(Nov 15, 2012) The scandal that saw CIA director and former top US general in Iraq and Afghanistan, David Petraeus, resign in disgrace over an extramarital affair is another in a string of scandals that have resulted in America's top spies leaving the CIA in disgrace.

Petraeus was a controversial choice to head the CIA. President Obama chose the commander of US forces in Afghanistan amid speculation that the Republican Party was considering the general to either head their ticket for president in 2012 or run as vice president.

Petraeus's fan base was not so much with his troops, who referred to him as "King David" and "General Betray Us," but with the political pundit class of Washington.

Petraeus was more at home speaking to meetings of the elitist Council on Foreign Relations and neo-conservative think tanks like the American Enterprise Institute than he was commanding troops in the field.

In fact, Petraeus's first combat command was not until he was a two-star general at the age of 50 when George W.