What Is Next For David Petraeus

Former commander of the US-led international forces in Afghanistan, US General David Petraeus

Petraeus’s Next Battle -- Newsweek

As top commander in Afghanistan, he rewrote the book on combating terror. Now, as spy chief, he must transform the CIA to help fight 21st-century wars.

The young man peered into a basement office at the White House, where a pair of military officers sat talking. “Does anyone know where General Petraeus is?” he asked. “I’m right here,” the general answered, raising his hand. “They want you in the Oval, sir,” the aide said.

This was June 2010, and Gen. David Petraeus was in charge of Central Command, one of the supreme jobs in the U.S. armed forces. But that was about to change. Minutes before, the president had fired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander in Afghanistan. As Petraeus climbed the narrow staircase and headed down the short corridor to the Oval Office, the president’s national-security team was filing out: Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, CIA Director Leon Panetta, and others. Petraeus knew them all, but they avoided eye contact, like physicians about to deliver a grim diagnosis.

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My Comment: I have trouble seeing him having an impact on the CIA's culture and organization ... then again .... I have trouble seeing no longer wearing a military uniform. I hope I am wrong, and I wish him the best in his new job.