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Scandal Probe Ensnares Commander of U.S., NATO Troops in Afghanistan
The Washington Post ^ | Tuesday, November 13, 2012 | Craig Whitlock

Posted on 11/12/2012 10:28:02 PM PST by kristinn

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT — The FBI probe into the sex scandal that led to the resignation of CIA director David Petraeus has expanded to ensnare Gen. John R. Allen, the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced early Tuesday.

According to a senior U.S. defense official, the FBI has uncovered between 20,000 and 30,000 pages of “potentially inappropriate” emails between Allen and Jill Kelley, a 37-year-old Tampa woman whose close friendship with Petraeus ultimately led to his downfall. Allen, a Marine, succeeded Petraeus as the top allied commander in Afghanistan in July 2011.

The FBI first notified the Pentagon of its investigation into Allen’s communications with Kelley on Sunday evening, according to the senior defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the ongoing case.

In response, Pentagon chief Leon E. Panetta referred the investigation to the Defense Department’s Inspector General for further review, according to a statement released by Panetta early Tuesday as he was traveling to Australia.

The latest development in the unfolding scandal has shaken President Obama’s national-security staff and upended his carefully chosen plans for his military and intelligence team in his second term.

It also further calls into question the personal behavior of two of the U.S. military’s highest-ranking and most respected figures, who apparently ignored concerns about the highly sensitive nature of their jobs as they embraced personal relationships with younger women who were not their wives.

SNIP

In his statement, Panetta said Allen would remain as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan for now, “while the matter is under investigation and before the facts are determined.”

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: allen; benghazi; davidpetraeus; distraction; duplicate; itsallaboutsex; johnallen; navyseals; notbreakingnews; petreaus; scandals; threatmatrix; threatmatrixbenghazi
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To: easternsky

All of them (Obama and his Chicago thugs) knew about the affair from the gitgo, don’t you see. That was their hold over Petraeus so that he would play ball on everything their way. They were blackmailing him. Are you seeing the pattern here?

Now General Allen it is found was also being investigated by the FBI for his connections to the “other woman”, Ms. Kelley, for either an affair or over possibly disclosing classified info to her, and he too was in line by Obama for a higher position. So, Obama planned on elevating another general whose background was compromised by an inappropriate relationship with a woman, just like Petraeus. And once again, Obama and his henchmen would have had total control over General Allen because they knew his little secret.


81 posted on 11/13/2012 1:05:54 AM PST by flaglady47 (When the gov't fears the people, liberty; When the people fear the gov't, tyranny.)
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To: SUN68RAY

Jill Kelley, who said she has known David Petraeus and his wife Holly for five years, has visited them in Washington DC.

She is also reported to have been invited to a breakfast at the White House.

In recognition of her work with officials at CENTCOM, Jill Kelley was recently named as a honorary consulate general to South Korea.

Military sources say that Jill Kelley was frequently seen in David Petraeus’ company at social events held at Central Command headquarters.

Central Command oversees U.S. military operations across the Middle East – including in Iraq and Afghanistan. David Petraeus was promoted lead the command, based in Tampa, in October 2008 after successfully engineering and executing the surge strategy.

While in Tampa, David Petraeus worked to reorganize Central Command from its original Cold War era footing to focusing more on counterinsurgency.

http://www.bellenews.com/2012/11/12/world/us-news/jill-kelley-biography-tampa-housewife-whose-complaint-to-the-fbi-brought-the-downfall-of-david-petraeus/


82 posted on 11/13/2012 1:09:27 AM PST by SUN68RAY
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To: bergmeid

I have no idea who Jill Kelley is connected to but her family is Maronite Catholic from Lebanon so I wouldn’t think Muslim Brotherhood. More likely this is about sex, not terrorism, at least based on what we know so far.


83 posted on 11/13/2012 1:14:20 AM PST by Saije
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To: petitfour

Lol,,google “tampa housewives”. See what top search find is. I’m not going to post the link so i’m not banned for life.


84 posted on 11/13/2012 1:21:22 AM PST by DesertRhino (I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office.)
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To: kristinn

The only way to fix this is to attack Iran.


85 posted on 11/13/2012 1:23:19 AM PST by Berlin_Freeper (Unbelievable / Believable!)
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To: SUN68RAY

“Paula pursued a military intelligence career abroad, serving in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. During her service, especially after 9-11, Paula’s intensity was directed toward the war against terror; her contributions and efforts to thwart terrorism have been commended by the U.S. Army and by Europe’s Special Operations Forces Commanding General. In this arena, she has planned counter-terrorism initiatives presented to NATO and worked on transnational counter-terrorism issues with foreign and domestic agencies, U.S. Special Forces, and the FBI.”

