Has Recent Criticism Of David Petraeus Been 'Overblown'?

General David Petraeus. Reuters.

Petraeus, Yin and Yang -- Joe Klein, Time

We have new evaluations of David Petraeus this week, in New York Magazine and the New Yorker. The New Yorker piece is by the great war correspondent and author, Dexter Filkins. The New York piece is by former theater critic Frank Rich. They couldn’t be more different.

Filkins sees the world from the streets up; he is not only a great reporter, but also a fine writer and military analyst. Rich sees the world from 30,000 feet and in only one way: everything is theater. There is, of course, a little bit of the theater critic in all of us who cover politics–internally, at Time Magazine, we call my accounts of presidential speeches and debates “theater criticism.” But theater criticism without context, without substantial knowledge of the issues at stake, is entertainment, not journalism. And that is what Rich, who at times is capable of powerful political insights, is guilty of here.

Read more ....

My Comment: I am not a fan of Joe Klein, but he is probably right that recent criticisms of former General and CIA Director Petraeus in the past month may have been "overblown". But as I have said in the past few weeks .... a review of Petraeus is long overdue .... and I do expect more criticism (and praise) of his service in the weeks and months to come.

How Good Was David Petraeus?

USMC Lt. General John Allen (L) and U.S. Army General David Petraeus (R). Reuters

General Principles -- Dexter Filkins, New Yorker

How good was David Petraeus?

In the Roman conquest of Gaul, Julius Caesar led his legions into battle wearing a flowing red cape. The cape made him more likely to be killed but easier for his men to see; it served as a reminder of his fearlessness. John Bell Hood, one of the Confederacy’s most audacious commanders, had his left arm shattered at Gettysburg, and lost his right leg at Chickamauga; from then on, he rode into battle tied to his horse. Even in the Second World War, when senior officers had it easier than their predecessors, General Dwight Eisenhower was so consumed by the job that he smoked four packs of cigarettes and drank fifteen cups of coffee a day.

Nowadays, most general officers, at least most American ones, do not see combat. They don’t fire their weapons, and they don’t get killed; for the most part, they don’t even smoke. In wars without front lines, American generals tend to stay inside fortified bases, where they plan missions and brief political leaders via secure video teleconferences. Their credentials are measured as much by their graduate degrees as by the medals on their dress uniforms. They are, for the most part, deeply conventional men, who rose to the top of the military hierarchy by following orders and suppressing subversive thoughts.

Read more ....

My Comment: Expect more critical assessments like this in the months and years to come .... and I say that it is long overdue.

Did Media Perpetuate A Myth Around David Patraeus??

'Cult Of David Petraeus': Did Media Perpetuate A Myth? -- Anna Mulrine, Christian Science Monitor

Members of the Pentagon press are shaking their heads in the wake of the David Petraeus scandal. Some think Petraeus's savvy and personable style led them to be too soft on him.

The case of former CIA Director David Petraeus has not only caused head-scratching in the halls of the Pentagon and within the intelligence community. It has also inspired journalists to do a bit of soul-searching within their own ranks.

The questions tend to go something like this: Were we too easy on him?

The now-retired four-star general, who ran the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was routinely called the greatest strategic military mind of his generation. While an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, has no direct connection to Mr. Petraeus's military achievements, it does take the glow off the cult of personality that had developed around him. And defense reporters are now acknowledging they played no small part in burnishing that once-shining image.

Read more ....

Previous Post: How Petraeus Won The Press

My Comment: Spencer Ackerman from the Danger Room asked the same question .... my own answer is here.

The Benghazi Story Is Shifting Back To The White House

Petraeus vs. Petraeus -- William McGurn, Wall Street Journal

The former CIA director's shifting Benghazi story puts the spotlight back on top Obama administration officials.

When David Petraeus told Congress on Friday that he knew almost from the get-go that Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed in a terror attack in Libya, the former CIA director was contradicting information put out by two prominent Obama appointees.

The first is United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice. The Sunday after the attack, Ms. Rice took to the talk shows to blame everything, falsely, on an Islamic mob outraged by a blasphemous YouTube video. Mr. Petraeus says the CIA's original talking points mentioned al Qaeda. If this was edited out, we ought to know who did it—and why.

Read more ....

My Comment: The Benghazi story is shifting back to the administration .... which is where it should be. As to what will happen next, my prediction is that someone will have to fall on his sword for this debacle so that the attention does not focus on the President. As to who will be this person .... my prediction (as I said in an earlier post and as the above video explains) is that it will be this high ranking intelligence official.

A Psychiatrist Ponders Ex-General Petraeus’ Fall

Photo: Thomas Dworzak / Magnum for TIME

An Ex-Army Shrink Ponders Ex-General Petraeus’ Fall -- Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, Time

I spent nearly a quarter-century in the Army, serving with David Petraeus. No, I didn’t know him, but like every retired female Army officer I have heard the question repeatedly over the past week: what do I think of the whole debacle?

