CIA Petraeus Affair: How Much Partying Is Going On With Jill Kelley At Pentagon Central Command?

From Denny:  What the hell is going on at the Pentagon's Central Command and Special Operations Commands (CENTCOM) in Tampa, Florida?  Is this a collection of party hardy long-married generals acting like fools over much younger ambitious women seeking status, power and information?

Can you imagine Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey calling from Washington down to Florida and cussing out the top command after CIA Director Petraeus resigned so suddenly - and then Gen. Allen's email mess surfaced?  That had to be choice.  Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that blessing out.

At the center of the storm is Tampa socialite - and self-appointed diplomat or ambassador, take your pick - Jill Kelley, wife of a local surgeon.  Up until this week she was busy at Central Command "volunteering" to help military families.  Just what was she really "volunteering" at MacDill Air Force base anyway?

Apparently, she was known for leveraging her relationships.  Can you imagine how many generals' wives feel they were used by Kelley to gain inappropriate access to their husbands?  Why is Kelley emailing their husbands when she should have worked with the wives who were stateside on those charitable endeavors?

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Gen. Petraeus: Why No One Wants To Work For Your CIA

CIA Director Petraeus, Image via Wikipedia

From Denny:  At this point, now one month into his job, the word is that the new director is horrified at the lack of acquiring and keeping good people.  He is shocked that even the children of CIA officers do not - and will not - apply to the agency. In contrast, in the military tradition it is commonplace for generations to serve.

The intelligence community has long known that the children of CIA officers absorb the mindset and understanding of the intelligence world from growing up in it, creating an easier transition to get an employee ready for the environment.

What they did not calculate is how the tension and dangers of the intelligence environment takes its toll upon the family of CIA officers too.  Who wants to spend your childhood as a soft target for assassins only to choose that same career as an adult and then turn around and do it to your children?  Many have discovered what a bad idea that was and counsel their children against joining the agency.

The dangerous political atmosphere of the CIA where your own colleagues are setting you up to take the fall for more than just a career move for them has soured many on the CIA.  There is little team integrity and team loyalty.  Few can trust each other.