Postmortem on Petraeus

There’s no more stellar source to laud someones character than the BBC. Given the number of unsavory charges they presently face, praise from them should be considered the kiss of death. So it’s more than suitable that John Simpson, World Affairs Editor of BBC News, would write the postmortem on General Petraeus getting caught in flagrante delicto. He praises Petraeus for charm, wit, & incisive intelligence. Imagine that, in a man who practices water boarding! He also assures us Petraeus will not be left high & dry by those he served so dutifully. Likely, we are told, he will end up as a high-paid defense consultant. Pity that!

Well let me write my own postmortem on Petraeus. I’m indifferent to his private life; it’s his public crimes that concern me. But I must admit to jubilation that our man’s been shamed before the world & brought down by his libido. It makes him so pathetic. And though I truly am indifferent to his private life, I can only say I hope his wife makes it a living hell. Because as the man who oversaw US military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan (as well as Central Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, & Egypt) & headed an agency of assassins, torturers, & drug peddlers, Petraeus is the lowest form of human life. He is a war criminal who stands accused by millions who have suffered bombing, occupation, torture, by those left homeless & living in refugee tents, by those who lost limbs & loved ones, by those whose lives have become a hell on earth. He needs to be held to account, along with all those conducting these wars, before an international war crimes tribunal with a jury drawn from those countries where he wreaked carnage. Justice isn’t likely to happen soon--but we can dream.

And then he needs to be permanently incarcerated so that humanity is spared his dangerous & loathsome presence. In prison, he can entertain Obama, Bush, Cheney, other generals & torturers with his putrid charm, wit, & incisive intelligence. But even in prison, they’d all be wise not to turn their backs on each other. Demand the immediate, unconditional withdrawal of all US-NATO forces & the immediate cessation of all drone bombing. Our solidarity with the people of those countries subject to the predations of our governments. (Cartoon of the buffoon by salnavarro)