Veterans Day 2012- American Hero or American Zero?

Hi, Lenn:  Thank you for stopping by, and for your comment.  This is another in a long line of frustrating days for me, quite frankly.  Having spent more than 8 years withni the intelligence community, I know that we're not being told "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth"- the frustrating part is in knowing just enough about various things to be fired-up, yet not being in on things to "know" what I know.

It doesn't take a background in the intelligence community for one to know that Petraeus has been unfaithful- first to God, then his wife, then his country.

Hi, Jay:  Thank you for dropping by.  I've always said that regardless the job being discussed, one is expected to start well and do their best- it's that time when one's on the way out the door when their true character is exposed:  Did they work hard until their very last day?  Did they even show up for their last day?

Petraeus showed up for his last days, alright- but with biographer in tow providing him with a lot of incentives on his way out of the Army and onto the book tour.

Hi, Frank:  Thank you for dropping by and for your comment.  Calling a guy who was one of our more well-respected military leaders just a short time ago a zero isn't something that brings me great joy, to be sure- but it seems fitting and appropriate here.  Doesn't make it sit any better, though- just makes the moniker a correct one.

Hi, Karl:  Thank you for stopping by, and for your comment and sentiment.  With regard to the Broadwell/Kelley thing (procedurally-speaking as I have no personal knowledge here, mind you), an investigation had to be launched once the appearance of impropriety on Petraeus' part was discovered.  Views on the part of Americans as a whole notwithstanding, adultery remains a violation of our Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)- Article 134 of it, to be specific.

Folks shouldn't take that as the military being in concert with our churches or anything, mind you- just acting on the premise that adultery inherently involves deceit, deceit creates a vulnerability that opens one up to be exploited and so forth.  That's not a good thing for folks of any military rank or position- but is far worse when the principal involved is he who's charged with protecting the secrets American values most.

I truly take no pleasure in General Petraeus' fall.  My tolerance for those with clearances who've eschewed the notion that safeguarding our nation's secrets is a matter of life and death to many, however, is less than zero if at all possible.

Hi, Yolanda:  Thank you for dropping by, and for your comment and sentiments.  I'd have to say that the problm isn't a lac of coverage with regard to Benghazi- but rather that the coverage has been incomplete and inaccurate.  Isn't it amazing how a medi collective that at once claims both moral and intellectual high ground could be duped into believing the whole "blame goes on the video" mantra?  Simple answer to that- they weren't duped at all, but rather chose the path of convenient ignorance over that of inconvenient fact-finding and knowledge.

Hi, Jay:  Thank you for dropping by again.  Waiting for all kinds of stuff to come out of the woodwork, no doubt- all kinds of things our fellow Americans on the Left are most assuredly preparing excuses for before the issues' "big reveals" are placed on the grand media schedule.

Hi, Karl:  Thank you for dropping by once again.  By all accounts, the Broadwell affair did occur while he was still active duty Army- as he didn't retire until August of last year (2011).  Both he and she have admitted such- or so I've heard from a few sources.  Broadwell remains a Reservist and subject to any Article 134 proceedings herself to this day.

Would they pursuse the adultery charge- meaning pursue it in and of itself?  Doubtful.  Remember, though, that the importance (or issue) with the affair at this point isn't the moral one that him/his wife and her/her husband will have to sort out among themselves and with the Lord above.  Rather, this is a matter of whether this disgraced general offered himself for compromise/exploitation by an enemy (which he surely did).

I'm not saying either of these folks has definitely provided classified material to an enemy by any means, mind you- the key is that he left himself open to the blackmail, etc that can come from these situations.  That's the key.

Hi again, Yolanda:  Thank you for dropping by again, and for your comment.  Checking my #12 above (and throwing out typos that resulted from using my phone to draft it), my words might have been incomplete/insufficient.  The media is surely falling for Obama's smoke and mirrors campaign here and choosing to chase the scandal they see as the most salacious- and in doing so, place each of the 2 ongoing stories on equal footing.  This shouldn't be.

As John Mc Cain so eloquently put it, "Benghazi" is about 4 dead Americans.  The Petraeus/Broadwell/Kelley(?)/Dunn/whomever else scandal, while surely serious (and as you say, disgusting), hasn't proven deadly up to this point.

I'm eagerly anticipating outcome of the Senate Intelligence Committee's hearing with Petraeus (or as much as we can get from it).  Though other committees (perhaps all of them) engage in partisanship, bickering and foolishness, the Intelligence Committee has proven itself one where partisanship is for the most part left at the door.

Though a Democrat, Dianne Feinstein remains one of the most universally-respected mebers of the Senate- and I share the respect others have for her.  I have faith that both her and Saxby Chambliss will conduct the fair, thorough and impartial hearings necessary to get to the bottom of this mess.

Lastly, I'll say that I won't join the chorus of folks singing Petraeus' praises for his having stepped aside from his CIA post without a fight to keep the position.  One of the "traits of a leader" a soldier is expected to uphold instructs that one is to both seek responsibility and take responsibility for their actions.  I can't honestly support an argument that Petraeus has effectively taken responsibility for his actions in the term's truest sense.

Did he do the right thing in resigning?  Absolutely.  But only when his affair was discovered and his hand forced into doing so.

Hi, Rob:  Thank you for dropping by, and for your comment.  Blackmail is a dangerous thing.  While folks can be blackmailed into doing tons of things, a common thread runs through each of the scenarios:  those on the "being" side of the blackmailing wouldn't be there were it not for their having done something wrong that they fear seeing the light of day.

Sad, indeed.  No matter what comes out of the upcoming Benghazi hearings, some measure of good will accompany it.  Petraeus' other "issue"?  Not seeing any possibility for good there.