• Ex-CIA Director Petraeus has a new title: Professor Petraeus

    Frederic J. Brown / AFP - Getty Images file

    Former CIA Director David Petraeus addresses a University of Southern California event honoring the military on March 26, 2013, in Los Angeles, Calif. In his first public appearance since stepping down last November as head of the CIA after admitting to an affair, Petraeus said he regretted and apologized for the circumstances that led to his resignation.

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Former CIA Director David Petraeus, the general whose celebrated military career ended in scandal in November, has a new job title: professor.

    Petraeus will join the faculty at the University of Southern California, teaching, mentoring student veterans and ROTC members, and participating in seminars and panels starting on July 1, the school announced Thursday.

    “USC is thrilled to have General Petraeus join our faculty as a Judge Widney Professor,” USC President C. L. Max Nikias said in a press release. “He embodies all the noble qualities of our founder along with a fearless commitment to excellence. His presence will have a profound impact on our students across many disciplines.”

    Judge Widney Professors — named after USC's founder — are prestigious individuals from the arts, sciences, business and national leadership, the school said.


    The news comes weeks after City University of New York announced Petraeus would join its faculty as a visiting professor of public policy starting Aug. 1.

    “With his appointment, our students will have a unique opportunity to learn about public policy firsthand from a distinguished leader with extraordinary experience and expertise in international security issues, intelligence matters and nation-building,’’ said Dr. Matthew Goldstein, chancellor of The City University of New York.

    Petraeus, a decorated four-star general who led coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned as head of the CIA late last year. He cited an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, and "extremely poor judgment."

    He had been CIA director since April 2011, and his resignation capped an illustrious career that included being named one of America's 25 best leaders by U.S. News and World Report in 2005 and being a runner-up for TIME person of the year in 2007.

    His career highlight was as commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, overseeing the troop "surge" strategy in 2007.

    Petraeus got his undergrad degree from the United States Military Academy and has a Ph.D from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. 

    He was in public service for 37 years.

    On Wednesday, Broadwell — who has avoided the media spotlight since Petraeus' resignation — attended a YMCA prayer breakfast in Charlotte, N.C., where she lives. 

    "I grew up in a strong faith-based family," she said, reported Reuters. "I think I have selected to return to those roots for strength, for my family, for myself and to protect our children and to forgive others and move on and face forward."

    From the archives:

  • Ex-CIA director David Petraeus becomes college professor

    Frederic J. Brown / AFP - Getty Images

    Former CIA director David Petraeus addresses a University of Southern California event honoring the military on March 26 in Los Angeles.

    David Petraeus is replacing one kind of intelligence work for another.

    Macaulay Honors College at City University of New York said Tuesday the ex-Central Intelligence Agency director and retired four-star general has been named a visiting professor for public policy. He starts on August 1.

    Petraeus has a Ph.D. from Princeton University and has written widely on international relations, military strategy and tactics and national security issues.

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    In a statement released by the college, Petraeus said he was pleased to teach at the college, where 60 percent of students are children of immigrants. He also said he looks forward to leading a seminar on the global economic slowdown.

    Petraeus resigned in scandal from the CIA last November after it was uncovered he'd had an affair with his biographer.

    NBCNewYork.com

  • FBI visits Petraeus' home, sources tell NBC News

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    Meet the people who have been pulled into the scandal that caused Gen. David Petraeus to resign.

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    By Pete Williams and M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

    FBI agents visited the home of former CIA director David Petraeus on Friday, two sources with knowledge of their visit told NBC News.

    USA Today reported Friday that the agents went there to "interview" Petraeus, but it's unclear whether he was at his home in suburban Washington. Officials said the visit didn't indicate any new development in the FBI's months-long investigation into allegations that writer Paula Broadwell improperly received or stored classified documents while she was working on Petraeus' biography.


    Petraeus, who was commander of U.S. and U.N. forces in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011, resigned as head of the CIA in November after it was revealed that he had an affair with Broadwell. Petraeus apologized for the affair in a rare public appearance last month.

    Officials said one reason the investigation has dragged on for so long is that each document at issue must be thoroughly checked to determine whether it was properly classified and, if so, whether it was still classified at the time it was allegedly in Broadwell's possession.

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  • Petraeus apologizes for affair that led to CIA resignation

    Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

    Former CIA director and retired four-star general General David Petraeus makes his first public speech since resigning as CIA director at University of Southern California dinner for students Veterans and ROTC students on March 26.

