Gen. John Allen Under Investigation for E-mails with Jill Kelley

By Jeralyn, Section Other Politics
Posted on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:36:00 AM EST
Tags: David Petraeius, Gen. John Allen, Jill Kelley (all tags)

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Gen. John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, is now under investigation for alleged "inappropriate communications" with David Petraeus' friend Jill Kelley -- the Tampa woman who asked her FBI agent friend (who is also under investigation) to help find out who was sending her harassing e-mails.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a written statement issued to reporters aboard his aircraft, en route from Honolulu to Perth, Australia, that the FBI referred the matter to the Pentagon on Sunday. Panetta said that he ordered a Pentagon investigation of Allen on Monday.

The FBI is going through 20,000 to 30,000 pages of communications between Kelley and Allen between 2010 and 2012. When did Gen. Allen have time for work? And if Kelley was not a paid Government employee, what were she and Allen exchanging? Books from Amazon? [More...]

The official said 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails and other documents from Allen's communications with Kelley between 2010 and 2012 are under review. He would not say whether they involved sexual matters or whether they are thought to include unauthorized disclosures of classified information. He said he did not know whether Petraeus is mentioned in the emails.

"Gen. Allen disputes that he has engaged in any wrongdoing in this matter," the official said. He said Allen currently is in Washington.

Panetta said Allen won't be relieved of duty, but his nomination for the position of Commander of U.S. European Command and the commander of NATO forces in Europe has been put on hold. He was expected to take the position in early 2013, pending Senate confirmation. A confirmation hearing had been set for Thursday. President Obama agreed with the decision to put Allen's nomination on hold.

Petraeus, it seems, spent huge amounts of time on e-mail. His staff built "email time" into his schedule, calling it "executive time."

< Tuesday Morning Open Thread | Jill Kelley and Sister Natalie: The Soap Opera Continues >

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Gen. John Allen Under Investigation for E-mails with Jill Kelley | 95 comments (95 topical)

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The only thing this scandal lacks (5.00 / 2) (#28)
by rdandrea on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:41:38 AM EST

Is Gloria Allred. I wonder when she's going to swoop in and find someone to represent? Does Jill Kelley have a housekeeper?

: actually, the only thing this scandal lacks, (5.00 / 1) (#75)
by cpinva on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 02:41:47 PM EST

is a few facts.
fact: adultery is a criminal offense, under the UCMJ, Uniform Code of Military Justice.
fact: if the affair was going on, while either gen. petraus, or ms. broadwell (a retired commissioned army officer) were on active duty, they can still be prosecuted. JAG will have them placed back on active duty, and convene hearings which could lead to a court martial.
fact: if court martialed, and convicted, they face the possible loss of rank, loss of pay, reduction/loss in retirement pay, and possible incarceration.
resigning as director of the cia may well be the least of the gen's problems. of course, that he got involved with someone who is clearly an emotional loose cannon, raises questions about his judgment. that this emotional loose cannon was granted entry to west point, received a commission and was involved in military intelligence, raises questions about the judgment of those who granted her entre' to begin with. she should never have made it past her psyc evals.

: Too serious for Allred (none / 0) (#57)
by ruffian on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 10:35:52 AM EST

This is apparently in Abbe Lowell territory

I note that.. (5.00 / 5) (#33)
by rdandrea on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:48:42 AM EST

...so far, none of the people involved are allegedly gay.

Remember when gays in the military was going to be the end of life as we know it?

So far it seems to be straight people who are screwing things up.

Unfortunately, before gays in the military (5.00 / 2) (#39)
by ruffian on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:14:29 AM EST

were going to be the end of the world, women were. Wait for that backlash.


: i believe african americans preceded women, (none / 0) (#76)
by cpinva on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 02:44:54 PM EST

Unfortunately, before gays in the military were going to be the end of the world, women were.
as the end of the world, for the military, as a cohesive fighting force, because.

This is turning into a bedroom farce. (none / 0) (#71)
by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 01:06:02 PM EST

The scandalous part of me is loving it, but mostly, I'm finding it all terribly embarrassing.


I think that we need to (5.00 / 1) (#73)
by Zorba on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 01:19:30 PM EST

resurrect Molière, Michael Phoon, and/or Arthur Schnitzler to write the script. OTOH, Alan Ayckbourn is still alive. Maybe he's available.


