JOIN USFormer CIA chief David Petraeus apologized for the “mistake” that triggered his resignation last year, in his first public speech since quitting due to an extramarital affair.
Addressing a military audience in Los Angeles, the four-star general voiced regret for the “pain” caused by his relationship with his biographer Paula Broadwell, pledging to try to “make amends to those I have hurt and let down.”
“I join you keenly aware that I am regarded in a different light now than I was a year ago,” Petraeus told over 600 veterans and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps students hosted by the University of Southern California.“I am also keenly aware that the reason for my recent journey was my own doing,” said the former head of the Central Intelligence Agency and top US general who spearheaded the “surge” in Iraq.
“So please allow me to begin my remarks...by reiterating how deeply I regret — and apologize for — the circumstances that led me to my resignation from the CIA and caused such pain for my family, friends and supporters,” he said.