Joseph Ralston Joseph W . Ralston ( born November 4 , 1943 ) is the United States Special Envoy for Countering the Kurdistan Workers Party ( PKK ) and holds senior positions in various defense related corporations . He was the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1996 to 2000 . Career . Military career . Ralston has served in the military since 1965 . He has served in operational command at squadron , wing , numbered air force and major command , as well as various staff and management positions at every level of the United States Air Force . Ralston became Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1996 . He was favorite to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1997 , however following revelations of a secret affair he remained Vice Chairman until May 2000 . He then became Supreme Allied Commander for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) in Europe until January 2003 . Bill Clinton writes in his memoirs " My Life " that Ralston was used to resolve a potentially sticky situation with Pakistan in which the US would use Pakistani airspace to strike at the Al - Qaeda organization meeting in Afghanistan following the US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania . There was US concern that Pakistan ' s intelligence services would tip off the targets or even worse assume the missiles over Pakistan came from India , potentially triggering a nuclear conflict on the Indian sub - continent . As Clinton writes on page 799 of " My Life " , " we decided to send the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , General Joe Ralston , to have dinner with the top Pakistani military commander at the time the attacks were scheduled . Ralston would tell him ( the Pakistani general ) what was happening a few minutes before our missiles invaded Pakistani airspace , too late to alert the Taliban or Al - Qaeda , but in time to avoid having them shot down or sparking a counterattack on India . " In September 2006 , he was assigned as Special Envoy for Countering the Kurdistan Workers Party ( PKK ) by the President of the United States George W . Bush . The PKK is a Kurdish separatist group designated as a terrorist organization by the United States , Turkey and the European Union . Ralston was one of at least three retired four - star generals asked by Bush administration to oversee both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan . Ralston and the two other generals , however , all declined this position . Corporate career . He is director of the Timken Company and the URS Corporation , is on the Board of Directors of Lockheed Martin and has been Vice Chairman of the Cohen Group , since March 2003 . He also sits on the advisory board of the American Turkish Council , an American - Turkish lobby group . Controversies . Adultery . In 1997 , at the retirement of John M . Shalikashvili , the then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , Ralston was the top candidate to succeed him to the highest position in the military . A scandal erupted when it became public that he had an adulterous affair with a CIA employee during the 1980s . Ralston claimed this was while he and his wife Linda were separated , however she disputed that assertion , claiming the affair continued and led to their 1988 divorce . Defense Secretary William Cohen backed Ralston despite the controversy , declaring that Ralston ' s secret , adulterous relationship 13 years ago wouldn ' t " automatically disqualify " him from becoming the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . There were allegations of double standards , as 1st Lt Kelly Flinn was forced out of the Air Force following after being charged with adultery a month prior . Ralston withdrew his name from consideration and remained Vice Chairman until 2000 , when he was appointed Supreme Allied Commander , Europe , in which function he served from 2000 to 2003 , taking over from U . S . Army general Wesley Clark . In this capacity , he was the highest - ranking officer in NATO . He retired on March 1 , 2003 . Conflict of interest . Ralston holds various senior positions in defense and security - related corporations , simultaneously with his diplomatic role as " anti PKK coordinator " . Critics allege Ralston is using his influence as special envoy to secure large governmental weapons contracts for the corporations he has directorship over . The " Boston Globe " described him as " an arms merchant in diplomat ' s clothing . " On 26 October 2006 , the Kurdish National Congress of North America issued a press release demanding “ the immediate resignation ” of General Joseph Ralston : Since the PKK insurgency began in 1983 , 30 , 000 people have died and over 3 , 000 Kurdish villages have been destroyed , often by U . S . supplied planes . Critics are concerned that hard line anti - PKK policies influenced by conflicting interests would compromise the prospects for longterm solution to the Kurdish - Turkish issue . On October 1 , 2006 , the PKK announced a unilateral cease - fire in south - east Turkey , a move that the Turkish government has rejected : Speaking before the Eurasian Strategic Research Center ( ASAM ) in Istanbul , Ralston mirrored the Turkish government ' s rhetoric : Education . < / table > Military statistics . Flight information . < / table >