    By Andrew Rafferty, Staff Writer, NBC News

    David Petraeus apologized Tuesday for the extramarital affair that led to his resignation as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency last November in his first public speech since then.

    Petraeus was invited a year ago -- before the scandal broke -- to be the keynote speaker before 600 guests at the University of Southern California annual ROTC dinner.

    The retired four-star general has remained out of the public eye since the revelations of the affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, but decided to keep this appointment.

     “It truly is a privilege to be here with you this evening -- all the more so given my personal journey over the past five months,” he said. “I join you keenly aware that I am regarded in a different light now than I was a year ago … I'm also keenly aware that the reason for my recent journey was my own doing,” he said Tuesday night.

    “So please allow me to begin my remarks this evening by reiterating how deeply I regret and apologize for the circumstances that led to my resignation from the CIA and caused such pain for my family, friends and supporters,” he added.

    Petraeus then stressed that the evening was “not about me,” but the cadets, active duty military and veterans from USC and efforts to support them.

    Slideshow: Petraeus case: Cast of characters

    ISAF via Reuters file

    Meet the people who have been pulled into the scandal that caused Gen. David Petraeus to resign.

    Launch slideshow

    He said that the post 9/11 generation of veterans deserved to be known as America’s greatest generation. More could and should be done to help veterans, particularly those with physical injuries and mental health problems, he argued.

    'Instructive' to others who stumble
    The general said that hanging up the uniform and leaving comrades behind was difficult, and returned to the reasons for his departure at the end of his speech.

    “As I close, I want to take this opportunity to say thank you as well to those who provided words of encouragement to my family and me in recent months. That support meant a great deal as we sought to look forward rather than backward,” Petraeus said.

    “This has obviously been a very difficult episode for us. But perhaps my experience can be instructive to others who stumble or indeed fall as far as I did. One learns, after all, that life doesn't stop with such a mistake. It can, and must, go on,” he said.

    “And the effort to move forward over the rocky path of one's making is vital, inescapable, and ultimately worth it,” he added. “I know that I can never fully assuage the pain that I inflicted on those closest to me and a number of others. I can, however, try to move forward in a manner that is consistent with the values to which I subscribed before slipping my moorings, and as best possible to make amends to those I have hurt and let down, and that is what I will strive to do.”

    The discovery of Petraeus’ affair came after another woman, Florida socialite Jill Kelley, complained to the FBI that she was receiving harassing emails from Broadwell.

    The ensuing bureau investigation revealed a string of emails indicating an affair between Petraeus and Broadwell.

    In a letter to the CIA workforce announcing his decision to step down last fall, Petraeus acknowledged "extremely poor judgment" and said, "such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours."

    Days after the high-profile resignation, President Barack Obama announced there was no reason to believe the ex-CIA director compromised national security or divulged classified information to Broadwell, who had unprecedented access to the general while writing his biography.

    And supporters like Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., maintained that the personal transgression should not have led to Petraeus' departure.

    With the former high-profile military leader's resignation came the end of a nearly four-decade career in the military and intelligence.

    As a commander in the U.S. Army, Petraeus was largely credited with salvaging the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and helping develop U.S. counterinsurgency strategy.

    He was one of the most popular military commanders in modern history, and was talk about as a future presidential candidate.

    Tuesday's speech may mark the beginning of attempts by the 60-year-old Petraeus to rebuild his image. His appearance in front of former and future members of the armed services made for a friendly audience.

    USC president C. L. Max Nikias praised Petraeus ahead of his appearance at the university. 

    “In our post 9/11 world, Gen. Petraeus’ influence on our military is unmatched, and his contributions to the CIA are far-reaching,” Nikias said.

    “Gen. Petraeus is arguably the most effective military commander since Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower,” he added.

    NBC News' Denise Ono and Ian Johnston contributed to this report.

    Related:

    David Petraeus: Battlefield 'hero' and savvy Washington insider

    'I screwed up royally,' Petraeus writes to old Army chum

    Jill Kelley speaks out: 'I knew I was being stalked'

    This story was originally published on Wed Mar 27, 2013 1:25 AM EDT

  • Jill Kelley speaks out: 'I knew I was being stalked'

    The woman who triggered the downfall of General David Petraeus is speaking out for the first time, describing the harassing emails she received from Petraeus' mistress and calling the scandal as "a living nightmare." NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.

