On Saturday, March 21, CNN reported that General David Petraeus has been hired as a consultant to the National Security Council, advising the President on the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. A day earlier, while visiting Iraq for the first time since his forced resignation as CIA Director, Gen. Petraeus gave an exclusive interview to the Washington Post. In that interview, he called for a replay of his successful Iraq Surge, this time with the Iraqi armed forces playing a bigger role. He went on to warn that the greatest threat to Iraq's future and the stability of the region was not ISIL, but, rather, Iran. The Shi'ite militias that are the backbone, along with the Kurds, of the battle against ISIL, he warned, can emerge as an Iraqi Hezbollah, extending the sectarian conflict and preventing any viable Iraqi military from emerging. He called the Syria situation a "geopolitical Chernobyl."
While it is not surprising to hear Gen. Petraeus once again calling for a civil-military counterinsurgency campaign as the cure-all for the Iraq and Syria crises, what is truly amazing is the fact that he is now back on Team Obama. Just weeks ago, the retired Army Four Star was grabbing very different headlines, when the Justice Department announced a plea deal with Petraeus, dropping felony charges over his handing over large quantities of classified documents to his ghost writer/mistress Paula Broadwell. While whistleblowers like former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling were being prosecuted under the Espionage Act, Petraeus was given a slap on the wrist--and a consulting job with the Obama NSC.
One Washington insider familiar with the Petraeus saga put it simply: "He is politically harmless. The DOJ has him by the b___s."
The return of Gen. Petraeus to the Obama fold has another dimension. President Obama's favorite neocon is Robert Kagan, the husband of his Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland. The President has touted Kagan's recent writings as must-read. Gen. Petraeus, during his career in Afghanistan and at CENTCOM, was a big Kagan booster, hiring Kimberley and Fred Kagan as counterinsurgency advisors, and helping to launch her Institute for the Study of War.
IMO many shadows exist over the Obama Administration even as it struggles for its place in the history books. Not a pretty sight for the fainthearted or the knowledgeable.
Posted by: William R. Cumming | 22 March 2015 at 09:48 AM
All
IMO Petraeus is doing what he always has done. He is feathering his nest by currying favor with the Kagans, Bibi and the R2pers. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 22 March 2015 at 09:51 AM
Sometimes having a slick, devious prima donna con man on staff giving advice is an asset.
Posted by: r whitman | 22 March 2015 at 10:05 AM
given the short time left to this administration, it seems more prudent to keep the loose cannon inside the tent rather than having it picked up by the opposition.
Posted by: wisedupearly | 22 March 2015 at 10:59 AM
I repeat here a comment I made late yesterday on the McClatchey coverage of the Tikrit offensive, since it pertains to the neo-conservative cabal:
Does anyone here (presumably mainly USA citizens) have an indication of where former senator and possible presidential candidate Jim Webb stands in this regard? More specifically would he be receptive to the suggestion that all known neocons and sympathizers be required to wear GPS-enabled ankle bracelets that would sound an alarm whenever they got within 50 miles of DC or attempted to call an area 202 phone number? Just kidding (sort of) about the ankle bracelets. Not about the desire for input on Sen. Webb's position on this.
Posted by: ex-PFC Chuck | 22 March 2015 at 11:38 AM
Maybe he'll give the Iranians a laugh.
Posted by: Odin's Raven | 22 March 2015 at 12:41 PM
Our country, where any felon can have a second, third or fourth life. Not so much for mistresses.
Posted by: BabelFish | 22 March 2015 at 06:43 PM
NSC was designed in the National Security Act of 1947 and even now as amended as a largely civilian structure. But with as many as 50% serving officers of the US Armed Forces as staffers [all of who still get OERs] DoD is largely in control. IMO of course.
Posted by: William R. Cumming | 23 March 2015 at 11:15 AM
Is there a countering force to the Kagan crime family?
Posted by: Croesus | 23 March 2015 at 08:30 PM