Graduate studies at the University of Denver in Middle East studies enabled her to travel to “Jordan and Israel,” and make a swing through the Persian Gulf and Europe where she spoke at various conferences. This triumphal tour was capped by a Harvard fellowship “for study in Syria and Iran.”

While Broadwell’s current academic affiliation is with Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, her previous post was deputy director of the Jebsen Center for Counter-Terrorism Studies at Tufts University’s Fletcher School. The Center, according to its self-description, “distinguishes itself by a philosophy that maintains counter-terrorism should be predictive, preventive and preemptive, with the latter being a last resort.” Founded in 2005, the Jebsen Center was made possible by the generous donation of one Jan Henrik Jebsen, heir to the Norwegian shipping fortune, who gave $1.3 million to set it up. Jebsen, a former investment banker with Lazard Freres, is the principal of Gamma Applied Visions Group, an international octopus with tentacles all over the place: part arms dealer and weapons developer, part “green” energy company. As one might expect from someone who has so much of his multi-billion dollar fortune invested in making and selling armaments, Jebsen is on the board of directors of the distinctly warlike Hudson Institute, where Scooter Libby, Douglas Feith, Michael Ledeen, and practically every neocon you’ve ever heard of have found refuge.

All this establishes a context that goes far beyond the titillating details of the alleged affair between Petraeus and Broadwell — and this is no doubt what set alarm bells ringing in the intelligence community when it was revealed. Is there really any need to point out the uses of the “honeypot” in intelligence-gathering and other covert activities regularly engaged in by spooks of all nations? From Mata Hari to the Mossad agent who lured Israeli nuclear scientist Mordecahi Vanunu, sex is a time-honored weapon in the war of spy-vs-spy. A secret affair with the CIA Director is the equivalent of the Honeypot Olympics, and we have to ask: was the remarkably fit Ms. Broadwell a lure? If so, she’s won a Gold Medal.

Broadwell’s actions — sending emails that were bound to be traced back to her — appear to make little sense on the surface. But if the goal of luring a 60-year-old geezer into an affair with a much younger woman was to expose him, and get him fired, then surely her antics succeeded in accomplishing that goal.

So who would have an interest in getting rid of Petraeus? Here’s where the Cantor connection comes in. The tip by an anonymous “FBI employee” that wound up in Cantor’s office two weeks ago came through Rep. David Reichert, Republican of Washington state, who has a friend who knows the whistleblower. Cantor then spoke to the whistleblower directly, who put him in touch with FBI Director Mueller.

Cantor is a great friend of Israel, and Petraeus — not so much. The General was attacked, as you’ll recall, by partisans of the Lobby, including Abe Foxman, when he delivered testimony before Congress citing Israel as a strategic liability in the Middle East. As the executor of the new Obamaite policy of sidling up to Islamists, not only in Libya but also in Syria and Egypt, Petraeus was no doubt seen by the Israelis as an enemy to be neutralized.

Broadwell’s affiliation with the Jebsen Center, and the Center’s connection to the neoconservative network, sets the scene: a young, attractive woman with impeccable national security credentials throws herself at Petraeus, and he takes the bait. Whether she’s been recruited by a foreign intelligence agency at this point or not is irrelevant: he’s already put himself in a vulnerable position, and there are any number of actors on the international stage more than willing to press their advantage.

Will we ever know the full story? At this point, the story is so hot that it may burn the cover story — “it’s all about sex” — right off the wrapper. Because there’s more — a lot more — here than meets the eye. When Cantor pledged to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he and his fellow Republicans “will serve as a check on the administration” in regard to the President’s policy toward Israel, he was clearly aligning himself with a foreign leader against American interests as perceived by the White House. But would he really go this far — deliberately taking down a key figure, one beloved by Republicans, in order to keep his promise to Netanyahu?

Stay tuned to this space, because this story is moving fast….

http://mycatbirdseat.com/2012/11/a-covert-affair-petraeus-caught-in-the-honeypot/


86 posted on 11/13/2012 1:25:34 AM PST by SUN68RAY
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To: flaglady47

and i bet Mrs Kelly still has full access to the base and it’s personnel. (although she is apparently only interested in being a “social liason” for 0-7 and up)


87 posted on 11/13/2012 1:25:34 AM PST by DesertRhino (I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office.)
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To: a fool in paradise
Weren't they working on a book together?

Title? Subject? Author(s)?

I'd doubt that all 30,000 emails were "inappropriate".

How many emails have you opened and read in your lifetime? Hint: there are only 2700 pages in the Affordable Healthcare Act. This sounds like a bunch of pigs inflating their importance with numbers. Time for big-time sequestration! Time for fibbies to do mall security!

Get the hits in before the story gets cleared up.

Yep.

88 posted on 11/13/2012 1:29:38 AM PST by cynwoody
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To: atc23
I think the Russians call it a putsch

Zat vould be ze Krauts!