    By Andrew Mach, Staff Writer, NBC News

    In her first interview since the scandal that led to the resignation of former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus, Florida socialite Jill Kelley says that his biographer, Paula Broadwell, tried to blackmail her.  

    "There was blackmail, extortion, threats," Kelley told The Daily Beast of the "fewer than 10" anonymous emails sent to Kelley in May, which investigators later determined were sent by Broadwell.

    Kelley, 37, said the messages became increasingly more threatening, though they did not explicitly tell her to stay away from Petraeus, as had previously been believed.

    Kelley said she had no idea at the time who was behind the messages.

    “I never met Paula in my life,” Kelley said, adding that she didn't even know that Broadwell had written a biography about Petraeus.

    Kelley and her husband, who is a surgeon, are close friends of the Petraeus family. She was a volunteer social liaison to the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., where she often hosted parties for top brass. 

    "I knew I was being stalked," Kelley said. "I did what anybody else would have done when they were feeling threatened, to go seek protection from somebody I could trust."

    T. Ortega Gaines/The Charlotte Observer; Chris O'Meara/AP

    File photos show Gen. David Petraeus' biographer and paramour Paula Broadwell, left, and Florida socialite Jill Kelley.

    Kelley's complaint to the FBI led to an investigation, which began in June 2012 and revealed that Broadwell had sent the emails. Investigators also uncovered evidence of Broadwell's affair with Petraeus, which ended in July 2012. Petraeus resigned his post on Nov. 7.

    Soon after, federal officers began investigating U.S. General John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and nominated to be NATO's supreme allied commander, after it was revealed that he had exchanged numerous emails with Kelley, some of which were described as "inappropriate."  

    Kelley told The Daily Beast that she was celebrating her daughter's seventh birthday when the media descended on her, after her identity as the tipster who led to Petraeus' downfall became public. 


    “It was devastating,” Kelley said. “To have your privacy invaded is truly—there are no words to describe it. Instead of enjoying a family birthday party, I had paparazzi storming my front lawn, pushing down the door. There are no words to describe the panic and fear at that moment.”

    Kelley declined last month to press charges against Broadwell over the emails and federal prosecutors closed the case. 

    But Kelley said her image continued to suffer through half-truths and lies reported in the media.

    “As much as I appreciate that they want to be the first one to come out with a headline, regardless of whether they did any fact-checking, they have to consider the impact they have on our life and our children’s lives,” she said. “Just because it’s repeated doesn't make it true. It was living a nightmare.”

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    As their secret dissolved, Petraeus, Broadwell chatted at awards dinner
    Email to Gen. Allen warning about Kelley among those she gave to the FBI
    As FBI investigated Petraeus, he and Allen waded into nasty child custody fight

     

  • South Korea to sack Tampa socialite Jill Kelley as honorary consul

    /

    Jill Kelley leaves her home in Tampa, Fla., on Nov. 13.

    By NBC News and news services

    Jill Kelley, the Tampa, Fla., socialite who inadvertently launched the FBI investigation that led to the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus, will be sacked as an “honorary consul” for South Korea because she used the title for personal gain, a senior official said Monday during a U.S. visit.

    South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun first revealed Kelley’s removal from the post, which pays $2,500 a year, on Monday during a visit to Washington, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

    "It's not suitable to the status of honorary consul that (she) sought to be involved in commercial projects and peddle influence," Yonhap quoted Kim as saying.

    The Associated Press reported that an unidentified government official in Seoul confirmed the action on Tuesday.

    The South Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately return phone calls from NBC News seeking comment.

    It was not immediately clear what Kim was referring to as far as Kelley’s alleged efforts to benefit from the honorary consul post.

    A New York businessman, Adam Victor, told Dateline NBC that Kelley was introduced to him at the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August as someone whose friendship with Petraeus would help facilitate a no-bid deal with South Korea on a coal-gasification project. She would supposedly be in a position to help broker the billion-dollar deal directly with the Korean president, and expected a 2 percent commission, according to Victor, president and chief executive officer of TransGas Development Systems.

    ABC News has reported that it reviewed emails that appear to support Victor’s account. 

    But Abbe Lowell, a Washington, D.C., attorney representing Kelley, on Tuesday disputed Victor's account, telling NBC News that the businessman misrepresented the fee that was discussed, that Kelley never accepted any offer and that Victor falsely claimed that the discussions had anything to do with her connections with the U.S. military.

