David Petraeus's involvement at KKR...

Editor's note: ...seems to be "strategic," not "operational": as Chairman of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) Middle East and head of the KKR Global Institute, Petraeus assesses geopolitical risk, post-conflict scenarios, and long-term regional opportunities to inform whether, when, and how KKR could deploy capital. From corporate general to capital investor. There is no public decision or commitment by KKR to invest in Gaza, but Petraeus's role means the firm is plausibly monitoring and modeling future possibilities. KKR is keeping optionality open rather than executing deals for Pax Judaica (now under construction). In short, this signals positioning and assessment, not an announced or approved investment plan, unlike Jared Kushner's plans (post-war Gaza) for Pax Judaica.
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Ex-CIA Chief David Petraeus Briefs Officials in Israel Overseeing "New Gaza"

Petraeus, who was a major proponent of biometric gated communities in counterinsurgency, now works for KKR whose portfolio includes companies that have technology and defense interests in Gaza.

By Jonathan Whittall | January 31, 2026

Former CIA Director David Petraeus—one of the godfathers of the modern doctrine of counterinsurgency warfare—last week visited the U.S.-military run coordination center established in southern Israel to oversee the so-called ceasefire in Gaza, multiple sources from the diplomatic community told Drop Site News.

In his remarks at the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat, Petraeus praised Israel's shift to clearing, holding, and rebuilding—a change from his previous criticism that Israeli forces were not implementing lessons from the U.S. counter-insurgency operations in Iraq, in particular the creation of "gated communities."

One week prior to Petraeus's visit, the U.S. Army presented the CMCC with plans for a "Gaza First Planned Community" in Rafah, as first reported by Drop Site. The residential compound would house up to 25,000 Palestinians in an area under full Israeli military control and would include biometric entry, identity checks, reeducation programs, and controls over aid and housing.

According to two sources with knowledge of the daily workings of the CMCC, the "Gaza First Planned Community" is intended to function as a pilot project—the first known step in the overall reconstruction plan of a "New Gaza." The compound will be funded by the UAE, according to The Guardian.

Petraeus's January 21 appearance at the CMCC coincided with President Donald Trump's inauguration of the so-called Board of Peace the following day at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. At the ceremony, Trump said he was "committed to ensuring Gaza is demilitarized, properly governed and beautifully rebuilt," adding: "I'm a real estate person at heart and it's all about location. And I said, look at this location on the sea, look at this beautiful piece of property." Trump was followed by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who listed among the priorities for the coming 100 days a "Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza." There will also be a process to "synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments," Kushner said.

In his remarks to the CMCC, Petraeus compared the 2007 U.S. troop surge in Iraq to the military operation in Gaza. Petraeus, who presided over a massive escalation of U.S. troops during the occupation of Iraq and the arming of local militias in what became a brutal sectarian civil war, is the former commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). He also dramatically expanded night raids and CIA and Special Operations missions inside Afghanistan. He was a key player in the expansion of U.S. covert warfare in Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa before President Barack Obama installed him as CIA director.

Apart from promoting the implementation of gated communities based on his history in Iraq and Afghanistan, Petraeus is likely taking a special interest in Gaza because of the business opportunities Trump appears to be selling. Soon after his resignation from the CIA in 2012, Petraeus began work for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), a powerful U.S. private-equity and investment company. Petraeus is currently a partner at KKR, chairman of the KKR Global Institute, and chairman of KKR Middle East, which has offices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Petraeus also used his CMCC address to highlight the field manual for counterinsurgency that he developed at the end of 2006. That manual (which is available here) "establishes doctrine (fundamental principles) for military operations in a counterinsurgency (COIN) environment." In it, Petraeus writes "Not all Islamic insurgents or terrorists are fighting for a global revolution. Some are pursuing regional goals, such as establishing a Sunni Arab-dominated Iraq or replacing Israel with an Arab Palestinian state."

Please go to Drop Site to continue reading.

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Editor's note: It was under Petraeus that Colonel James Steele was brought in who advised Iraqi Special Police Commando units that were later implicated in torture and sectarian killings. They were operating within a U.S. security-force program overseen by Petraeus. From the investigative reporting in the clip below and from contemporaneous estimates indicate that, at the height of U.S.-driven sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiʿite Muslims in Iraq, Colonel James Steele specialized in methods that fueled and intensified this violence. Roughly 3,000 dead Iraqis were piling up on the streets of Baghdad every month with critics arguing that U.S. military policies empowering sectarian-aligned forces, implemented under Petraeus's command involving advisers like Steele, significantly contributed to the violent conditions in what was described as engineered sectarian violence. The resulting violence can only be described as horrific.