CIA Director David Petraeus has resigned over an extra marital affair, saying his behaviour was “unacceptable”.

The top intelligence official of the US submitted his resignation to President Barack Obama during a meeting at the White House yesterday. Obama has accepted his resignation.

“Today, I accepted his resignation as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency,” he said in a statement.

Petraeus, in a letter released to the CIA work force, has disclosed his marital affair. “After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgement by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behaviour is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organisation such as ours,” he wrote in an e-mail.

Obama said he is completely confident that the CIA will continue to thrive and carry out its essential mission.

“I have the utmost confidence in Acting Director Michael Morell and the men and women of the CIA who work every day to keep our nation safe,” he said while praising Petraeus on his extraordinary service.

“David Petraeus has provided extraordinary service to the US for decades. By any measure, he was one of the outstanding General officers of his generation, helping our military adapt to new challenges, and leading our men and women in uniform through a remarkable period of service in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he helped our nation put those wars on a path to a responsible end,” he said.

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