David Petraeus resigns as CIA chief citing affair

[barracuda]

Damn. That party looks raucous.

[seemslikeadream]

Jill Kelley (Khawam). The Lebanese Mata Hari?
byOrcas GeorgeFollow
564
PERMALINK 105 COMMENTS / 105 NEW
OK, this is getting weird. If Jill Kelley was not in the employ of a foreign intelligence service then the world's spy agencies have collectively suffered a dereliction of duty.

As we know today, General Petraus's successor in Afghanistan is a man named General John Allen who also happens to be in line for promotion to Commander of the United State European Command and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.

It probably goes without saying that both General Petraus of the CIA and General Allen would be top targets for foreign intelligence operations -- especially by countries in the Middle East. Knowing details of US actions there would be of benefit to many countries; some allies, some nominal allies and some considered to be enemies.

The fact that socialite Jill Kelley's maiden name is Khawam and that she was born in Lebanon to Maronite Christian parents should raise eyebrows a bit. (Note that the Maronite Christians were allies of Israel in the Lebanese Civil War/Lebanon invasion.) The fact that she and her husband were willing to go into debt to throw lavish parties for high level officers who are involved in the Middle East should make even the most resolute anti-CTers among us pause. The further fact that she is identified as an unofficial liason between top American Generals and unspecified Middle Eastern contacts, well...

Detail past the secret symbol.

This is the source article. http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

Anybody who reads the history of previous intelligence/counterintelligence operations will note a few things that are of concern. It is pretty strange for a US General involved in Afghanistan to be exchanging "thousands of emails" with a civilian woman who is not his wife and who has no official duties whatsoever.

Jill Kelley, a Tampa resident who poured her energies into throwing lavish parties for and hobnobbing with area military brass, is now linked to two of the nation’s top commanders in a fast-moving scandal.
In recent years, Kelley and her husband, Scott, had appointed themselves ad hoc social ambassadors for military personnel at nearby MacDill Air Force Base, just a stone’s throw from the Kelleys’ mansion on Bayshore Boulevard.

The parties were how Jill and Scott Kelley eventually became friends with Holly and David Petraeus. They were also how Kelley came to be in regular contact with Allen. Both generals served as the top officers at the U.S. Central Command, based at MacDill

Kelley and her twin sister, Natalie Khawam, often went shopping and out to lunch with Holly Petraeus, particularly when her husband was stationed in Afghanistan, the friends said.
Access. This woman was well positioned to interact with top US brass in the Middle East. Although by no means conclusive, why would a surgeon and his wife buy a very expensive house near a military base and immediately throw themselves into cultivating relationships with the top brass? The surgeon does not appear to be particulary wealthy, well respected but working for a University clinic. If you have family in the medical field you know oncologists are not particularly well-paid.
The social galas seemed to spare no expense, guests said, and often featured copious buffets, valet parking, string quartets, as well as premium cigars and champagne. While they were throwing glamorous parties, the Kelleys racked up substantial debt, prompting banks to initiate foreclosure proceedings on two properties
Motivation. The oldest motivation for espionage is money. People in debt with access to secrets are the greatest risk.
Khawam said that quality stemmed from the Catholic family’s persecution in their native Lebanon, when Jill, David and Natalie were small children and their parents eventually fled to the United States. All three built productive new lives in America, with both David and Natalie becoming lawyers.
Connections. These people are essentially foreign nationals which is no crime or sin, but their aggressive attempt to get access to top military personel certainly should have raised a warning bell in both Petraus's and Allen's minds (or the minds of their staff.) Oh wait...
A military officer who is a former member of Petraeus’s staff said Kelley was a “self-appointed” go-between for Central Command officers with Lebanese and other Middle Eastern government officials. She was a fixture at social and charity events involving Central Command officials in Tampa. The officer said Kelley’s presence was often a bit puzzling to Petraeus’s staff, but the officer said there was never any indication that her relationship with the general was anything more than social.
Opportunity. Somehow this woman's role has morphed from socialite to "go-between" for CC officers and Middle Eastern government officials. How one goes from partying in Florida to arranging our, um, affairs with other nations is a bit of a puzzle. Did she accept "gifts" from Middle Eastern government officials for arranging access? It is not a large step from that to active espionage.
“She is so gracious, so lovely,” he said. “She’s one of those people — she walks in the room, and the room lights up.”
Ability. Or maybe not such a puzzle.
Our military men are not thinking with the appropriate parts of their anatomy.

IS ONE OF THE WOMEN IN THE PETRAEUS SCANDAL A SPY? YOU’LL NEVER BELIEVE WHO’S MAKING THE CASE
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 7:00pm by Erica Ritz Print »Email »
Comments (15)

Jill Kelley leaves her home Monday, Nov 12, 2012 in Tampa, Fla. (Credit: AP)
Ever since it was revealed that Jill Kelley, the woman arguably at the center of the currently-unfolding drama rocking the U.S. government, is of Lebanese origin, Twitter users have asked whether she and CIA Director Petraeus’ mistress Paula Broadwell should be investigated for potential national security leaks.