"Is turning into"????? (5.00 / 2) (#83)
by oculus on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 03:08:29 PM EST

Well, you have to admit that ... (none / 0) (#86)
by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 06:54:39 PM EST

... it didn't quite start out that way. When initially reported, this appeared to be a simple case of adultery between two consenting aldulterers -- until some people started shaking the tree, and all these other characters began to fall out, like ripe mangoes hitting the sidewalk.

I'm now sort of hoping that the spineless wimp who wrote that anonymous letter to the New York Times last July, about having to suffer in silence his wife's schtupping another man for the sake of the nation, turns out to be Scott Broadwell, cuckolded husband of Paula.


: The publisher said it was not him (none / 0) (#88)
by ruffian on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 07:00:03 PM EST

which made me wonder....who is it then? Guess we will wait for the next shoe to drop, so to speak.

I feel like I need to hang out with Petreaus (5.00 / 2) (#42)
by tigercourse on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:32:29 AM EST

because he clearly knows some pretty darn fetching women.

Call me man, first rounds on me.

women to fetch what? (none / 0) (#62)
by DFLer on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 11:03:45 AM EST

;o)


if you have to ask, (none / 0) (#77)
by cpinva on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 02:46:00 PM EST

women to fetch what?

you aren't going to be invited. :)


: Yeah! I mean, really, the very least ... (none / 0) (#87)
by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 06:58:09 PM EST

... that Paula Broadwell can do is fetch us a beer from the fridge. I'm thirsty.
;-D

Now I'm really curious what's in those 20,000- (5.00 / 1) (#50)
by Angel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:53:22 AM EST

30,000 pages of emails and other documents between Allen and Kelley, wondering about any discussion they might have had regarding a motive to 'out' Petraeus and Broadwell.

I just read that Petraeus' surname (5.00 / 7) (#51)
by Towanda on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:53:56 AM EST

means "centaur."

So fitting, huh? Half human, half horse's a*ss.

: You should not (5.00 / 2) (#67)
by sj on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 11:37:00 AM EST

leave me snickering in my cubicle. It gets hard to explain.

You know how on morning television (5.00 / 2) (#61)
by lilburro on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 10:54:15 AM EST

once every two months or so they'll do a segment about how parents should tell their teens not to sext each other because they might get caught?

Apparently such programming needs to be aired on Fox News, MSNBC, CSPAN...it never ceases to amaze me the inappropriate crap people in power are willing to press "send" on. This FBI agent is not the first, surely not the last.

Think of it this way (5.00 / 1) (#65)
by Zorba on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 11:27:12 AM EST

At least the FBI agent only sent a picture of himself above the waist (as far as we know), unlike Anthony Weiner.


What bugs me out (5.00 / 1) (#66)
by vicndabx on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 11:36:48 AM EST

Petraeus, head of the CIA, former Army muckety muck, didn't know that by not actually sending emails and instead saving them as drafts on, c'mon man.....GOOGLE, didn't know that the emails weren't secure. At least he should've asked someone from the super-secret S.H.I.E.L.D. organization about it.


: Well (none / 0) (#68)
by lilburro on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 11:54:05 AM EST

I guess it's a bureaucratic position compared to what a field agent is doing.
...nope, that didn't reassure me at all.

Well, given the ages of the scandal's ... (none / 0) (#89)
by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 07:01:03 PM EST

... participants, maybe the morning shows should start running segments in which teens warn their parents and grandparents about the same thing.


Qualifications for CIA Director (5.00 / 1) (#69)
by Dadler on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 12:56:08 PM EST

I would think, and maybe I'm just a fool like that, but I'd think a pretty good quality to have in you Spy in Chief is the grifter's ability to size up a mark in thirty seconds. IOW, they should be an almost sociopathically astute student of people and human behavior. Petraeus, in this case, didn't seem to understand the obvious about his mistress: that she was a tad whacked in the skull. Amateur hour at Langley, it seems.

Oh, jeez...spare me from (4.75 / 4) (#8)
by Anne on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 07:00:27 AM EST

people with a "love of the spotlight," as Petraeus is described in the Post article.

His stature as a major dumbass is growing as quickly as his once-bright career is dimming.

Oh, well...it's not like there appear to be any players in this particular soap opera who haven't also been colossally stupid.

And Petraeus was running the CIA (4.67 / 3) (#3)
by Dadler on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 02:38:24 AM EST

Dude couldn't make sense of his own heart and mind, I'm supposed to believe he's got a grip on anyone else's in a foreign culture?

Be phucking serious. He is an amateur in so many ways.