    The 37-year-old Kelley also cited her honorary post in 9-1-1 calls complaining about members of the media who besieged her house after the Petraeus scandal broke, incorrectly maintaining that it entitled her to some type of diplomatic protection.

    "I'm an honorary consul general, so I have inviolability, so they should not be able to cross my property," she said on tapes released earlier this month. "I don't know if you want to get diplomatic protection involved as well, because that's against the law to cross my property because, you know, it's inviolable."

    A senior South Korean Foreign Ministry official who handles consulate affairs in the United States told the AP on Tuesday that honorary consuls don't have diplomatic immunity, and that the ministry applies much less strict standards in appointing them than it does for potential government officials.

    Kelley also had worked as a volunteer “social liaison” to MacDill Air Force Base until mid-November, when her participation in the “Friends of MacDill” program was revoked as the Petraeus scandal erupted.

    Kelley met Petraeus after he took over as head of U.S. Central Command at MacDill in October 2008, and became friends with him and his wife, Holly, during his time there.

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    Numerous government and law enforcement officials have told NBC News that Kelley inadvertently triggered the FBI investigation that led to Petraeus’ resignation as CIA chief on Nov. 9, citing an extramarital affair.

    The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say Kelley complained in mid-May to an FBI agent she was acquainted with about harassing anonymous emails warning her to stay away from Petraeus. The agent turned over the emails to the local FBI cyber investigations unit, which traced them to Paula Broadwell, Petreus’ biographer, the officials said.

    In the course of the investigation, the agents discovered evidence that Petreaus and Broadwell had engaged in an extramarital affair, they said.

    Kelley has largely remained silent since her role in the case became public shortly after Petraeus resigned. She and her husband, Scott, issued a single statement on Nov. 11, saying, "We and our family have been friends with Gen. Petraeus and his family for over five years. We respect his and his family's privacy and want the same for us and our three children."

    In a separate investigation, the Pentagon’s inspector general is looking into “potentially inappropriate” emails that Kelley exchanged with Petraeus’ temporary successor as CentCom commander, Marine Gen. John Allen, defense officials tell NBC News.

    The officials say a small number of the emails contained language that could be considered “inappropriate” or even “suggestive.” They also said that the investigation was deemed necessary to remove any suggestion that the Pentagon was covering up any improprieties by Allen, who remains in command of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan pending the outcome of the probe.

    And sources close to Kelley have denied speculation that she had any kind of inappropriate relationship with Allen and praised her work at MacDill, which they noted was recognized by authorities there.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • Jill Kelley's twin sister hires Allred to 'correct misconceptions'

    Cliff Owen / AP

    Natalie Khawam, accompanied by her attorney Gloria Allred, leaves a news conference in Washington, Nov. 20, 2012.

    By Andrew Mach, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Attorney Gloria Allred and Natalie Khawam, the twin sister of Jill Kelley, held a press conference Tuesday to “help the public understand” Khawam and "correct misconceptions" regarding her involvement in the scandal that led to the resignation of former CIA Director David Petraeus.


    “Everything that is said has an impact on [Khawam’s] life, and she’s worked very, very hard to earn her position as a well-educated attorney, someone who cares about her family, and she values her reputation, and, of course, she’s hurt, as anyone would be hurt when there are mischaracterizations of what she has done, what she has said or what is going on in her life,” Allred said at the press conference in Washington, D.C. “This is, in part, an opportunity to set the record straight.”

    A friend of Petraeus, Khawam has so far only bore a tangential relationship to the scandal that forced Petraeus to resign his post about a week and a half ago.

    After the FBI began an investigation, Petraeus admitted an extra-marital affair in his resignation letter from the CIA. He is believed to have conducted that affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.

    Khawam is the twin sister of Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, who received “alarming” emails from an anonymous source, according to a spokesperson for Kelley. The FBI investigation into those emails identified Broadwell as the sender, officials said.

    “My sister Jill and I aren’t just twins, we’re best friends, literally inseparable,” Khawam said. “During my darkest times, Jill held a light for me. She and my brother-in-law took me in when we needed refuge and protection. Jill is the kindest, most generous person I know.”

    Both Petraeus and Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, intervened in Khawam’s custody battle in September, writing letters in support of her.