Bottom line: I am not sure. I have as many questions as answers.

Of course, there are plenty of journalists who are opining, many of whom knew him personally. Although I didn’t – and only heard him speak once, at a graduation at the now-closed Walter Reed Army Medical Center – I’ve tried to put my thoughts into perspective.

Read more ....

My Comment: I completely concur with the last sentence in Elspeth Cameron Ritchie's post ....

... Finally, as a psychiatrist, I shrug. I have seen much worse.

A Defense Of David Petraeus

General Petraeus. Reuters

Petraeus’s Phony Critics -- Max Boot, Commentary

The most unseemly aspect of the scandal surrounding David Petraeus is the gleeful Schadenfreude being exhibited by so many who are eager to kick a great man when he is temporarily down. One of the most egregious and nauseating examples is this New York Times op-ed by Lucian Truscott IV entitled “A Phony Hero for a Phony War.” It is insulting not only to Petraeus but to all those men and women who have served valiantly and at great risk in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Read more ....

My Comment: Max Boot's opinion is not shared by everyone. As to what is my own opinion on David Petraeus .... capable war leader who used the resources that were given to him to fight a very difficult war in Iraq under a political environment that was detrimental to his mission. Failed as a CIA Director when his personal discretions became public.

David Petraeus And The Future Of American War

Afghan President Hamid Karzai awards a medal to outgoing International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander General David Petraeus at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, on July 18, 2011. (Reuters)

The Legacy Of David Petraeus And The Future Of American War -- Armin Rosen, The Atlantic

As the former CIA chief and military leader's official career ends, the grappling with his formidable legacy -- and what it might mean for future U.S. policy -- can begin.

Before he was embroiled in the lurid and increasingly complicated scandal that ended his brief tenure as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, General David Petraeus was an already-iconic military leader, the commander who rescued the U.S. war effort in Iraq, and who was brought in to help reverse course in a deteriorating Afghanistan. But before he even assumed command of U.S. forces in Iraq, Petraeus assisted in producing a document crucial to understanding the general's broader impact on American policy -- and on thinking about how and why America wages war.

Read more ....

Previous Post: A Review Of General Petraeus
Previous Post: What Is The Petraeus Scandal's Impact On National Security


My Comment: As I had mentioned in a previous post, for the moment the knives are out to get David Petraeus.

The Pentagon Will Recover From The Petraeus And Allen Scandals

Pentagon Can Recover From Petraeus And Allen Scandals -- Christian Science Monitor

The Petraeus affair and the 'inappropriate' e-mails of Gen. John Allen push defense chief Leon Panetta to demand changes in the military's ethical culture. But conduct by the book also needs conduct by a conscience that knows right from wrong.

Rules aren’t enough.

That seems to be the conclusion of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta following a wave of scandals this year involving top military officers – most notably Gen. David Petraeus.

On Wednesday, Mr. Panetta ordered the Joint Chiefs of Staff to review the Pentagon’s training in military ethics. He made a pointed reminder that senior officers must “exercise sound judgment in their stewardship of government resources and in their personal conduct.”

Conduct by the book, in other words, also requires conduct by a conscience that knows right from wrong. Or as Panetta put it: “An action may be legally permissible, but neither advisable nor wise.”

Read more ....

My Comment: Of course the U.S. military will recover from this scandal .... but the US military has enjoyed a period of time in which the public has given them unqualified support for their dedication and sacrifice. Unfortunately .... episodes like this one will only serve to downgrade (albeit slightly) this sentiment.

A Review Of General Petraeus

General David Petraeus. Reuters.

The Rise And Fall Of `General Peaches’ -- Mark Thompson, Time

The call, from one retired four-star general to another, was somber. Just-departed CIA chief Dave Petraeus’ voice – usually assertive, buffed by optimism — was lower, slower and more subdued than his former comrade had ever heard.

“I really screwed up,” he told Jack Keane, a retired four-star general — like Petraeus — who stepped down as the Army’s No. 2 officer in 2003. “This is my fault, and I’m devastated by the pain and suffering that I’ve caused.”

Read more ....

My Comment: A sobering analysis of former General/CIA Director Petraeus. This is my must read for the weekend.

The U.S. Military Changed Under Petraeus

How Petraeus Changed The U.S. Military -- Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst

(CNN) -- Historians will likely judge David Petraeus to be the most effective American military commander since Eisenhower.

He was, after all, the person who, more than any other, brought Iraq back from the brink of total disaster after he assumed command of U.S. forces there in 2007.

To understand how daunting a task that was, recall that when Petraeus took over in Iraq, the country was embroiled in a civil war so vicious that civilians were dying at the rate of 90 a day.

Iraq's government itself was fueling the violence because the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior was home to a number of Shia death squads.

Read more ....

Update: Petraeus: How will he be remembered? -- CBS

My Comment: History is still being written on Iraq and Afghanistan .... but the military strategy that General Petraeus applied to Iraq was a success, and in Afghanistan it did set back the Taliban.