magazine making disparaging remarks about politicians, including Vice President Biden.

It was in Afghanistan that Broadwell, an Army intelligence officer, met and traveled with Petraeus several times for research on her book, All In, the Education of David Petraeus. They maintain that their affair began after Petraeus left the military. In 2011 Obama named Petraeus to lead the CIA.

Petraeus, who holds a doctorate from Princeton, has been teaching and advising a venture capital firm in New York.

He retains supporters in Washington, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

"With the Department of Justice investigation now complete, Gen. Petraeus has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor," McCain said in a statement. "He has apologized and expressed deep regret for this situation, and I believe it is time to consider this matter closed. At a time of grave security challenges around the world, I hope that Gen. Petraeus will continue to provide his outstanding service and leadership to our nation, as he has throughout his distinguished career."

A sad end to a distinguished career.

**whembly**

Huh... I figured he'd get a few months in prison for that.