Not only is General Patraeus an adulterer and a fool, he is a radical Christian hypocrite who violated the principles he unconstitutionally shoved down the throats of soldiers.
An old friend of mine showed up on Jon Stuart the other day in a pastiche of conservative pundit commentators on General Patraeus and his adultry/affair problem. Knowing she probably knew the man, I emailed her and asked how could the head of the CIA be so stupid. Her response was “no fool like an old fool”, too which I enthusiastically agree.
But old foolishness is only part of the story. Another part is Christian hypocrisy. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation also noted that General Patraeus was one of the driving forces behind the US military’s constant pressure on recruits and soldiers to become Christians. They have been battling him for several years on a number of issues, including the Army-wide Spiritual Fitness test, which is a test of how Christian a solider is, mandatory Christian concerts, Christian spiritual fitness events and programs, Christian performers at Army Strong Bonds retreats, which are themselves Christian indoctrination from which there is no escape.
A key feature of all of this is fidelity in marriage. Soldiers are constantly told that adultery is a violation of the commandments and God’s will, which is why it is a criminal offense in the Army. Fraternizing with soldiers and officers wives was always a major sin, as well as a crime.
Patraeus was the driver behind these programs and the message of adultery is a sin. MRFF first started investigating Patraeus for unconstitutional conduct in 2007 for the policy of forcing soldiers to attend evangelical Christian converts during basic training. The MRFF found his photo and ringing endorsements on the concerts on the website of the producer, the Eric Horner Ministries.
It wasn’t just the Army and Patraeus. The Air Force is infamous for harassing non –Christian airmen and especially recruits at the Air Force Academy, so much so it reached the White House. But even here, Patraeus showed up, writing a blurb for the mandatory book for Airmen, “Under Orders: A Spiritual Handbook for Military Personnel” and manual written by Christian Chaplin Lt. Col. William McCoy.
So, while we shame General Patraeus for being a very stupid old fool, let us also shame him for violating the faith he unconstitutionally shoved down the throats of thousands of soldiers.