PERTH/WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned yesterday against jumping to conclusions over the actions of the top US commander in Afghanistan, a day after placing him under investigation in a widening scandal that already cost CIA Director David Petraeus his job.
Marine General John Allen, who denies any wrongdoing, is being investigated for potentially inappropriate communications with a woman at the center of the Petraeus case, Jill Kelley, a Florida socialite.
Panetta defended his decision to refer the case to the Pentagon’s inspector general and for suspending Allen’s nomination to another top position in the US military, saying it was a prudent step “until we determine what the facts are,” Panetta told reporters at high-level talks in Australia, also attended by the top US military officer, General Martin Dempsey, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
At the same time, he praised Allen’s work commanding the Afghan war effort, a position he retains despite the probe.
“No one should leap to any conclusions here. General Allen is doing an excellent job at ISAF, in leading those forces,” Panetta said, referring to the NATO-led force.
Clinton acknowledged that allies had raised questions about the Allen case but said there was “no concern whatsoever being expressed to us” about the mission in Afghanistan.
According to a senior Pentagon official, the married general denies any sexual liaison with 37-year-old Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, but the “sheer volume” of correspondence could amount to “conduct unbecoming an officer.”
Defense officials and people close to Petraeus say neither he nor Allen had a romantic relationship with Kelley, a 37-year-old wife and mother, who is described as a prominent presence in military circles in Tampa.
She may have been seen as a rival by Petraeus’ biographer, Paula Broadwell, who sent Kelley a series of anonymous, harassing emails, which touched off an investigation that uncovered evidence of an affair between Petraeus and Broadwell. According to law enforcement sources, FBI investigators decided to pursue the matter when they found the messages contained information about the CIA chief’s activities that was not publicly available.
Kelley had gotten to know both Petraeus and Allen as a volunteer setting up social events at MacDill Air Force Base outside Tampa, headquarters of US Central Command.
President Barack Obama however backed the top US commander in Afghanistan on Tuesday after the four-star general was dragged into the sex scandal that brought down CIA director David Petraeus.
Due to face lawmakers this week for a hearing to confirm his promotion to the post of NATO’s supreme commander in Europe, Allen will now return to Kabul and remain in charge of allied forces in Afghanistan until the probe is over.
“The president thinks very highly of General Allen and of his service to his country, as well as the job he has done in Afghanistan,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.
In more bad news about US generals, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced yesterday he was demoting a retiring four-star Army general for wasting taxpayer money on extravagant trips and would seek to recoup tens of thousands of dollars from him.
Panetta’s decision to strip a star from General William Ward, a former commander of Africa Command, comes as the military is reeling from a scandal involving two of the most powerful men in the United States’ national security.
Panetta stripped Gen. William “Kip” Ward of a star, which means that he will now retire as a three-star lieutenant general. Ward also has been ordered to repay the government $82,000.
All is not well with US generals
