David Petraeus, the retired Army general and former Central Intelligence Agency director, apologized Wednesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his high-profile extramarital affair, and then proceeded to lay out his his vision for how the United States should handle the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Syria. That led to Petraeus’ resignation and a probe of his handling of classified binders that he shared with Broadwell.
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Much of his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee focused on sweeping recommendations for changing the USA strategy in the Middle East, in part by having the us military take on a bigger role in war-torn Syria.
The ex-general began his testimony with an apology, calling what he did a “serious mistake” and a “violation of the trust placed in me”. Petraeus, who retired in 2011 after commanding US and coalition efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, was later sentenced to two years’ probation and fined $100,000 for sharing classified material with Broadwell as she worked on his biography.
“There is nothing I can do to undo what I did”, he added.
“In Iraq we have halted and reversed ISIS’s momentum in some areas, but we have seen gains by ISIS in others such as Ramadi”, Petraeus said.
Petraeus said he will “go forward with a greater sense of humility and objective “.
He said that the use of barrel bombs – gasoline drums packed with high explosives and mostly dropped from helicopters – by the air forces of al-Assad were one of the main reasons for Syrian refugees fleeing to Europe.
As Russia ups the ante in Syria and continues to support rebels in eastern Ukraine, Petraeus argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin “is not playing the strongest hand in the world, although he’s playing his hand tactically quite effectively”.
By establishing enclaves inside Syria and forcing the Syrian government to stop barrel-bomb attacks against rebels, Petraeus said the Pentagon could attract more support from Syrian Sunnis, who were now a major force in the fight against the IS in Syria.
On Iran, Petraeus said that there were good and bad elements to the recent deal worked out by Obama and the allies to curb Iran’s nuclear programs, but the ultimate test will come in containing Iran’s support for radicals in the region.
In Iraq, where the Islamic State still controls large swathes of territory, Petraeus recommended embedding USA advisers with Iraqi units at the brigade level and allowing US personnel to order airstrikes on behalf of the Iraqis.
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Petraeus had a military career stretching back almost 40 years when he resigned, starting shortly after his graduation from West Point in 1974 and duty as an Army infantryman in Italy. “We and our partners need to facilitate it – and over the past four years, we have not done so”.
