Reply #3

It could be any government executive in Washington. The place is rampant with affairs. The only reason I would be a little inclined to think the writer was speaking of someone else is that he talks about the executive's role as one to "manage a project whose progress is seen worldwide as a demonstration of American leadership." If he'd been referring to Petraeus during the time he was in Afghanistan, that might be an apt description. But he was already at CIA, and his role there was certainly far larger than to "manage a project." But who knows.