Kelley first came into the public eye after Broadwell began sending her “threatening” emails regarding getting too close to Petreaus. But she really piqued the public’s interest after it was revealed that General John Allen also sent her thousands of pages of “inappropriate” emails, and an FBI agent even sent her shirtless photos of himself.

Now, the extremely left-leaning Daily Kos has begun building the case that Kelley’s actions are suspicious at best, and that if she was not in the employ of a foreign intelligence service, “the world’s spy agencies have collectively suffered a dereliction of duty.”

Mind you, these are the same people who called Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s investigation into Huma Abedin a “witch hunt,” despite tangible connections to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The article explains:

It probably goes without saying that both General Petraus of the CIA and General Allen would be top targets for foreign intelligence operations — especially by countries in the Middle East. Knowing details of US actions there would be of benefit to many countries; some allies, some nominal allies and some considered to be enemies.

The fact that socialite Jill Kelley’s maiden name is Khawam and that she was born in Lebanon to Maronite Christian parents should raise eyebrows a bit. (Note that the Maronite Christians were allies of Israel in the Lebanese Civil War/Lebanon invasion.) The fact that she and her husband were willing to go into debt to throw lavish parties for high level officers who are involved in the Middle East should make even the most resolute anti-CTers among us pause. The further fact that she is identified as an unofficial liaison between top American Generals and unspecified Middle Eastern contacts, well…​[Emphasis added]
Using supplementary details from a Washington Post article, the Daily Kos then proceeds to detail Kelley’s access, motivations, connections, opportunity, and ability.

Read part of their case, below (the Washington Post details are in the highlighted boxes):


(Photo: The Daily Kos)
​And that’s only part of their argument. Again, that comes from one of the most liberal sites out there — not some wild conspiracy theory outlet.

“OK, this is getting weird,” the article notes. In so many ways.

[justdrew]

I would have advised daily kos to stay the hell away from this tar-baby

[8bitagent]

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/11/13/paula-broadwell-driver-license-found-in-dc-park

Paula Broadwell's License Discovered in D.C. Park
Police notify FBI -- Broadwell's attorney mum on her whereabouts

By Paul D. Shinkman
November 13, 2012 RSS Feed Print

The woman revealed to have been carrying on an affair with former CIA Director David Petraeus lost her driver's license in a Washington, D.C., park recently, sources tell U.S. News.

A Maryland National Capital Park Police spokesman confirmed that a jogger found a North Carolina license in Rock Creek Park belonging to Paula Broadwell. Park Police planned to hold it for 90 days, per policy, and then send it back to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.


The Park Police also alerted the FBI, says Bill Kellogg, a spokesman for the Park Police. The FBI did not initially return calls for comment on the report.

Broadwell's attorney, Robert F. Muse, confirmed that Broadwell, a North Carolina resident, lost her driver's license in the park.


The FBI searched Broadwell's Charlotte, N.C., home Monday for at least four hours. It is unclear if Broadwell was home at the time, though she is not mentioned in any subsequent reporting about the search.

Muse did not immediately return calls regarding Broadwell's current whereabouts.

Rock Creek Park is where Chandra Levy's body was found, interestingly.

As soon as I saw your headline there I thought of Chandra Levy.

It seems to have been a little over 11 years ago that we last saw the entire media so insanely and obsessively transfixed over a political sex scandal(3 years prior to that with Lewinsky/Clinton)

A lot of people, myself included, probably thought Chanda Levy/Gary Condit story would be the biggest story of 2001.

Speaking of 9/11, funny how the media didn't have any interest in investigating the thousands of unanswered questions and levels of intrigue surrounding the CIA, FBI, government, hijackers, foreign countries, money trail, etc.
But oh...sex scandal! They're all over that.

I think someone earlier in this thread alluded to being on the lookout for any of the usual(suicides, accidents, seemingly "random" botched robberies, etc)

[8bitagent]

“OK, this is getting weird,” the article notes. In so many ways.

[/quote]

There's many many couples that want to live out a movie fantasy of being well liked high end socialites who know the who's who of hollywood, DC folk, etc.
Though, I'm not sure there's too many who obsessively try and purposefully court top military brass, heads of intelligence, central commanders, etc.

We all remember the "cute Russian couple" who lived as spies in the US, the case in the media was treated as a friendly sort of comedy situation.
And while I try not to make the obvious assumption that Christian Lebanese always has to mean Israeli stooge, I guess it's possible one of the couples or both
have some sort of Israeli connection.

Like Jack Riddler, I cringe at the "It has to lead to Mossad and Israel" connection. Even if it was true, not sure the US media all too often likes to tackle an issue like that.

[JackRiddler]

The funniest phrases on this page so far:

1) "lavish parties" (gets funnier every time it comes up)

2) "extremely left-leaning Daily Kos" (!)

Also, that Mata Hari piece is not by "Daily Kos," it is by one of however many thousand DK bloggers. Granted, this is tough for these Internet neophytes to dope out. (Tonight they're gonna party like it's 1994!)

.

[seemslikeadream]

Khawam for months has been fighting for greater access to her 4-year-old son with Grayson Wolfe, a former Bush administration official who directed Middle East initiatives and Iraqi reconstruction efforts at the Export-Import Bank.