    At the time, Khawam was seeking to relax a judge’s order restricting her visits with her now 4-year-old son. The judge hearing the case took issue with Khawam’s claims of domestic violence, calling them “patently incredible” and “obviously fabricated,” and she harshly criticized her for a “stunning willingness to say anything, even under oath, to advance her own interests.”

    Holly Petraeus previously signed an affidavit also in support of Khawam, according to the lawyer for Grayson Wolfe, Khawam’s ex-husband.

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    Allred said Khawam's family law attorney has filed an appeal in the custody case and that the briefs in that appeal "articulate why the lower court decision should be reversed" and full child custody granted to Khawam.

    “I contacted Gloria Allred in order to assist me and help guide me through what is a very difficult time for me and my family,” Khawam said. “I look forward to the day when I’m able to answer everyone’s question and explain what really happened in this matter.”

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  • Paula Broadwell given warm welcome on return to North Carolina home

    Jeff Willhelm / The Charlotte Observer

    Paula Broadwell's husband, Scott, drops a grocery bag while unloading their car at their Charlotte home, on Sunday, Nov. 18.

    By Andrew Mach, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Paula Broadwell, the author believed to have had an affair with then-CIA Director David Petraeus, has returned to her Charlotte, N.C., home a week and a half after news of the scandal prompted Petraeus to resign his post. 


    Broadwell, her husband, Scott, and their two young sons were given a warm welcome by dozens of their closest friends and neighbors in the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte early Sunday evening, representatives of the family told NBC News.

    Scott and Paula Broadwell had been in Washington, D.C., since the revelation of Petraeus' extramarital affair gained national attention. Petraeus stepped down as the director of the CIA, admitting to an affair in his resignation letter.

    Paula's focus right now is on her family, the Broadwells' representatives said, adding that she and her family are sticking together in this extremely difficult time. 

    Broadwell, who wrote a biography about Petraeus while he was in command in Afghanistan, had previously stated that the two of them had developed a mentoring relationship. A graduate of West Point, she met Petraeus when she was working on a Ph. D. at Harvard. 

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    The investigation into the affair began when Jill Kelley, a Tampa socialite and friend of Petraeus, asked another friend, who was an FBI agent, to look into threatening emails she received from an anonymous sender. The FBI traced the emails to Broadwell and uncovered the affair, multiple officials told NBC News.

    Jeff Willhelm / The Charlotte Observer

    A neighbor welcomes Paula Broadwell's husband, Scott, at their Charlotte home on Sunday, Nov. 18.

    FBI agents searched Broadwell's home last week, and with her consent, carried out boxes and computers, which reportedly contained classified documents, officials told NBC News. Shortly after, Broadwell's security clearance with the Pentagon was suspended, officials said. 

    Last week, the CIA Inspector General launched an investigation into the conduct of Petraeus. Acting CIA Director Michael Morrell ordered the investigation to ensure there was no wrongdoing and that no agency resources were expended improperly by Petraeus. 

    The CIA informed the House and Senate Intelligence Committees of the investigation on Thursday via letters from the inspector general.

    "At the CIA we are constantly reviewing our performance,” an agency spokesperson said. “If there are lessons to be learned from this case we'll use them to improve. But we're not getting ahead of ourselves; an investigation is exploratory and doesn't presuppose any particular outcome."

    Slideshow: Petraeus case: Cast of characters

    ISAF via Reuters file

    Meet the people who have been pulled into the scandal that caused Gen. David Petraeus to resign.

    Launch slideshow

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  • Panetta orders review of ethical standards amid allegations of misconduct among high-level military leaders

    By Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor

    Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday ordered the Pentagon to dig into and determine why an alarming number of generals and admirals have been snared by a variety of ethical lapses and misconduct allegations, headlined by the admitted marital infidelity of former four-star general and ex-CIA Director David Petraeus.


    According to a statement released by the Department of Defense, Panetta believes that while the "vast majority" of U.S. general officers continue to abide by traditional ethical standards, he has nonetheless become concerned about the spike in alleged misbehavior among a rising number of flag officers spanning the Army, Navy and Marines.

    "Over the past several months, the Secretary has spoken with the service secretaries, service chiefs, and combatant commanders about those instances when senior officers have not lived up to the standards expected of them. This has been an ongoing discussion reflecting shared concerns," the DOD release said. "This week, the Secretary directed General Dempsey to work with the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to review how to better foster a culture of stewardship among our most senior military officers.  This process is intended to reinforce and strengthen the standards that keep us a well led and disciplined military."

