As G-d is my Witness, I cannot for the life of me understand why supposedly ‘smart’ men will allow sex to literally destroy their entire lives, families, careers. This is a weakness that I simply do not fathom.
Men are not entirely rational...otherwise they would be merely robots.
As a man, it is easy to understand and forgive Petraeus' vulnerability. He is only human after all.
And men are dumb animals in the hands of an attractive women.
He made his big mistake when he gave her access to his private time. The only way a man can resist the wiles of a clever woman (and women are just people too) is to be forearmed.
And Petraeus wasn't forearmed.
He let the camel enter the tent.