David Petraeus news stories on Newser

CIA Wants Green Light to Bomb Yemen at Will

Kevin Spak — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 07:39:04 CDT

CIA Director David Petraeus has requested permission to launch drone strikes in Yemen even when the agency is not sure who the strikes might kill. Instead, the CIA would launch attacks based on patterns of suspicious activity, much the way it does in Pakistan, a tactic known as "signature strikes,...

Inside bin Laden's Plan to Kill Obama

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:51:42 CDT

Documents taken from Osama bin Laden's compound during the US raid that killed the al-Qaeda leader reveal a plot to kill President Obama and David Petraeus. David Ignatius got a look at the documents, which will be available to the public soon, and he reports in the Washington Post that...

Number of al-Qaeda Leaders Left on US Hit List: 2

Kevin Spak — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:54:46 CST

Al-Qaeda is on the brink of defeat, shriveling even faster than US officials had predicted in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death. The group now consists of just a few hundred fighters, with only two “high-value” targets left on the CIA’s list—leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, and his No. 2,...

CIA to Examine Its Own Ties With NYPD

Kevin Spak — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:18:53 CDT

Newly minted CIA director David Petraeus says the agency’s inspector general is investigating the agency’s role in helping the NYPD gather intelligence in Muslim neighborhoods, the AP reports. The NYPD’s unit, revealed in this AP investigation , was set up beginning in 2002 with the help of an agent still on...

Gen. Petraeus Steps Down

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 04:22:00 CDT

Gen. David Petraeus has stepped down as commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan as he prepares to take over the CIA, leaving a bit of a mess behind. He turned the reins over to US Gen. John Allen in a Kabul ceremony the day after a top aide...

Obama Right to Stop Petraeus' 'Moby Dick' War

Sarah Whitmire — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 14:00:55 CDT

President Obama's decision to bring home 30,000 troops by the end of next year isn't getting much praise, writes Steve Clemons at the Atlantic . Critics think it's either too much too fast or too little too slow. But Obama and Joe Biden "have it just right—and have achieved...

Petraeus Backs 'More Than the Normal' Interrogations

Mark Russell — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 06:05:13 CDT

David Petraeus says he believes in "more than the normal" interrogation techniques when fast action is required to save lives, reports the LA Times . Speaking at his confirmation hearing to be next director of the CIA, Petraeus said that, while he is against torture in general, he also thinks "there...

Obama to Bring Home 30K Troops by Fall of 2012

John Johnson — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:42:07 CDT

A few hours ahead of President Obama's prime-time address on Afghanistan, administration officials are leaking some main points to the AP , Washington Post , and the New York Times : Obama will bring home 10,000 troops this year and another 20,000 or so by the end of next summer. Those...

Obama Weighs Quicker Afghanistan Pullout

Matt Cantor — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 07:48:30 CDT

With Osama bin Laden dead and war costs increasing, the Obama administration is weighing a sharper drawdown of troops from Afghanistan than it had planned, the New York Times reports. But the issue is still very much up in the air, and outgoing defense secretary Robert Gates advocates slower steps....