    Slideshow: Petraeus case: Cast of characters

    ISAF via Reuters file

    Meet the people who have been pulled into the scandal that caused Gen. David Petraeus to resign.

    Launch slideshow

    Panetta was in Thailand Thursday as part of a visit to Asia. Neither Panetta's order nor the DOD statement mentioned Petraeus, who has been under FBI investigation, or Marine Gen. John R. Allen, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, who is involved in the Petreaus case. Allen has denied any wrongdoing.

    In addition, three other top-rung commanders have recently been punished by the military or remain under investigation for alleged misconduct:

    • Army Gen. William Ward, the four-star general who once led the U.S. Africa Command was demoted Tuesday amid accusations that he spent thousands of dollars on lavish travel. He was stripped of one star and will retire. In August, a Defense Department Inspector General’s Report said Ward took an 11-day trip to Washington and Atlanta, costing $129,000 but spending just three days on official business.
    • Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair is accused of 26 violations of military law including forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct, possessing pornography while deployed and conduct unbecoming of an officer. According to prosecutors, the alleged sexual assaults happened in Afghanistan, Iraq and Germany, as well as at military bases in the United States. In May, Sinclair was removed from Afghanistan, where he’d served as a deputy commander for support. An initial military hearing has ended, but there has been no decision on whether to proceed to a court martial, The Associated Press reported.
    • Navy Cmdr. Joseph E. Darlak and top officers of the San Diego-based Navy frigate USS Vandegrift were relieved of duty on Nov. 2 after a boisterous, drunken port visit to Vladivostok, Russia. Darlak was removed, the Navy said, after an investigation found he had exhibited "poor leadership and failure to ensure the proper conduct of his wardroom officers" during the three-day September stop, the Associated Press reported.

    Ward, Sinclair and Darlak have not commented publicly about the charges against them.

    Some military observers see the recent spate of high-profile cases of alleged misconduct as a much larger issue affecting the armed forces.

    Directing combat operations on the far side of the world has separated many general officers from their families for the better part of a decade while they live in “an alternate-reality universe” – culturally insulated along with other brass – while being increasingly viewed as “untouchable,” said Frank Wuco, a retired U.S. Naval intelligence chief.

    That distance and divide can put military commanders at risk of losing their moral compass, said Wuco, who hosts a weekly radio program in Tampa, Fla. In the late stages of Wuco’s intelligence career, he attended multiple meetings with then-Gen. David Petraeus who, at the time, was leading U.S. forces in the Middle East.

    Wuco describes the former four-star general as “down to earth,” but he said the social status of many U.S. generals has ballooned to new heights during the two wars (Iraq and Afghanistan), allowing American military leaders to “begin to live in this kind of artificial bubble.”

    “With the senior guys and the flag officers, this is like the new royalty. We treat them like kings and princes. These general officers in the military, at a certain point, become untouchable,” Wuco said. “In many cases, they get their own airplanes, their own helicopters. When they walk into a room, everybody comes to attention. In the case of some of them, people are very afraid to speak up or to disagree. Being separated from real life all the time in that way probably leaves them vulnerable (to lapses in moral judgement)."

    But Thomas Ricks, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, disagrees with the notion that military leadership is more insulated and that they have had their heads clouded by adulation. To Ricks, the problem is squarely centered on a wholesale loss of accountability across the landscape of the American armed forces.

    "It is because the U.S. military has lost hold of the idea of accountability - that is, rewarding success and removing failures. And so people get promoted kind of mindlessly, and aren't punished when they fail repeatedly over the years," said Ricks, who also writes a blog for ForeignPolicy.com called “The Best Defense."

    "Ultimately, when their failure becomes public, they may get punished. Bottom line: Today being a general is like being a tenured professor. You can do a lousy job and keep it, but if you embarrass the institution with moral lapses, you will get bounced," Ricks said.

    Click here for more military-related coverage from NBC News.

    As for the reports of Petraeus’ infidelity – as well as any unreported sexual dalliances involving other military leaders – ex-intelligence chief Wuco contends such behaviors within the highest levels of the military “are nothing new.”

