WASHINGTON (AP) - Paula Broadwell first met
fellow West Point graduate David Petraeus in the spring of 2006, when
she was a graduate student at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
He was a lieutenant general
working on a counterinsurgency manual that would be tested during his
command in Iraq. The university had invited him to give a speech.
Broadwell was in the Army
Reserve after being recalled three times to active duty since the Sept.
11 attacks to work on counterterrorism issues and intended to return to
active duty or get into the policy world, according to the preface of
the Petraeus biography she would later write with a Washington Post
editor.
Petraeus, who held
much-praised military commands in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned Friday
after admitting he had an extramarital affair, a disclosure that ended
the retired four-star general's civilian career as director of the CIA.
He carried on the affair
with Broadwell, now 40, according to several U.S. officials with
knowledge of the situation. The officials spoke anonymously because they
were not authorized to discuss publicly the investigation that led to
the resignation. The FBI discovered the relationship by monitoring
Petraeus' emails, after investigators were alerted that Broadwell may
have had access to his personal email account, two of the officials
said.
Broadwell wrote in the
preface to "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus," published
by Penguin in January, that while at Harvard, Petraeus passed along his
card and offered to help her academic work on leadership. The book's
ranking on Amazon.com jumped from 76,792 on Friday to 111 by midday
Saturday.
"I later discovered that he
was famous for this type of mentoring and networking, especially with
aspiring soldier-scholars," Broadwell wrote, adding that "I took full
advantage of his open-door policy to seek insight and share
perspectives."
Broadwell is a research
associate at Harvard's Center for Public Leadership and a Ph.D.
candidate in the Department of War Studies at King's College London,
according to her biography on Penguin's website. According to The
Bismarck (N.D.) Tribune, she grew up in North Dakota and moved to
Charlotte, N.C., more than three years ago with her husband, a
radiologist, and their two young sons.
The book began as research
for her dissertation, a case study of Petraeus' leadership. It evolved
into an authorized biography written with Washington Post editor Vernon
Loeb after President Barack Obama put Petraeus in charge of Afghanistan
in 2010.
Two years earlier, she
wrote in the book's preface, while visiting Washington he had invited
her to join him and his team for a run along the Potomac River.
"I'd earned varsity letters
in cross-country and indoor and outdoor track and finished at the top
of my class for athletics at West Point; I wanted to see if he could
keep stride during an interview. Instead it became a test for me," she
wrote. He eventually increased the pace "until the talk turned to heavy
breathing, and we reached a 6-minute-per-mile pace. It was a signature
Petraeus move. I think I passed the test, but I didn't bother to
transcribe the interview."
In the Army Reserve, she
specialized in military intelligence, spending time at the U.S. Special
Operations Command and the FBI Counterterrorism Task Forces before
pursuing an academic career, according to her Penguin bio. She "lived,
worked, or traveled in more than 60 countries during more than 15 years
of military service and work in geopolitical analysis and
counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations," her bio states.
Broadwell made multiple
trips to Afghanistan, with unprecedented access to Petraeus, and also
spent time with his commanders across the country.
When Petraeus left the
military and took the job at the CIA, Broadwell kept in contact with him
and sometimes was invited to his office for events such as his meeting
with actress Angelina Jolie.
"History has yet to fully
judge Petraeus' service in Iraq and Afghanistan, his impact on the U.S.
military and his rank among America's wartime leaders," Broadwell wrote
in the preface. "But there is no denying that he achieved a great deal
during his 37-year Army career, not the least of which was regaining the
strategic initiative in both wars" after Sept. 11, 2001.
"His critics fault him for
ambition and self-promotion. I will note in the pages that follow that
he is driven and goal-oriented, but his energy, optimism and will to win
stand out more for me than the qualities seized on by his critics."
In an interview with The
Bismarck Tribune shortly after the biography was published, Broadwell
said Petraeus was a motivational force not only for organizations but
individuals as well.
"He inspires people of all
ages to improve themselves. On that note, I would conclude that his
sheer energy whether applied to soldiering, scholarly pursuits, public
outreach or mentoring can be equally empowering for an organization or
an individual subordinate," Broadwell said.
With the book done,
Broadwell told friends she was returning to her dissertation, using part
of her research on Petraeus to complete her doctorate.
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