Disgraced ex-CIA chief starts road to redemption

Former CIA director David Petraeus has made his first public speech and apology since resigning in November over an extramarital affair.

The former four-star general apologised last night at a University of Southern California event honouring the military.

Such a show of contrition is part of a pattern in the US, the first stage in a process that almost always allows high-profile figures to return to public life.

Before his fall from grace, he was being mentioned as a potential Republican presidential candidate.

A prepared text of his speech, seen before he delivered it publicly, saw Petraeus apologise for the affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.

Petraeus acknowledged that he is “regarded in a different light now” than a year ago and that he will try to make amends and move forward as best he can.

The 60-year-old Iraq and Afghan war general retired from the military in 2011 and went on to lead the CIA. US president Barack Obama accepted his resignation from the agency on Nov 9, saying Petraeus had “made our country safer and stronger”.

The affair was discovered during an FBI investigation into emails Broadwell sent to another woman she saw as a rival for Petraeus’s attention — emails the other woman viewed as threatening.

Petraeus told his staffers at the time that he was guilty of “extremely poor judgement” in the affair. “Such behaviour is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organisation such as ours,” he told CIA employees in a statement.

Last night, he said: “Please allow me to begin my remarks this evening by reiterating how deeply I regret — and apologise for — the circumstances that led me to resign from the CIA and caused such pain for my family, friends, and supporters.”

Petraeus emphasised the importance of supporting military families, caring for injured service members, and honouring veterans. At the end of the speech, Petraeus reiterated his remorse for his mistakes. “I know that I can never fully assuage the pain I inflicted on those closest to me and on a number of others,” he said.

“I can, however, try to move forward in a manner that is consistent with the values to which I subscribed before slipping my moorings and, as best as possible, to make amends to those I have hurt and let down.”

In the speech, Petraeus referred to the problems facing troops making the transition to civilian life.

“There is often a view that, because an individual was a great soldier, he or she will naturally do well in and transition effortlessly to the civilian world,” Petraeus said, addressing his own life as well as other veterans.

“In reality, the transition from military service to civilian pursuits often is quite challenging.”

Since his resignation, Petraeus has laid low, mainly staying at home

He has avoided public appearances and turned down numerous news media requests to tell his story.

However, he has recently been spotted at thinktanks in Washington.

It remains unclear what path his career will take now. It is understood, however, that he has received offers from the financial community to explore what associates called “long-term opportunities”.