Today's Relationship Tip (4.67 / 3) (#11)
by CoralGables on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 07:27:20 AM EST

Don't email your General today

The house joke of the morning (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 07:30:59 AM EST

General Allen is down wit O.P.P.P., other people's party planners :)


In today's Freudian Slip (5.00 / 1) (#18)
by CoralGables on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 07:59:56 AM EST

an online article of the New York Times mistakenly referred to General Allen as General Kelley earlier today.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: November 13, 2012
An earlier version of this article misstated the surname of the general now in Washington for what was to be his confirmation hearing as commander in Europe. He is General Allen, not General Kelley.

: I prefer (5.00 / 2) (#56)
by lentinel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 10:14:05 AM EST

Gracie Allen.

How ironic. (4.50 / 2) (#6)
by Angel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 06:53:27 AM EST

Kelley complains about harassing emails from someone who supposedly turns out to be Paula Broadwell and gets ensnared in her own scandal. This is like fiction.

: Stranger than fiction... (none / 0) (#54)
by magster on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 10:08:26 AM EST

If this was a Hollywood script it would be rejected as too outlandish.

Surprise! (4.50 / 2) (#9)
by lentinel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 07:10:14 AM EST

Patraeus is the kind of "neo-conservative holdover" from the GW Bush administration that is so appealing to Obama. Good riddance.

To me, and this is admittedly highly subjective, these stupid dumb wars that go on interminably from decade to decade go hand in hand with the psyches of the sexually fked up.

The MOVE ON (5.00 / 3) (#46)
by KeysDan on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:43:18 AM EST

anti war ad that asserted that the general cooked the books for the Bush WH and referred to him as General Betray Us got both senate and house resolutions of condemnation. Republicans and many Democrats were livid at a political. statement that might have questioned the integrity and honesty of General Petraeus in matters war, but his fall for matters of.honesty and integrity in matters of the loin cannot be. abided.


: Matters of the loin. ew. (5.00 / 1) (#47)
by ruffian on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:47:00 AM EST

: Remember Hillary Clinton mildly (5.00 / 1) (#82)
by oculus on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 03:06:19 PM EST

challenging The General when he testified b/4 Senate committee?

: That MoveOn ad... (none / 0) (#70)
by unitron on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 01:06:00 PM EST

...was incredibly stupid.
Not because of the ad.
Because they let Karl Rove write the headline.
And the next thing you know the story is all about the headline, and nobody bothered to read the body of the ad, they just condemned MoveOn as unpatriotic military-hating hippies.

i had the same reaction, the first time i saw (none / 0) (#1)
by cpinva on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 12:55:17 AM EST

how many text messages my son sent/received in one month, in the 1,000's.

When did Gen. Allen have time for work?

my guess is, like my son's text messages, the vast majority of those emails will consist of a sentence, two at the most. many will even be one word.

Good Lord. (none / 0) (#2)
by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 01:37:20 AM EST

I hereby dedicate this new Samsung commercial to Gens. Petraeus and Allen.

(My sister sent it to me earlier this evening, before this story broke, and trust me, it just seems so appropriate for the occasion.)

I really hope that this is just what (none / 0) (#4)
by andgarden on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 05:54:12 AM EST

it appears to be, and that she wasn't some kind of spy.

: That would be cake icing (5.00 / 1) (#5)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 06:50:26 AM EST

On something completely crazy

: certainly not for any other country's intel (none / 0) (#78)
by cpinva on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 02:51:16 PM EST

service:

I really hope that this is just what
it appears to be, and that she wasn't some kind of spy.
as a rule, they try to avoid putting emotional loose cannons in the field, for exactly this reason.

Hey, what about the obsessed (none / 0) (#7)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 06:53:48 AM EST

Shirtless FBI agent :)?

If you listened to yesterday's 11 Show (5.00 / 2) (#10)
by Big Tent Democrat on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 07:19:39 AM EST

you would have heard my surmise that both Kelley and the FBI agent knew Petraeus would be ensnared and they surmised that it would hurt Obama's reelection chances.

There is poetic justice in the FBI agent and Kelley being ensnared in the mess of their making.


I missed it though (none / 0) (#12)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 07:29:45 AM EST

podcast? This is all very very bizarro


: The podcast is avaialble (5.00 / 1) (#14)
by Big Tent Democrat on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 07:31:58 AM EST

at the post just below this one.

I know General Allen is a Republican (none / 0) (#15)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 07:36:50 AM EST

I have never cared for him or his leadership style, and politics are supposed to be kept to your private life but how can it not eventually reflect? He is very abrasive though. I have never liked him as a person. Sooooo...Jill Kelley likely Republican leaning too? If that was Kelley's plan it has blown sky high and Kelley has now lawyered up and also hired a crisis manager.