Wolfe could not be immediately located for comment. His LinkedIn profile identifies him as a founding partner of Akkadian Private Ventures, but when a Reuters reporter went to a Washington address listed for the firm, it was occupied by an unrelated private residence.

Wolfe, whose divorce from Khawam was finalized earlier this year, was awarded sole custody of their son in 2011.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/ ... XE20121114

[barracuda]

Wake me up when there's a sex tape.

[barracuda]

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... -explained

- Natalie Khawam used to date Charlie Crist.

- The sheer number of email pages might be ascribable to image files.

- Just for fun:

[JackRiddler]

Right, her lawn has diplomatic immunity.

Now this is something like a fucking statesman. (Not the guy in the thumbnail, the one being interviewed in the video.)



Even if all his recent movies suck

How this story turns out (assuming we get enough of it to ever know) will determine whether the film would best be directed by Oliver Stone or the Coen Brothers.

[seemslikeadream]

Steven Portnoy, a correspondent for ABC News Radio in Washinton, DC, reports that Jill Kelley requested diplomatic protection based on the fact that she is an "honorary counsul" of South Korea:

Steven Portnoy@stevenportnoy
The Korean Embassy confirms Jill Kelley is actually an "honorary consul" of his country, as of August of this year.
13 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite
Steven Portnoy@stevenportnoy
Here's a pic of her Mercedes // RT @londonoe: Jill Kelley's Mercedes plates: "Honorary CONSUL" bit.ly/W6glP1
13 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite

[justdrew]

http://petraeusaffair.tumblr.com/

[DrVolin]

This is getting very heavy. Petraeus is the closest thing to Eisenhower since Powell. Not only is he a top general, he is deeply connected with the military ruling elite. His father in law was superintendent of the Military Academy when Petraeus was a cadet. As I see things, the military has been a stabilizing force in US governance since WWII. They ensured the interregnum after the collapse of the Roosevelt Hegemony, they most likely moderated the effect of the attempted coup of 1963, and through Al Haig, prevented the completion of the 1981 attempted coup. In fact, Seven Days in May is exactly the reverse of what I have been worried about. In the story, the civilians defend against a military coup. In reality, I think the military has been the only defense against a civilian dictatorship for more than half a century. If the dynasts and their intel-industrial complex servants, following their realization that cheating is no longer enough, have decided to take the gloves off, they would start by taking out the military leadership. The semi-pathetic remnant republican opposition and their rump Kennedy clan allies of desperation would be next.

The military establishment are the opposite of the dynasts. Their primary allegiance is to the institution, not to their blood. Their individual rewards are modest and measured in prestige, not power. For all its flaws and mistakes, the military is still a form of meritocracy, not a birthright oligarchy. The John McCains are cared for, minimally, but not advanced to leadership. The prominent men owe their positions to relationships formed after they joined the brotherhood, not before. Prestige, unlike wealth and the power it generates, is not inherited. This could be the start of a concerted campaign to finally consolidate the gains of 63, 81, 01, and 08, and wash away the last traces of the old republic.

[seemslikeadream]

Obama has fired 3 generals....the last president to fire a general during wartime was Truman

[justdrew]

David Petraeus Is Probably Not Going to Marry This Taiwanese Engineer

It sure seems unlikely that David Petraeus, the married director of the C.I.A., would be seducing Taiwanese engineers on Skype in order to cash his, uh, paychecks from the NATO operation in Libya, doesn't it? But try telling that to Liu Shuzhen, who is pretty insistent that she and Petraeus are getting married, any day now.

They met online a few months ago, Shuzhen claims, when Petraeus asked her for some help: He needed her to "to wire him money for fuel expenses and to help him cash some paychecks from the recent campaign that toppled the Col. Muammar Qaddafi of Libya." No biggie! Shuzhen wired him $30,000, and in exchange, he sent her the checks—and a wedding ring, promising he'd marry her "even if it will start World War III."

Of course, when Shuzhen tried to cash the checks she ran into a little bit of trouble with the law. They were forgeries (how surprising!), and she was arrested; police apparently spent hours trying to convince her she was being scammed, but she wasn't having any of it:

"How could a scamming group have so much resources at its disposal?" she asked, adding that the man who claimed to be Petraeus was deliberately misleading the media into believing he was a scammer to keep cross-strait issues calm and "protect their love."

In response to the alleged Petraeus' displeasure at media footage of their Skype conversation on Monday, Liu said on Tuesday that CNN should also interview her about the incident, because that would force him "to come to Taiwan sooner."

Hmm. It's worth noting that others have reported of a Skype-based scam in which someone pretends to be Petraeus:

one Saterday [sic] afternoon while we were talking to the family, a pop up came on asking us to please except [sic], so we did and it was a man impersonating [sic] to be Gen. David Howell Petraeus, well we din't [aw, fuck it] know better so we excepted, he explained that he was stationed in Afghanistan and was looking for friends, well to be honest we are not political people

But, hey, maybe this is actually Petraeus just looking for love and some financial assistance in Taiwan? Probably not, though.