General David Petraeus (Creative Commons)

General David Petraeus, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair.

Petraeus met with President Barack Obama yesterday to discuss resigning, a request the president granted today. Petraeus was expected to be a major part of the president's recently won second term in office.

The White House released a statement from Obama, saying that Petraeus “has continued to serve with characteristic intellectual rigor, dedication, and patriotism. By any measure, through his lifetime of service David Petraeus has made our country safer and stronger.”

The general released his resignation letter:

HEADQUARTERS Central Intelligence Agency
9 November 2012
Yesterday afternoon, I went to the White House and asked the President to be allowed, for personal reasons, to resign from my position as D/CIA.  After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair.  Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours.  This afternoon, the President graciously accepted my resignation.
As I depart Langley, I want you to know that it has been the greatest of privileges to have served with you, the officers of our Nation's Silent Service, a work force that is truly exceptional in every regard.  Indeed, you did extraordinary work on a host of critical missions during my time as director, and I am deeply grateful to you for that.
Teddy Roosevelt once observed that life's greatest gift is the opportunity to work hard at work worth doing.  I will always treasure my opportunity to have done that with you and I will always regret the circumstances that brought that work with you to an end.
Thank you for your extraordinary service to our country, and best wishes for continued success in the important endeavors that lie ahead for our country and our Agency.
With admiration and appreciation,
David H. Petraeus

Petraeus has come under fire for the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens. Petraeus was set to testify on the Benghazi attack, but is currently scheduled to be replaced by his deputy after his resignation.

The nature of his affair points to worry over his capacity as the director of the CIA. Such a relationship could lead to the partner getting access to secret information, or even blackmailing him with the affair. Petraeus has access to highly classified information, and had to go through checks to reach that clearance.

Petraeus was man put in charge of Multinational Force Iraq during the 2007 troop surge. He later served as the head of US Central Command before taking over the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Obama selected him to run the CIA in September 2011.

As the head of the CIA, Petraeus oversaw the agency's drone program and has pushed for an expansion of the drone fleet. Drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen have been a major part of the CIA's operations in counter-terrorism. He has also been a part of the networked national security efforts of the Obama administration that has included the “disposition matrix,” a database of information used in targeting and creating kill lists of people suspected of terrorism.

The CIA will be run in the interim by Deputy Director Michael J. Morrell until a new head of the agency is selected.

Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage of Petraeus here.
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