If Allen is her man on the side she has likely blown up his career too.


My surmise is yes (5.00 / 1) (#16)
by Big Tent Democrat on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 07:39:58 AM EST

Jill Kelley was prepared to mess up Petraeus so long as Obama was hurt.

As I said, I believe Kelly knew Petraeus would be ensnared and went forward anyway.

In fact, I bet she knew it was Broadwell sending her the anon e-mails.


: What do you think of the wording of (5.00 / 1) (#79)
by oculus on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 03:02:59 PM EST

General P's resign. letter? Wondering why he didn't just cite (1) to spend more time with my family, or (2) personal matters to attend to.

: Before messing around like that, (none / 0) (#59)
by Menanna on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 10:38:48 AM EST

she should have remembered that Mata Hari did not end up so well.
On a more serious note, I hope that higher rank people than these were not involved in this type of stupid plots.

She might need to add a divorce lawyer to that (none / 0) (#17)
by Angel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 07:58:01 AM EST

list. Also, just read something about her testifying in her identical twin sister's divorce/child custody trial, judge said she was not a credible witness. And supposedly General Petraeus wrote a letter on behalf of the twin sister in the custody appeal; said twin sister has been described as psychologically disturbed. This is getting crazier by the day.


That's probably the link between Kelley and (none / 0) (#19)
by Angel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:16:04 AM EST

Broadwell. Kelley said she didn't know Broadwell but maybe Broadwell knew about Kelley because Petraeus mentioned he was writing a letter for a friend.


: I just read about the Broadwell (5.00 / 1) (#22)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:31:12 AM EST

emails. There are some disturbing things about Jill Kelley and this distortion that apparently she created about what her job at MacDill entailed. There are many liaison jobs in the military, they are very important jobs too and require security and background checks.
I have also read that someone at MacDill made Kelley an honorary ambassador, gave her a certificate that made her such (and military spouses have binders full of these computer generated things), and then she had some people thinking she was some kind of actual ambassador and she would never correct the error.
Most disturbing though was that she claimed to be State Department liaison to JSOC. JSOC is located on MacDill but it is only a component on MacDill just like the Spanish only air traffic tower at Fort Rucker is a component making up Fort Rucker along with SEER training and warrant officer candidate school.
JSOC is made up of people though working within the highest security clearances and somebody is running around claiming to be working within an official capacity with them and it isn't true? The emails that Broadwell sent were about this dishonesty from what I can tell.

: h*ll, she probably wrote the letter. (none / 0) (#80)
by oculus on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 03:03:44 PM EST

it is reported (none / 0) (#20)
by Amiss on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:25:31 AM EST

When the Fbi agent thought things were gonna be swept under the rug he went to republic. Senator Reichert.


He sounds too dumb to be an FBI agent. (5.00 / 1) (#24)
by Angel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:35:34 AM EST

Send photos to Kelley, then complains when he doesn't think the investigation is moving fast enough - and that reason is because he's been taken off the investigation because he's become a part of it. We have a lot of stupid people in sensitive places in our government. What bothers me is that no one told the President. This thing, at least so far, involved the director of the CIA, his biographer, the general who succeeded the now-disgraced Petraeus, a FBI agent, and a volunteer picnic planner with military connections. Almost want to say pass the popcorn but it's too serious at this point.


From what I've read, I'm not sure (none / 0) (#29)
by MO Blue on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:41:54 AM EST

that he was ever officially on investigation. I think he tried to stay involved after he reported the incident and was told to back off. He then went to the Republican Rep. with the story.


I read he was taken off the investigation earlier, (none / 0) (#32)
by Angel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:47:50 AM EST

he was becoming too invested in it, and that he's now under investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility. I could have worded my original comment a little better.


Here is an example of the other report (5.00 / 1) (#37)
by MO Blue on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:03:29 AM EST

Ms. Kelley, a volunteer with wounded veterans and military families, brought her complaint to a rank-and-file agent she knew from a previous encounter with the F.B.I. office, the official also said. That agent, who had previously pursued a friendship with Ms. Kelley and had earlier sent her shirtless photographs of himself, was "just a conduit" for the complaint, he said. He had no training in cybercrime, was not part of the cyber squad handling the case and was never assigned to the investigation.
But the agent, who was not identified, continued to "nose around" about the case, and eventually his superiors "told him to stay the hell away from it, and he was not invited to briefings," the official said. The Wall Street Journal first reported on Monday night that the agent had been barred from the case. link

Your comment was fine (none / 0) (#34)
by MO Blue on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:53:58 AM EST

I've read versions that said he was taken off the investigation also and versions that indicate that he was not part of the official investigation. Much of this entire story has conflicting reports when you get down to the nitty gritty details.

