A leading British defence think-tank said on Wednesday it had postponed the presentation of its highest award to former CIA chief David Petraeus after he was involved in a sex scandal.
The retired US general had been due to visit London in late November to receive the Royal United Services Institute’s Chesney Gold Medal Award for his counterinsurgency strategies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“In light of recent developments, the presentation on 26 November of the RUSI Chesney Gold Medal for General Petraeus? distinguished lifetime service and contribution to international defence and security will now be postponed,” RUSI said in a statement.
“The presentation of the award to General Petraeus will take place on a date to be determined, in early 2013, at the Tower of London.”
Previous recipients of the award include British prime ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.
Petraeus resigned last week when it became clear his affair with 40-year-old military reservist Paula Broadwell, who travelled to Afghanistan to write a fawning biography of him, would become public.
The scandal has since ensnared the US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen.
Petraeus took command of the Central Intelligence Agency 14 months ago, having retired from the military.
He presided over the 2007 troop “surge” in Iraq and is widely credited with turning the tide of the US war there, though his efforts were less successful in Afghanistan.
British think-tank postpones Petraeus award
