David Petraeus was right to resign as director of the CIA over an affair because the position requires “personal integrity,” Pentagon chief Leon Panetta said Monday. Panetta, who led the Central Intelligence Agency for two years before moving to the Defense Department, said. Petraeus’s resignation was “a very sad situation to have a very distinguished career like that end in this manner.” “My heart obviously goes out to him and his family. But I think he took the right step,” said Panetta, speaking to reporters aboard a US military jet bound for Australia. “I think it’s important when you’re director of the CIA, with all of the challenges that face you in that position, that personal integrity comes first and foremost.” Asked if Petraeus had begun his affair while he was still the US general commanding international troops in Afghanistan, Panetta said he did not know.
Petraeus was ‘right’ to resign as CIA chief: Panetta
