11.18.12
The value of scorn
There was just something about the pose that called for pink.
The value in the Petraeus affair is that it has given everyone a legitimate excuse to have a look at the vanity of one its national security and military rock stars.
Paula Broadwell had a p.r. sheet distributed for her book, All In, the David Petraeus biography. That is here.
A couple bits from it deserve showcasing:
“One of Petraeus’ favorite quotes comes from Seneca, a first century Roman philosopher: ‘Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.’ This has been true for Petraeus at many turns …”
Jesus H. Christ on a pointed stick.
And so when the day to day of the war on terror grew stale for the man, another opportunity, so to speak, beckoned. Paula Broadwell, lauded by a former professor (now shocked, just shocked), as a natural leader. And seen here in Zelig-like fashion at photos taken at the Aspen Security Forum this summer.
The Aspen Security Forum describes itself:
The Forum is an annual summer gathering at our signature “Aspen Meadows” campus in Colorado of top-level present and former government officials from all relevant homeland security/counterterrorism agencies (the White House; Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State, Justice, and Treasury; the intelligence community; and Congress); industry leaders (large and small homeland security/counterterrorism-related companies, as well as private equity investors, merchant and investment bankers, venture capitalists, and other financiers); leading thinkers (in other think tanks and academe); nationally noted print and broadcast journalists; and concerned citizens. During three days of in-depth conversation, participants explore various aspects of aviation security; maritime security; border security; mass transit security; critical infrastructure protection; “soft targets” security; cyber-security; intelligence; counterterrorism strategy; terrorism finance; and more.
Or, more succinctly, one of the high-button places where the upper class in the national security industry convene to network and advance their careers and standing in the business of endless war.
And what to make of Frederick Humphries, the shirtless FBI man?
“[In] 2010, Humphries shot a ‘disturbed, knife-wielding man’ dead at the gates of MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa after being attacked,” reads the Hollywood Gossip.
Readers may agree with DD that during their lives, most will have been able to avoid shooting a mentally troubled disabled Vietnam vet who lived in a trailer at a military base, rented for $400/month.
From the Tampa Bay Times, two years ago:
Ronald Bullock made MacDill Air Force Base his home even though he was no longer in the military.
Decades had passed since a grenade blew up on him in Vietnam, rendering him disabled, his brother said. But as a veteran with a military ID, he could stay at the base’s campground for six months at a time.
Bullock, 61, didn’t have a family or a job. He told his uncle he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
“He took a mess of pills to keep him going, to keep him cool,” said his uncle, Phil Sullivan, 80, of Tampa.
Ever since Vietnam, he struggled with drugs and alcohol, his brother said. In 1994, Bullock got four years of probation for aggravated assault on a public servant in Texas. Three years later, he was found guilty of possession of a controlled substance.
Still, his family never thought it would come to this.
Humphries, not named in the original news article, was apparently one of a number of security men involved in the shooting of the fellow:
Then, Wednesday evening, an altercation broke out at the camp. Bullock took off on a motorcycle with security officials in pursuit, according to Col. Larry Martin, the 6th Air Mobility Wing commander.
He became aggressive, and the pursuit continued, Martin said. When Bullock arrived at the gate on S Dale Mabry Highway, he got off the motorcycle and pulled a knife on the FBI agent.
The agent opened fire, hitting Bullock at least once, Martin said.
No one named in the scandal inspires confidence. It will make a cheap but entertainingly tawdry movie fit for cable.
“Having a bunch of medals and badges doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve accomplished anything, you’ve got to do something beyond yourself to make a difference in life. Seek to be consequential in whatever you do.” – Paula Broadwell
Always seek to be consequential. Sounds good. Like some hooey expressly for impressing the peons. Wish I’d seen it before I made the video for the tune.
As old CREEM magazine might have captioned: “Tee-Hee. Soon we’ll be consequential together.”