Since Kelley has lawyered up (none / 0) (#35)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:55:49 AM EST

And hired a "crisis manager" will we ever get to the bottom of it all in the public arena?


: i'm going to wait for the movie (and you know (none / 0) (#90)
by cpinva on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 10:00:33 PM EST

will we ever get to the bottom of it all in the public arena?
there will be a movie. or the Cliff's Notes version. oh, and the public records of the multiple divorces coming out of all this. i'm guessing this will be gainful employment for a whole "marital & domestic issues" firm.

He was not in the cybercrime unit (none / 0) (#36)
by Big Tent Democrat on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:58:36 AM EST

He handed it to cybercrime (none / 0) (#38)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:05:32 AM EST

and then cybercrime said it wasn't exactly what they would call cybercrime?


It was a "close call" (none / 0) (#40)
by Big Tent Democrat on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:25:09 AM EST

supposedly. I'm not seeing the close to be honest.


It was close because (none / 0) (#43)
by MO Blue on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:33:23 AM EST

Kelley was part of the "in" crowd.


: See comment #41. (none / 0) (#44)
by Angel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:34:02 AM EST

"unvested" I hear. (none / 0) (#81)
by oculus on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 03:05:08 PM EST

: He thought he had to get undressed to go (5.00 / 2) (#85)
by Angel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 03:28:37 PM EST

'undercover.'

rep. reichert (none / 0) (#21)
by Amiss on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:29:25 AM EST

Who went to Eric cantor.


The Broadwell emails (none / 0) (#23)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:34:29 AM EST

Don't seem to meet the criteria for cyber crime. It sounds to me like Broadwell was only calling Jill Kelley on her bull$hit job title that was feeding innocent unsuspecting listeners.


Do you have a link (none / 0) (#25)
by MO Blue on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:37:33 AM EST

to the contents of her email?


This so far (5.00 / 1) (#27)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:41:13 AM EST

Here


: What is being reported doesn't strike me as (none / 0) (#41)
by Angel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:32:20 AM EST

threatening at all. Had the complaint come from an ordinary citizen with no social and military ties I'm quite sure it would have been relegated to the dustbin.

Interesting. I wonder about the timing of this (none / 0) (#26)
by Angel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:39:23 AM EST

with regard to Kelley because she issued a statement the other day that said she was friends with the Petraeus family and that she would appreciate it if everyone would respect their privact and hers. Wonder if she knew then what was about to explode.


I guess she didn't realize (none / 0) (#30)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:42:48 AM EST

Starting such an investigation would include an investigation into her possible motives too, and her email accounts.


: Why should she worry about it? (5.00 / 2) (#92)
by Towanda on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 11:47:10 PM EST

After all, she thinks she has diplomatic immunity!

This is kind of incredible (none / 0) (#31)
by AngryBlackGuy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 08:43:56 AM EST

"the FBI agent who started the investigation that uncovered the affair between CIA Director David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell had apparently sent a shirtless photos to Jill Kelley"

Hope the blow back of this mess doesn't reach into the WH.

Regardless, guys will risk almost everything for sex. Crazy how that's possible no matter how smart the guy is.

To (5.00 / 1) (#60)
by lentinel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 10:49:15 AM EST

some extent, this shouldreach into the White House.

Obama kept over this neo-conservative relic of the Bush era.

There was plenty of evidence of book-cooking by Patraeus that was presented by Move On. DIdn't mean anything to the government yahoos.

As usual, the whistle-blowers got condemned, while the culprit is protected.


To some extent, ... (2.00 / 1) (#72)
by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 01:11:30 PM EST

... you'd like this to reach into the White House, for all too obvious reasons.


: Nertz (5.00 / 2) (#74)
by lentinel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 01:28:10 PM EST

Get over it.
The election is over.
We are faced, at least some of us are faced, with the reality of the predilections of the incumbent.
One of his least attractive features has been an affinity with Bush era neo-cons - and all too often, their policies. And we, at least some of us, are aware of the consequences.

Power (none / 0) (#49)
by lentinel on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:50:20 AM EST

corrupts.


