Pal says David Petraeus admits 'screwing up' over morally reprehensible extra-marital affair
Washington, Nov. 15 (ANI)
General David Petraeus, who has stepped down as director of the CIA over an extramarital affair, has said he "screwed up big-time," a close friend has said.
"You know, he expressed deep regret for what happened, the damage he had done and the pain he had caused his family," Retired Colonel Peter Mansoor, who served with Petraeus in Iraq, said.
"He called his action morally reprehensible and said, in his words, 'I screwed up big-time.' And boy did he ever," he added.
According to Politico, Mansoor, speaking on CNN's "Out Front", said that Petraeus loved his position at the CIA.
"He really enjoyed his job at the CIA, it was the best job in the world, as far as he was concerned," Mansoor said.
"He had a good relationship with the president and national security team, and he threw that all away for and #65533;due to a personal failing. He is very, very down right now," he added.
After Petraeus stepped down Friday afternoon, a series of reports surfaced, indicating that Petraeus was ensnared in more than just an extramarital affair.
His former mistress, Paula Broadwell, who was also his biographer, was reportedly the subject of an FBI probe.
She had sent a series of threatening emails to a female friend of Petraeus's.
Broadwell got to know him and his "inner circle" while working on a dissertation, Mansoor said, before ultimately writing the book "All In: The Education of David Petraeus."
Mansoor met Broadwell through her work with Petraeus.
"Well, she struck me as a supremely confident, fairly attractive, physically fit woman with a huge agenda," Mansoor, who met her in the summer of 2009, said.
Mansoor added that he didn't understand why Petraeus gave Broadwell the extensive access she received when she decided to write the book, the report added.