    “This type of cheating, while definitely alarming, is not off limits to the military,” Wuco said. “This is classic ‘men of a certain age.’ You’re looking at a guy who’s up there in age. He’s been working his ass off his entire adult life, separated from all of the good times everybody else has been having. I don’t think it’s anything more than: it made him feel good. It was good for his ego. He was holding the attention of a younger woman. It’s a classic story across every center of society.”

    In fact, two of America's most venerated generals - Dwight D. Eisenhower and Matthew Ridgway - were known to have had romantic flings during World War II and the Korean War, but their infidelities didn't make news and certainly didn't cost them their commands.

    A third World War II hero, Gen. George S. Patton, also had an extramarital affair, according to the book, "Patton," by the late Martin Blumenson.

    "We’re in a different time now," said Robert O. Kirkland, a military historian who teaches at the University of Southern California. He called the Eisenhower and Ridgway liaisons with women other than their wives "documented in the historical record."

    "Maybe some things in the past were overlooked," Kirkland said. "They’re now enforced."

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  • Petraeus says he didn't share classified information with Broadwell

    Just-resigned CIA Director David Petraeus says he will testify this week at congressional hearings looking into the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, as new details emerge about the emails that helped end his career. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

    By NBC News staff

    Ex-CIA Director David Petraeus reportedly said in an interview that he did not share classified information with his biographer Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom he is said to have had an affair.


    In a series of interviews with Kyra Phillips of Headline News, Petraeus also said his resignation as CIA director was not tied to his upcoming testimony on the attack in Benghazi that killed four Americans. He is due to testify Friday in closed-door Senate and House hearings, the first formal congressional inquiries into the September attack.

    Petraeus’ comments, which came in a series of interviews with Phillips beginning last week, were first reported Thursday.

     "In our first conversation," Phillips said, Petraeus "had told me he had engaged in something dishonorable. He sought to do the honorable thing in response -- and that was to come forward. He was very clear that he screwed up terribly ... even felt fortunate to have a wife who is far better than he deserves."

    Petraeus told Phillips he had not spoken with Broadwell since the scandal broke.

    "He insisted to me that he has never passed classified information to Paula Broadwell," Phillips said. "He said this has nothing to do with Benghazi, and he wants to testify. He will testify."

    Defense officials told NBC News on Thursday that earlier this week, the FBI came to Army officials with material discovered in Broadwell’s emails and asked, “Is this real and is it classified?” After Army officials determined it was indeed classified material, the FBI launched a search of Broadwell’s North Carolina home, with her consent.

    The Defense officials could not reveal the nature of the classified material.

    On Wednesday, an Army official told NBC News that Broadwell had lost her security clearance.

    The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Broadwell’s security clearance and access to classified material was suspended because of an address she gave to an alumni symposium on Oct. 26 at the University of Denver, which appeared on the video-sharing site YouTube. Broadwell holds a master's degree in international study from the school.

    In the address, Broadwell talked about security at the consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

    "Any time that the Army has a reason to believe that an officer has mishandled classified information, there is grounds for such action," the Army official said, referencing the YouTube clip.

    Broadwell, a West Point graduate and former military intelligence officer, is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, though she is not currently on active duty, according to Pentagon records obtained by NBC News.

    Multiple government and law enforcement officials have told NBC News that Petraeus, a retired four-star general who is married, had an extramarital affair with Broadwell, 40. Broadwell, who also married, authored “All In,” a book about Petraeus’ leadership philosophy.

    FBI investigators who looked into a series of anonymous threatening emails sent to Tampa, Fla., socialite Jill Kelley later determined they were authored by Broadwell, multiple government and law enforcement officials have told NBC News.

    Petraeus will testify Friday about the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi before the Senate Intelligence Committee after he briefs the House Intelligence Committee.

    NBC News' Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube contributed to this report.

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  • Paula Broadwell's security clearance suspended, Army official says

    University of Denver alumnus Paula Broadwell speaks at the 2012 Alumni Symposium.

    By Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube, NBC News

    Paula Broadwell, former CIA Director David Petraeus’ biographer, has lost her security clearance, an Army official told NBC News on Wednesday.


    The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Broadwell’s security clearance and access to classified material was suspended because of an address she gave to an alumni symposium on Oct. 26 at the University of Denver, which appeared on the video-sharing site YouTube. Broadwell holds a master's degree in international study from the school.

    In the address, Broadwell talked about security at the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were killed in an attack.

    "Any time that the Army has a reason to believe that an officer has mishandled classified information, there is grounds for such action," the Army official said, referencing the YouTube clip.

