Jill Khawam Kelley: “Go-Between” for Central Command Officers and Muslim Leaders

[bsteadman]

Jill Khawam Kelley acted as “Go-Between” for Central Command Officers and Muslim Leaders

FrontPageMagazine
Daniel Greenfield
11/15/2012

Excerpt:

Buried in a flattering Washington Post article is a single extremely troubling quote that turns another otherwise tawdry affair into something much darker.

A military officer who is a former member of Petraeus’s staff said Kelley was a “self-appointed” go-between for Central Command officers with Lebanese and other Middle Eastern officials.

And from the Wall Street Journal

Middle Eastern diplomats in Washington also knew Ms. Kelley, who came from a Lebanese immigrant family and who helped arrange social activities when dignitaries from the region visited Tampa

An inappropriate relationship with top ranking military officers is one thing. An inappropriate relationship between a woman with ties to foreign governments, some of whom are in league with enemies of the United States, and top military officers operating in a theater against terrorists with ties to some of those same countries is wildly problematic.

We are talking Cold War era stuff here.

The question is which of Lebanon’s many political factions did the Khawam family have ties to. They are Maronite Christians, but there are multiple Christian factions, some aligned with the Shiite axis of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah. Iran is operating in Afghanistan and an inappropriate relationship involving the US commander in Afghanistan and the director of the CIA is just spy novel stuff.
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View the complete article at:

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/dgreenf...uslim-leaders/

[bsteadman]

David Petraeus affair: Florida twins courted generals and racked up millions in debt

Twin Florida socialites Jill Kelley and Natalie Khawam have emerged at the centre of the David Petraeus affair. Jon Swaine investigates their high-rolling lifestyles and access to America's elite.

The Telegraph
Jon Swaine, Tampa
11/13/2012

Excerpt:

Twin Florida socialites who are at the centre of the David Petraeus affair gained intimate access to America's military and political elite through their high-rolling lifestyles even as they quietly racked up millions of dollars in debts and credit card bills.

Jill Kelley, whose complaint over threatening emails prompted the FBI inquiry that has ensnared two top generals, is mired in lawsuits from a string of banks totalling $4 million (£2.5 million), court filings obtained by The Daily Telegraph in Florida show.

Meanwhile Mrs Kelley's identical twin Natalie Khawam – who obtained testimonies to her good character from both Gen Petraeus and Gen John Allen during her own separate legal battle – declared herself bankrupt earlier this year with liabilities of $3.6 million, filings show.

The 37-year-old sisters have emerged as central players in the saga gripping Washington's national security establishment since Mrs Kelley was named as the "second woman" allegedly harassed by jealous emails from Paula Broadwell, Gen Petraeus's biographer and mistress.

They also have direct links to Florida's highest political circles, The Daily Telegraph has learned. Miss Khawam once dated Charlie Crist, the state's former governor, a Republican source said, while Pam Bondi, its Attorney General and a close ally of Mitt Romney, attended a function at Mrs Kelley's home.

The sisters are also believed to have attended the farewell party for Sir Nigel Sheinwald, the former British ambassador to the US, in Washington last year. Peter King, a Republican congressman for New York who was at the event, told CNN yesterday that he had met Mrs Kelley at "one or two events at the British embassy". An embassy spokesman declined to check, saying that it would take too much time.

Mrs Kelley, a mother-of-three and unpaid "social liaison" for the US military in Tampa, is said to have spared no expense at such parties to honour top brass stationed at nearby US Central Command. She was pictured at one event at her $1.2 million mansion in 2010 with Gen Petraeus, who arrived in a 28-man police motorcycle escort.

Guests at Mrs Kelley's parties were treated to lavish buffets, drank champagne and puffed on cigars while being entertained by string quartets, according to insider accounts.

Yet she and her husband Scott, a surgeon, were soon being sued for $1.9 million by Central Bank after allegedly failing to keep up with mortgage payments on a house they bought after starting their own property company. A similar $1.8 million property lawsuit from Regions Bank followed soon after.

Later in the year, Regions Bank filed another claim against the Kelleys for $453,000, before Bank of America sued Mrs Kelley for $25,000 in allegedly unpaid credit card charges. All four cases remain open. The banks' lawyers declined to comment. Mrs Kelley's attorney did not return a request for comment.

"There are obviously financial issues," said one associate of the Kelleys.

"Scott goes to work and works his ass off, and Jill takes care of the social stuff, and gets them into the society pages. They are nice people, and I feel sorry for them".

The sisters grew up in Pennsylvania, the daughters of a couple who emigrated to the US from Lebanon during the 1970s. Their parents, who had two other children, owned a middle-eastern restaurant and a vehicle registration firm, records suggest.

