When
I realized the opportunity I had to tell this message, to present this portrait
of strategic leadership--you know, it's not--it's not a hagiography; I'm not in
love with David Petraeus. But I think he does present a terrific role model for
young people, for executives, for men and women. No matter what, there's a
great role model there who is--who is values-oriented, who speaks the truth to
power
Too many people have given Petraeus credit for resigning, calling it an act of honor. How is it honorable? He didn't resign the day after he started the affair. He didn't resign on any of the days during the affair. He didn't resign after the FBI questioned him about the affair. He didn't resign until he had a gun to his head in effect -- when his boss, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told him the game was over.
Then he resigned with a wan gesture that looks less like honor than a vain last attempt at damage control.
Clapper was part of that deceptive effort, as was President Obama at his news conference November 14. Here's how Clapper's formal statement tried to perpetuate the "cult of David Petraeus" when it said:
Dave's
decision to step down represents the loss of one of our nation's most respected
public servants. From his long, illustrious Army career to his leadership at
the helm of CIA, Dave has redefined what it means to serve and sacrifice for
one's country". I can honestly say
that Dave Petraeus stands out as one of our nation's great patriots.
Best of Petraeus Record -- His Press
Clippings
Michael Hastings, a reporter for Buzzfeed and Rolling Stone, has a darker, less fawning view of Petraeus. Appearing on CNN, Hastings criticized Petraeus' fellow generals and others for:
defending
David Petraeus without actually addressing the real problems with David
Petraeus's record. And those are the fact that he manipulated the White House
into escalating in Afghanistan; he ran a campaign in Iraq that was brutally
savage, included arming the worst of the worst, Shiite death squads, Sunni
militiamen; and then you go back to the training of the Iraqi army program that
also had similar problems. So, for me, all the while, he's going around the
country talking about honor and integrity.
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