Paula Broadwell

Knowing now that this book brought about the end of Petraeus' otherwise unblemished intelligence/military career feels anti-climatic. All it took was one enraged email from Paula to another woman who she felt was muscling in on her man and the man dropped from grace faster than a Hail Mary from the Taliban.

Why did I give this book four stars? Let me explain. After the Paula-Petraeus affair came to light, readers will naturally be left wondering as to how much of Paula's narrative is embellished and how much is real. This will be the onerous task of future historians; how much of Petraeus actually resides within the pages of All In and how much is only Paula projecting her love (for want of a better expression)? With four stars I feel I have left enough room for future maneuver.

On the flip side-and to Paula's credit-she avoids juxtaposing Petraeus against the mighty and the malicious of the War on Terror . And nor is her portrayal of Petraeus (minus the hero worship of which there is aplenty) that of some demi-God soldier-scholar General battling it out with the SOBs on Capitol Hill for Faith and Country. Rather, she renders him in the moment. Petraeus at work; Petraeus in the field and Petraeus in the Senate. Effectively, Petraeus as the archetypal soldier-warrior leader.

Irrespective of her own favouritism, Paula also records the more salient aphorisms and observances of Petraeus. From the onset she makes prescient the undercurrents of tension permeating the fraught relationship between then Vice President (and current President) Joe Biden and Petraeus. Biden, mistakenly, believed that the American strategy in Afghanistan would have been better served with American forces periodically targeting the Islamist leadership. Petraeus differed and reinforced Stanley McChrystal's analysis:

-The Islamist insurgency had to be annihilated at the grassroots with effective and transparent governance in the absence of which it bred itself subtly.

-That ultimately, the Islamic world had to take responsibility for its own political failings in the 21st century.

As we now know, Biden ushered in a repeat of Vietnam.

This book is critical because ultimately it allows us an insight into Petraeus' own self-introspections. Otherwise, take with a pinch of salt. The Petraeus story is not wholly at its end yet. Only after the General expires will we be able to fully assess his impact on history and on the War On Terror .… (mere)

At this point it is really difficult to put aside the knowledge that the author was a lover of Petraeus but the account still reads to be largely true to character. Unfortunately we don't know how effective Petraeus may have been if he had remained in command in Afghanistan. And, even more unfortunate, his fall from grace at the hands of the author is a less than auspicious end for a pre-eminent military commander. Rumsfield and other transformative figures get short shrift here and it would have intriguing if Broadwell would have considered the general re-structuring of American military forces along with his COIN strategy.… (mere)

In the wake of the affair scandal that cost General Patraeus his job as CIA Director and besmirched his distinguished military career I wanted to find out what his paramour had to say in this lengthy book she wrote on his career. General Patraeus should not be seen as less than a most honorable man who dedicated his life to this country through his distinguished military service. Yet it seems puzzling that he could risk it all for an affair that tarnished it so and put so many on a national spectacle that no one would care to be. For all his intelligence and savvy to climb his way through a military career to the very pinnacle he did not seem to take heed in what a woman’s unpredictability could do to jeopardize and indeed bring it all down.

The book itself was the result of an extending embedding of Paula Broadwell with the general as he served commanding troops in Afghanistan after a more or less successful command in Iraq halting a deterioration of the political landscape there. The book was extensive in its very detailed account of strategic and tactical operations in Afghanistan as the US military plodded from village to village in pursuit of infiltrated Taliban insurgents. I would estimate 80% of the content covers these day to day decisions and undertakings in the field that at times for me became tedious. She would then skip back in time to give snippets of General Patraeus’ career path to this top position in the Army. Limited personal information on the Patreaus family, his wife Holly and two children would enter into this narrative also. We learn of the Generals’ drive and determination as he takes on each significant challenge through his career as a military officer and completes these assignments for the most part successfully.

There will likely be a number of books to come on the scandal that brought his career in public service to an unfortunate conclusion. This book adds considerable background leading up to the tragic event and of course is unique that the key player, Paula Broadwell, is the messenger in the tale. There will be much dissecting and speculation as to why he would risk it all as he did. As he stated himself on the matter, he screwed up royally.

The real story of the wars we have been in for over ten years now is there also to see first hand. As we prepare to leave the scene in the next several years we will have to consider what we really accomplished in this considerable toll of lives and resources. The Taliban who will certainly still be in the picture after we are gone, the Afghan government which has its element of corruption, the Pakistan equation, and the cultural ramifications are all matters that will continue to play out and we will witness just what impact we had in it all.… (mere)