89 posted on 11/13/2012 1:35:24 AM PST by cynwoody
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To: cynwoody

I’d doubt that all 30,000 emails were “inappropriate”.

Probably true. Now, why does a Tampa housewife, even one thats a “social liason” need to send the General over all NATO forces in Afghanistan 40 pages of email -every single day-, 7 days a week?

And i doubt it’s all read, but if she wasn’t getting a fair amount of correspondence back, she would have sought out a more receptive audience. How much time have these attention whores taken from the guys running things? It’s a small wonder that Afghanistan is a disaster and Beghazi got over-run.
The guys in charge don’t have their minds in the game.


90 posted on 11/13/2012 1:37:36 AM PST by DesertRhino (I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office.)
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To: kristinn
Why would the Defense Secretary leak damaging accusations against John Allen but leave him in command in Afghanistan “while the matter is under investigation and before the facts are determined”?

Ten days ago or so the senior U.S. general in North Africa and a carrier admiral in the Med were recalled to Washington. Then the Petraeus scandal hits and now Allen.

If I was paranoid I would guess the White House has been using partisans in the FBI and the Pentagon to monitor the emails and other communications of senior military officers to determine their political reliability and collect any possible dirt. The Kelly woman may be an agent provocateur who can create scandal where none existed. This is the kind of operation a foreign power would run in hopes of decapitating our national defense. But it's likely coming from more dangerous enemies in Chicago and the White House.

91 posted on 11/13/2012 1:44:18 AM PST by Brad from Tennessee (A politician can't give you anything he hasn't first stolen from you.)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

“The Kelly woman may be an agent provocateur who can create scandal where none existed.”

She was invited to a White House breakfast according to one article.


92 posted on 11/13/2012 1:51:00 AM PST by DesertRhino (I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office.)
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Prayers up for our Troops.


93 posted on 11/13/2012 1:53:11 AM PST by easternsky
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To: DesertRhino
Now, why does a Tampa housewife, even one thats a “social liason” need to send the General over all NATO forces in Afghanistan 40 pages of email -every single day-, 7 days a week?

She doesn't.

The FBI going on a fishing expedition is how this whole absurd story happened.

Until the latest round, involving General Allen and the Lebanese Florida hottie, I was half-way prepared to buy it.

But now it's clear they're just going after budget in the classic copper fashion. They F-ed up, and now they need to justify their existence. The best example is the absurd quotation of the street value of drugs as a reason to support law enforcement. It is a racket, pure and simple.

Any time you see absurd numbers like 30,000 emails in connection with a police investigation of a "social liason", you should suspect a bureaucratic power grab. The remedy is the budget meat cleaver.

94 posted on 11/13/2012 2:00:21 AM PST by cynwoody
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To: Jeff Head

Looks to me like half of the CinCs are being relieved along with gunrunning to AlQaeda and the fall of all national leadership throughout the midEast, with he CIA being removed from power within a 4 year period now advancing into its next stages. Whenever somebody stumbles onto it, they also are relieved for all the usual explanations of their administrative removal. e.g. the 14 or so ship Captains relieved after returning from Vladivostok after Hillary.

Why is homosexuality promoted by this regime, but heterosexual affairs reportedly justifying the removal of all senior staff officers?


95 posted on 11/13/2012 2:02:37 AM PST by Cvengr (Adversity in life and death is inevitable. Thru faith in Christ, stress is optional.)
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To: kristinn

All the positions of leadership which would have been in the intel chain of command surrounding the GWOT from a Islamic strategic operation are being relieved of their careers.

What have they touched upon for them to be so targeted.


96 posted on 11/13/2012 2:09:20 AM PST by Cvengr (Adversity in life and death is inevitable. Thru faith in Christ, stress is optional.)
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To: Cyman
the way she tilts her head and poses makes me think this gal believes she is way hotter than she really is.

Lots of people believe that certain pose positions make their pictures come out better. They might be right. An additional reason Ms. Kelley might be tilting her head in some of the published photos is to minimize her height.

She is reasonably hot IMHO.

97 posted on 11/13/2012 2:09:20 AM PST by wideminded
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To: kristinn

Obama purging his military officers?


98 posted on 11/13/2012 2:24:24 AM PST by hattend (Firearms and ammunition...the only growing industries under the Obama regime.)
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To: kristinn
obama is pure evil... and good men associated with him have been destroyed... that is who obama is... THE DESTROYER.

LLS

99 posted on 11/13/2012 2:27:13 AM PST by LibLieSlayer (I AM JOHN GALT)
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To: Cyman

Nice party dress, Jill.

100 posted on 11/13/2012 2:31:05 AM PST by Right Wing Assault (Dick Obama is more inexperienced now than he was before he was elected.)
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