Okay the media can't make up its (none / 0) (#45)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:41:32 AM EST

mind exactly WTF Kelley's job is. Now she is being called liaison to military families. Okay you jacka$$e$, that IS my sister-in-laws job right now, this minute, and it comes with pay and responsibility and signed confidentiality agreements and lots of hard work that requires comfortable phucking shoes.

What in the hell is going on with this Kelley woman? I get it that she is a volunteer, but military spouses do what she has done twice over just because. Sorry, but if that make up queen tried to take over one of the FRGs I've ever belonged to she would have her eyes clawed out. She isn't real. We have real problems, real stresses, having someone like that running your show does not fly and would never fly...NEVER!

Still not sure why it was any of Broadwell's (none / 0) (#48)
by ruffian on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:50:12 AM EST

business....why weren't the folks at McDill reigning Kelley in if she was overstepping her bounds?


: That is a very very very good question!!!! (none / 0) (#52)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:54:11 AM EST

That is exactly the question that should be asked too. She and her husband threw great parties though in gorgeous settings. After a life of tents and MREs, all that glitter....we had finally made it :)

: Because Kelley throws great parties (none / 0) (#53)
by CoralGables on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 09:55:43 AM EST

: Jill Kelley using the shirtless FBI agent (none / 0) (#58)
by Militarytracy on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 10:36:52 AM EST

Is about using people :)

It's Looking Like... (none / 0) (#63)
by ScottW714 on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 11:11:15 AM EST

...that is exactly what started all of this, someone running around telling people she does this and that, and another, more connected person, unhappy about about.

This whole thing is so scandalous, how these guys ever got mixed up up this soap opera is beyond me. So far two power craven women, one who maintained her goals by sleeping with a very connect man, the other who seems to have just lied about her importance. Both believing they were so important that normal protocol didn't apply to them. So one made anonymous threats, the other called her FBI friend to investigate.

All of it, so far, only proving one thing, these men have shown worse judgement than your average Joe when a descent looking woman was thrown into the mix. It's pathetic, what's worse is they expect and write rules for the people under them expecting then to be far above such love level non-sense.

And is it just me, or is the media making Petraeus to be some sort of National hero, just so they can take him down further.


: I don't know that I necessarily think (none / 0) (#64)
by lilburro on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 11:22:08 AM EST

Broadwell is power hungry in the typical sense, clearly she gets a buzz from achievement and power. But your other points are well made esp

It's pathetic, what's worse is they expect and write rules for the people under them expecting then to be far above such love level non-sense.
Although as for the media, no, they've always loved Petraeus and I don't think they savor his decline.

Seems like the choice of lawyer (none / 0) (#55)
by Anne on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 10:13:13 AM EST

and PR person might foreshadow the quantity of sh!t that Kelley's expecting to hit the fan...

From tambabay.com (h/t Marcy Wheeler):

They hired Abbe Lowell, a Washington lawyer who has represented clients such as former presidential candidate John Edwards and lobbyist Jack Abramoff. And the couple are employing crisis PR person Judy Smith, who has represented big names like Monica Lewinsky, Michael Vick and Kobe Bryant.

Is this "story" a device to keep the (none / 0) (#84)
by oculus on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 03:12:18 PM EST

U.S. voter distracted as we go off that fiscal cliff?

since we aren't going off a (5.00 / 1) (#91)
by cpinva on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 10:09:17 PM EST

"fiscal cliff", i'd say no. the whole "fiscal cliff" thing is a media construct, having little to do with reality, and much to do with ratings, as does pretty much everything about the government seem to, these days. what everyone conveniently (by "everyone", i mean the media, not rational people) forgets, is that congress can, by resolution, do whatever it wants to, to the "sequestration" numbers. so no, we're not in any actual danger of getting anwhere near a "fiscal cliff", much less jumping/falling off.


: I agree (5.00 / 1) (#93)
by sj on Wed Nov 14, 2012 at 08:59:25 AM EST

That's not what I thuoght of when I saw the question though :)
I wondered if it was serving as sufficient distraction while congress pushes us off the fiscal cliff we're not on by "reforming entitlements" and raising the price of actual cat food.

Actually I think the 'fiscal cliff' (none / 0) (#94)
by ruffian on Wed Nov 14, 2012 at 01:28:35 PM EST

is a distraction to the fact of the abuses of the national security state, so this is far more instructive.


: Other side of the coin (none / 0) (#95)
by sj on Thu Nov 15, 2012 at 05:31:25 PM EST

It could be.