    The Army has been cooperating with the FBI investigation into Broadwell. "Those actions are ongoing," the Army official said.

    Broadwell, a West Point graduate and former military intelligence officer, is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, though she is not currently on active duty, according to Pentagon records obtained by NBC News.

    Multiple government and law enforcement officials have told NBC News that Petraeus, a retired four-star general who is married, had an extramarital affair with Broadwell, 40. Broadwell, who also married, authored “All In,” a book about Petraeus’ leadership philosophy.

    FBI investigators who looked into a series of anonymous threatening emails sent to Tampa, Fla., socialite Jill Kelley later determined they were authored by Broadwell, multiple government and law enforcement officials have told NBC News.

    NBC's Jeff Black contributed to this report.

    NBC's Andrea Mitchell has new details about why Jill Kelley, one of the women at the center of the scandal involving Gen. David Petraeus, initially approached an FBI agent.

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  • In 911 calls, Kelley tried to invoke diplomatic immunity

    NBC's Pete Williams and Michael Isikoff detail new information surrounding Jill Kelley, one of the women at the center of the controversy surrounding Gen. David Petraeus' resignation from the CIA.

    By NBC News staff

    Audiotapes of several 911 calls placed by Florida socialite Jill Kelley as the media descended on her Tampa home show she complained about what she considered trespassing on her property and attempted to invoke diplomatic-type privileges.


    “I am an honorary consul general, so I have inviolability,” Kelley told a 911 dispatcher. “They should not be able to cross my property. I don’t know if you want to get diplomatic protection involved as well?”

    A South Korean official confirmed to NBC News that Kelley is an honorary consul for South Korea, but said she has no diplomatic immunity. He said Kelley assists the consulate based in Atlanta on occasion with things like passports and visas but is not an employee. 

    The U.S. State Department said Kelley has no formal affiliation with that U.S. agency.

    “I can assure you that she does not work for the State Department and has no formal affiliation with the State Department,” State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said.

    In other calls to Tampa police, Kelley said strangers had entered through a gate and were bashing on her door, trying to push it open. In another call, Kelley said at least 10 people were blocking her alley so she couldn’t get into her driveway.

    Kelley, 37, became involved in the scandal that led to the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus after complaining to the FBI about anonymous, threatening emails she received.

    Her complaint touched off an investigation that uncovered an apparent affair between Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell.

    During the investigation, the FBI traced the allegedly threatening emails to Broadwell.

    Kelley and her husband, who is a surgeon, are close friends of the Petraeus family. She has been a volunteer social liaison to the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, often hosting parties for top brass.

    More information is emerging about Jill Kelley, the woman whose complaints inadvertently alerted the FBI to Gen. David Petraeus' affair, including the fact that she received help from Petraeus and Gen. John Allen during her sister's bitter custody battle. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.

    On Wednesday, a Department of Defense official confirmed to NBC News that Kelley’s special access to the base, which she had been granted due to her participation in community outreach events, has been suspended. Now, if she wants to enter the base, she must go in like any other individual and show her ID and get a daily pass. The official said the reason for the suspension is because she is part of an ongoing investigation. 

    The investigation also uncovered emails between Kelley and Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, which a Defense Department official described as "potentially inappropriate."

    But another defense official told NBC News on Tuesday that the emails had been misconstrued.

    “There was no affair,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

    It also emerged this week that Petraeus and Allen had intervened in a Washington, D.C., custody battle in September that involved Natalie Khawam, Kelley's twin sister.

    As FBI investigated Petraeus, he and Allen intervened in nasty custody battle
         Defense official fires back, denies Afghanistan commander exchanged 'inappropriate' emails

    They wrote letters on behalf of Khawam, who was found by a judge to have "severe personal deficits in the areas of honesty and integrity."

    In an interview with TODAY, Kelley’s brother, David Khawam, threw his support behind Kelley.

    “My sister, number one, is a mother. She has three kids. She’s extremely dedicated to those kids. Number two, she’s a wife. She’s extremely dedicated to her husband. And he to her,” he said. “This is something that’s going to brand her for life.” 

    In the latest turn in the scandal involving two top US generals, the FBI said they have uncovered "flirtatious" emails between General John Allen and socialite Jill Kelley but have found no wrongdoing. Meanwhile, the general strongly denies any misconduct. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

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