Should Sec of Def. Carter reduce GEN Petraeus back to LTG after he has retired?

I just find it odd that this is being brought around, neither Sec. Panetta nor Sec. Hagel went after him. He was also fined $100,000 and given two years probation. The intent seems to be more than recouping tax payer money.

CPO Andy Carrillo, MS - We discussed this in our CGSOC class a week and a half ago. Was it true the classified information leaked or spilled was his work schedule that was opsec? if so, that is petty to charge him that much! I consider him a hero. I would vote for him instead of the clowns out there now running for POTUS.

Sgt Richard Buckner - thanks sgt Buckner. I am in the USAR.

Sgt Richard Buckner - Thanks. I do the best I can working 50 hours a week at UPS delivering packages in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. I also try to bring to the table stuff from our underfunded Canadian Military who has to fight its own government to keep its fleet mission capable and their aircraft airworthy. They did increase their SF forces in Iraq from 75 to 200 and here is a cool video from their mini-SOG called JTF-2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd6Non2blL8

Sgt Richard Buckner - I know. Just weighing in.

Sgt Richard Buckner - G2G, Hoss

Maj Werner Hindrichs - Easy there, killer. I am simply quoting the applicable law. Perhaps there is a better one, I am not a lawyer. What I do know is receiving or transmitting classified information to, from, or on anything other than authorized secure means for authorized purposes will get you a one way trip to federal prison. Just ask Chelsea Manning.
I was simply informing the discussion. Down-voting me because you don't agree is not how we do things on this site.
For the record, there is ample reportage that the FBI is in fact investigating the State Department's handling of classified information. What is also true is that no one can be a "target" of an investigation without a Grand Jury or prosecutor bringing forth charges. Anyone think that the Attorney General is going to do that? I don't. But you never know. There is an awful lot of evidence being released that indicates that not just secret, but TS and above information was transmitted via NIPR by DoS staff. That is a real problem.
The problem for Clinton is that mere possession of such documents on a non-government, secure device constitutes a crime. We may never know if she was at the center of some scheme to flout the law by using blackberries and personal email. More likely, she just liked getting her stuff a certain way, because she is set in her ways, to put it gently.
The good news for Mrs Clinton is she is actually a classifying official, which helps her out for correspondence internal to the State Department. Documents classified by another agency, though would remain classified unless the appropriate official declassified it. Items found in her possession, including drone footage and satellite imagery would have been classified by the DoD, CIA, or NRO. And highly classified, at that.

I would point out that no charges does not equal not guilty.
Hell, even charges do not mean she is guilty (although her political career would be over).
Charged, tried, and convicted means you are guilty.
She is presumed innocent until proved guilty.
There's a lot of smoke here, though. And where there is smoke...

Maj Werner Hindrichs - Doesn't that process happen when the FBI and IG complete their investigation? Give ThinkProgress my regards.

MAJ (Join to see) - In other forums on this subject I am surprised to see the number of people who come out in defense of him, especially the number of women who say his personal life has nothing to do with his professional life.

Capt Tom Brown - Seems I heard that somewhere in the past. Something about cigars and blue dresses, in conjunction with a former C-in-C.

Right on SGM Quick! Pithy and right on point!

it was also the mishandling of the classified information. You don't take that home with you or leave in unsecured. It wasn't like they were in a locked secret room....well...maybe the hotel room was locked and it was sure secret...

Different strokes for different folks. The O's were NEVER punished in my day. Eisenhower had his shotsy and everybody knew it.

SCPO (Join to see), most likely Obama trying to keep him from testifying in the current U.S. House Select Committee on the Benghazi hearings.

Capt Seid Waddell -- I'm not sure that's how that works. I can't imagine how someone could not testify if called to testify. General Petraeus hasn't attempted to avoid testifying about this since the beginning, why would the administration taking adverse action against him make him suddenly start protecting them by taking illegal actions himself?

The whole idea is absurd.

SCPO Joshua I, the way it works is not whether he will testify, but what he will testify to. When Gen. Petraeus was in power in the administration he testified that the Benghazi attack was the result of a protest over the video - the company line.

After the administration forced his resignation and prosecuted him he testified that it was a terrorist attack - which everybody knew at the time but which the administration wanted to cover up.

Now he is testifying again in closed session and the committee is interested in why the change in his testimony and who was behind it. He has a lot of beans to spill and is now apparently willing to talk.

The administration wants to let him know that even though he is already retired in disgrace they can still reach out and touch him if he blows the whistle on them.

If you recall, they did the same thing to him when he was testifying the first time, publicly keeping the court martial over his head for a year or more before dropping the hammer on him.

This kind of tactic is SOP with this administration.

First, there was no court martial, nor could there have been a court martial really -- he was retired and was prosecuted in federal court, not under the UCMJ.

Second, I don't think the administration "forced his resignation", his resignation was inevitable. A CIA director who has lost his clearance due to mishandling classified material is not realistic -- there was no way he could continue his duties. Nobody above him made up this scandal -- he brought this on himself by illegally carrying on an affair while he was deployed and illegally passing classified information to his mistress.

When he testified initially, there's been a lot of blather about a video, but he also identified Ansar al-Sharif as the AQ organization involved. So maybe he was wrong about the video but it sounds like he gave them the information he had at the time.

Benghazi was a fuckup from the beginning, but the prevailing conspiracy theories that it sounds like the committee continues to base their "investigation" on are simply idiotic. Clinton was a completely incompetent and unqualified secstate, I don't think there are very many people on the planet who aren't hard core left wing ideologues who would debate that. Does that mean the Benghazi thing was her fault? If you've ever had to work with State, you know it's a culture that pre-dates her by many years and continues to this day and likely will never change. Ambassadors are ten feet tall, bulletproof, and completely oblivious to the security threats where they work, and they don't listen when they're briefed. This culture resulted in Ambassador Stevens' death.

The claim that somehow this is somebody trying to "let him know" that they can "reach out and touch him" is silly. There's very little they can do, and none of it is anything he did not bring on his own head.

My thought as well. Clinton has never fell under any DOD jurisdiction. It's a matter of holding our Civilian leaders accountable.

I thought the same. Why has it taken DoD this long to act?

SCPO Joshua I, MAJ (Join to see), Gen. Petraeus is now testifying about the Benghazi attack before the U.S. House Select Committee on the Benghazi. The administration evidently wants to show that they can still reach out and touch him.

Capt Seid Waddell - What? This administration using extortion to quiet an opponent?

MCPO Roger Collins, hard to believe, isn't it?

WO1 (Join to see) Fortunately or unfortunately, often times the only thing that folks are remembered by is the last thing they did, and, in the Army, essentially the last thing Petreaus did was give classified material to his lover. That's not a high note on which to leave. I also don't think we should give him too much credit for his efforts with COIN, failures that they were.

MAJ (Join to see) It's pretty easy to assemble a rather large list of accomplishments for GEN Petraeus. Did he screw up? No doubt. However, the timing of this is suspect.

This all should have been brought up long ago when he was fined and sentenced to probation.

This man was a warrior.

Sgt Richard Buckner - You are welcome.

SSG Ray Strenkowski Agreed--this all should have been sorted out years ago. But this apparently new FBI information seems to be driving the case.

I am not defending the General but he was convicted as a civilian for the leaking of classified documents; concern is “Double Jeopardy.” I did however, make a post on my thoughts about UCMJ.