"They are active in the G.O.P. social scene in Florida," said a Republican source. "They are fun, friendly and beautiful people and political folks like them. I guess they've hit difficult times". After being given a certificate at one event naming her an "honorary ambassador", Mrs Kelley is said to have begun using the title without the "honorary" prefix.

Miss Khawam, a lawyer, called on their high-level contacts during a bitter custody battle over her four-year-old son in Washington earlier this year.

Both Gen Petraeus and Gen Allen sent letters to the court supporting her case to overturn a ruling denying her custody.
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View the complete article at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...s-in-debt.html

[bsteadman]

Woman in Petraeus scandal visited White House

The Daily Caller
11/16/2012

Excerpts:

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The two women at the center of the David Petraeus scandal — the biographer with whom he had an extramarital affair and the socialite who received worrisome emails that led investigators to uncover the illicit relationship — visited the White House on separate and apparently unrelated occasions. Neither woman met with President Barack Obama during their visits.
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Jill Kelley, the Tampa, Fla., socialite who initiated the investigation that revealed the affair, and her twin sister had two “courtesy” meals at the White House mess as guests of a midlevel White House aide in September and October, the official said. Kelley and her family also received a White House tour on the weekend before the Nov. 6 election.

The White House visits by Broadwell and Kelley illustrate the wide-ranging access both women enjoyed because of their ties with Petraeus, Gen. John Allen and others in the close-knit military community. The White House official discussed their visits on condition of anonymity because the visitors logs being cited have yet to be made public.
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One anonymous email traced to Broadwell warned Allen to stay away from Kelley. FBI agents ultimately found emails between Petraeus and Broadwell that led them to believe the two were having an affair.

Kelley did not meet with any senior White House officials during any of her visits, the White House official said. The midlevel aide who hosted Kelley had met the Kelley family at MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, said the White House official, who would not identify the aide.
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Kelley boasted about her White House visits in emails to acquaintances. In an email to a Tampa Bay Times reporter on Sept. 28, published by the newspaper, Kelley wrote: “Btw I was made the (honorary) Ambassador to US Central Command’s Coalition!” she told a Times reporter in a Sept. 28 email. “In addition to that, I was just recently appointed to be the Honorary Consulate General to South Korea! I’m in DC today — just left from breakfast at the White House. . . . I really hope to see you soon!”

Days before the Petraeus scandal broke, Kelley emailed Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn: “I was at the WH with my friends in the Administration this weekend — the stress was surreal!” she wrote. “But glad POTUS has been reelected!” - (bold and color emphasis added)
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Associated Press writers Kimberly Dozier and Eileen Sullivan contributed to this report. Also contributing: Nedra Pickler, Larry Margasak, Adam Goldman, Lolita C. Baldor, Pete Yost, Donna Cassata, Henry C. Jackson and Robert Burns.

View the complete article at:

http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/16/wo...d-white-house/

[bsteadman]

MacDill AFB checking its ‘friends’ after Petraeus affair

The Washington Times
Rowan Scarborough
11/15/2012

Excerpt:

MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., is scrubbing its list of 800 civilian “friends” to head off any future embarrassments in the wake of former CIA Director David H. Petraeus‘ sex scandal.

“It’s being looked at,” a defense official told The Washington Times. “It’s just the prudent thing to do to make sure everything is legal and is it appropriate.”

Home to U.S. Central Command, MacDill has been thrust into the spotlight because of revelations that a Tampa socialite and the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan exchanged emails that defense officials have deemed “flirtatious” and “potentially inappropriate.”

Socialite Jill Kelley was a member of “Friends of MacDill,” a loose-knit group through which she met Mr. Petraeus when he was an Army general and commanded U.S. CentCom. She also befriended Marine Gen. John Allen, who served there as deputy commander.

The Pentagon inspector general is investigating thousands of pages of emails between Mrs. Kelley and Gen. Allen from 2010 to 2012. Gen. Allen continued the email communication while in his current four-star post as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Persons familiar with the “friends” organization said it was a vehicle for the base to bring civilians onboard to learn about the military. Mrs. Kelley, however, broadened her involvement by becoming a host for admirals and generals during catered parties at her Tampa Bay-side mansion.

As recently as Sunday, as Mrs. Kelley’s role in the Petraeus scandal was emerging, Vice Adm. Robert Harward, a Navy SEAL by training and CentCom’s deputy commander, attended a dinner party at her home.

Mrs. Kelley’s own actions ultimately exposed the extramartial affair between Mr. Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell, as well as her email exchange with Gen. Allen.

Apparently viewing Mrs. Kelley as a rival, Mrs. Broadwell sent her threatening emails under assumed names. Mrs. Kelly went to the FBI, which launched an investigation.
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View the complete article at:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...r-petraeus-af/