From Iraq to Washington: Petraeus has long record of facing tough situations

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Washington Times:

The fall of David H. Petraeus as the nation’s spy chief was the result of a serious failure of judgment, but it will never erase his long record as a military commander who turned the tide of the war in Iraq and set up new tactics for killing Islamic terrorists, his friends and military observers say.

Mr. Petraeus is telling friends that his affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, began after he had left the Army and three months after he took over the CIA in September 2011. He has asserted to associates that it was his only extramarital affair in more than 30 years of marriage.

Retired Army Col. Peter Mansoor, his wartime executive officer, said that one indiscretion should not override years of military achievements.

“In the long run, Gen. Petraeus will be remembered primarily for his performance in Iraq, particularly through the surge of 2007 and 2008, when he helped to turn around a war that was all but lost,” Mr. Mansoor told The Washington Times. “In the long run, his personal failings with this affair will be a blip on his otherwise stellar record of public service.”

Former Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican who served as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and himself a former Army officer, wrote a book about how the U.S. won in Iraq and about Mr. Petraeus‘ unique talents.