Washington: Retired U.S. Army General David Petraeus apologised to Congress on Tuesday for sharing classified information with his biographer and mistress, Paula Broadwell. It was his first public testimony before lawmakers since resigning as CIA director.
Petraeus appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee, offering his recommendations for how the U.S. should address what he called a "revolutionary upheaval that is unparalleled in its modern history."
He said the progress achieved so far in fighting Islamic State militants in Iraq has been "inadequate" and suggested the U.S. increase support to Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribal and Kurdish fighters. In Syria, he recommended the U.S. take a harder stance against President Bashar Assad. He supported setting up enclaves protected by coalition airpower where moderate Sunnis could be supported, civilians could find refuge and additional forces could be trained.
Petraeus began his testimony, however, with an extraordinary apology for events stemming from his personal life. He was director of the CIA from September 2011 to November 2012, when he resigned after acknowledging an affair with Broadwell, a married U.S. Army reserve officer who met Petraeus while researching a book about his wartime leadership in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Four years ago, I made a serious mistake, one that brought discredit on me and pain to those closest to me," Petraeus said. "It was a violation of the trust placed in me and a breach of the values to which I had been committed throughout my life."
"There is nothing I can do to undo what I did. I can only say again how sorry I am to those I let down and then strive to go forward with a greater sense of humility and purpose, and with gratitude to those who stood with me during a very difficult chapter in my life."
The retired four-star general was sentenced to two years of probation and fined $100,000 for unauthorized removal and retention of classified information he shared with Broadwell.
Before becoming CIA director, Petraeus commanded U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. On Iraq, Petraeus told the lawmakers that while there have been significant accomplishments in the fight against IS, "We are not where we should be at this point."
In addition to increasing support for local fighters, he suggested embedding U.S. advisers down to the brigade headquarters level for Iraqi fighting forces; exploring the use of air controllers with select Iraqi units to coordinate coalition airstrikes; and examining whether U.S. rules of military engagement for precision airstrikes are too restrictive.
Petraeus said, however, that the U.S. should not allow its forces to take over Iraqi units. "I would not, for example, embed U.S. personnel at the Iraqi battalion level, nor would I support clearance operations before a viable force is available," he said.
He called Syria a "geopolitical Chernobyl spewing instability and extremism over the region and the rest of the world."
