Posted on 11/10/2012 4:03:39 PM PST by billorites
Among those who have long known Gen. David Petraeus, those who served under his command in wartime, sat with him in the White House Situation Room, or helped him rewrite Army doctrine at Fort Leavenworth, the most gnawing question about the scandalous affair that led to his resignation and doomed his career on Friday is this: How could he—this acclaimed leader and figure of rectitude—allow such a thing to happen?
Seen in context, the mystery, while shocking, is not so unfathomable.
Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom he had this affair, writes in her fawning biography of Petraeus that they first met when she was in graduate school at Harvard and he came to give a talk about counterinsurgency strategy. She approached him afterward and expressed interest in the subject; they exchanged cards. Soon, she decided to write a Ph.D. dissertation on his leadership style and, when he took command in Afghanistan, asked if she could come observe him in action. He agreed.
The key to this initial attraction was probably not sexual but rather biographical. Broadwell had once been a West Point cadet, like Petraeus. Upon graduating, she’d joined the light infantry officers’ corps as a paratrooper, as had Petraeus in his youth. She was obsessed with physical fitness, especially running, as was Petraeus. In short, regardless of gender, Broadwell was exactly the sort of aspiring officer-intellectual that Petraeus was keen to mentor.
The impulse was not unique to Petraeus. It grew out of the ethos of West Point’s social science department, where Petraeus had taught in the mid-1980s. The department, known as “Sosh,” was founded just after World War II by a visionary ex-cadet and Rhodes Scholar named George A. “Abe” Lincoln. Toward the end of the war, as the senior planning aide to Army Chief of Staff
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
Never place your faith in men (women included), they will disappoint you every time.
From men, trust only what you can corroborate.
Regards.
LOL! Yeah, the little head does most of the thinking for sure! Also, the guy has a PHD, proving tat there is not a direct correlation between intelligence and wisdom.
Bin their, dun that, so eye can c wear u r coming from.
Broadwell wanted the notch. That’s all it’s about. Bet she stalked “The Best” at West Point and Harvard, too.
That is so refreshing to read. (Especially amidst all the shallow comments being made today.)
The immediate denial of knowlege from this regime of the FBIs investigation duly noted also your comment of my conspiracy theorys. Always. Always discredit eveything right?
Oh by the way 0bamas dna sure looks like frank marshal davis , his daddy has the same age spots on his face.
“only human” bothers me a great deal. It is as if we are so lowly that the primacy G-d bestowed upon man has been rendered meaningless and ‘human’ has become an excuse for all wrongdoing in the world when it SHOULD BE the exact opposite. Human as an excuse is actually SUBhuman because HUMAN aspires to be MORE, not less; BETTER, not worse. In G-d’s Image. It means something.
The whole thing is bogus, and quite frankly I think there is some really hard ball being played by the islamofascist commie to save himself from GITMO. I put nothing past him, or this woman in an exchange of the big $bucks.
.....no one does good, not even one. Romans 3:12
That’s just wrong.
“Upon graduating, she’d joined the light infantry officers’ corps as a paratrooper...”
Sorry, Fred, but details count: Women are not commissioned as Infantry Officers! They can and do go to Airborne School, and can be assigned to the 82d Infantry Division (Airborne), but that does not make them an “Infantry Officer”. I know, as my wife has her Airborne wings (I’m just a dirty, nasty, straight-leg Engineer).
Unless things have changed since I retired on this past August...they darned sure weren’t that way when she graduated in ‘95.
We are also blessed with will power and can resist these situations.He could have been a good man and husband and walked away from her.
I’ve always said, if you want to see who is getting paid off, look at the jobs the spouses have.
A$$ho!e
Thank you for sayin' it.
This is what we used to believe marriage was:
DEARLY beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God,
and in the face of this Congregation, to join together this Man and this Woman
in holy Matrimony; which is an honourable estate, instituted of God in the time of man's innocency,
signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church...
...and therefore is not by any to be enterprised, nor taken in hand, unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly;
but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God;
duly considering the causes for which Matrimony was ordained:First, for the increase of mankind, according to the will of God, and for the due ordering of families and households, that children might be brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord, and to the praise of his holy Name;
Secondly, for the hallowing of the union betwixt man and woman, and for the avoidance of sin;
Thirdly, for the mutual society, help, and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity.
Into which holy estate these two Persons present come now to be joined...
I hate freepers like you. Everything is superficial. Betcha your a real pleasure to be around.
Well said!
Some people feel sorry for the wife and it may make her feel obligated to divorce him but if she is a Christian she should know that would be wrong, and if she is not a Christian then what the hell is wrong with it.
I would imagine she most likely had better reasons to be married to him than just the belief that he would never look at another woman.
If i found that my wife married me just because she thought i was void of the feelings that a man is made of it would be a bad deal.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.