David Patraeus served in the Army and appointed director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). A four star General who was one of the celebrated military leaders. He was a married man or over 38 years. He involved himself in an extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell who was his biographer. A probe done on whether someone was using his Gmail account and it found that Paula sought to access the Gmail account. This revelation led to Patraeus resignation at a time when the CIA was involved in a controversy with the events of Sept.11, 2012. U.S consulate in Benghazi Libya was attacked and it led to the death of four Americans (Westfall et al, web 3). The CIA had a role to play in providing security and intelligence gathering. The investigation done revealed loopholes to compromise of national security. An affair outside the marriage by a high government official has high implications on the security of the country.
The Patraeus affair with Paula Broadwell showed that many Army officers that are in various deployments in the battlefield could be engaging themselves in extramarital affairs. In the deployments, there are missed anniversaries and this makes good military officers to make big mistakes. According to The Christian Diarist Nov. 2012, this is unacceptable behavior for high officials in the government and a husband. It is even worse that he involved herself with a junior Army Reserve Officer.
This was not a good show to the military. The members of the Army are supposed to put the matters of National security first. For a high rank like General Patraeus, it was shameful and disheartening that the entire honor he had as an Army General ruined the image of the Army. He could have put the interests of his Nation first by being security conscious. General Patraeus affair with Paula Broadwell left the families who have their family members on the battlefield worried because they speculated on what their spouses may be engaging in. This spoilt the image of the Army.
Works cited
Christian, Diarist. "Petraeus is Worst Disgrace since Bill Clinton." Latest Articles. 12 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.
Westfall, et al. "THE Petraeus affair inside the web of a scandal” 78.23 (2012): Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Dec. 2012.
