Last Sunday I got an email: "I think I have convinced Jill Kelly to speak with you if you are still interested?... She wants the promise of a cover and an assurance that the interview will be favorable." I laughed. Today I saw, to my astonishment, that Kelley appeared to have got her conditions -- in The Daily Beast.
This week, America finally began questioning the judgment of its generals. The problem is that the judgment being judged is about sexual conduct rather than military conduct. The real scandal is that U.S. and allied soldiers are still dying in Afghanistan at a rate of one per day, as America's longest war drags on. Gen. David Petraeus, who led our efforts in Afghanistan for a year, deserved public scrutiny long before Paula Broadwell and Jill Kelley finally brought it to him. The media bears plenty of culpability. If our failed military strategy in Afghanistan had gotten half the airtime of Petraeus' failed marital strategy in Tampa, there would be far fewer families mourning the loss of a truly fallen soldier. This Onion headline perfectly sums up our country's perverted priorities: "Nation Horrified To Learn About War In Afghanistan While Reading Up On Petraeus Sex Scandal."