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| General John Allen steps down and declines top Nato appointment | General John Allen steps down and declines top Nato appointment |
| (30 days later) | |
| General John Allen, the US commander in Afghanistan, has chosen to retire just weeks before he was expected to be appointed the next military chief of Nato. | General John Allen, the US commander in Afghanistan, has chosen to retire just weeks before he was expected to be appointed the next military chief of Nato. |
| Barack Obama announced in a statement that he had accepted Allen's request to retire "so that he can address health issues within his family". But the marine general's decision to decline the appointment of supreme allied commander of Nato follows an embarrassing Pentagon investigation into thousands of emails he sent to a woman at the centre of the sex scandal that brought down the CIA director, David Petraeus. The investigation cleared Allen, and the White House said it would press ahead with his nomination to the top Nato military post, but over recent weeks there was speculation within the military that Allen would back out. | Barack Obama announced in a statement that he had accepted Allen's request to retire "so that he can address health issues within his family". But the marine general's decision to decline the appointment of supreme allied commander of Nato follows an embarrassing Pentagon investigation into thousands of emails he sent to a woman at the centre of the sex scandal that brought down the CIA director, David Petraeus. The investigation cleared Allen, and the White House said it would press ahead with his nomination to the top Nato military post, but over recent weeks there was speculation within the military that Allen would back out. |
| Allen told the Washington Post that the investigation "took a toll" on his ailing wife, who suffers from various health issues including an autoimmune disorder. | Allen told the Washington Post that the investigation "took a toll" on his ailing wife, who suffers from various health issues including an autoimmune disorder. |
| "For more than 35 years, my beloved Kathy has devotedly stood beside me and enabled me to serve my country," Allen said in announcing his retirement. "It is profoundly sobering to consider how much of that time I have spent away from her and our two precious daughters. It is now my turn to stand beside them, to be there for them when they need me most." | "For more than 35 years, my beloved Kathy has devotedly stood beside me and enabled me to serve my country," Allen said in announcing his retirement. "It is profoundly sobering to consider how much of that time I have spent away from her and our two precious daughters. It is now my turn to stand beside them, to be there for them when they need me most." |
| Allen's nomination to the top Nato military post was put on hold in November after the general was caught up in an FBI investigation that exposed the affair between Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell. The FBI was brought in when another woman, Jill Kelley, complained that Broadwell sent her threatening emails warning her to stay away from Petraeus. | Allen's nomination to the top Nato military post was put on hold in November after the general was caught up in an FBI investigation that exposed the affair between Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell. The FBI was brought in when another woman, Jill Kelley, complained that Broadwell sent her threatening emails warning her to stay away from Petraeus. |
| The investigation revealed that Allen had sent Kelley, a socialite well known on the Tampa military base where both men had served, thousands of emails, some of which Pentagon officials described as racy and flirtatious. A subsequent Defense Department investigation cleared Allen of any breach of the military code of conduct, but the incident was highly embarrassing, in part because of revelations about the volume of emails and other communications between the general and Kelley, which amounted to more than 20,000 pages over two years. | The investigation revealed that Allen had sent Kelley, a socialite well known on the Tampa military base where both men had served, thousands of emails, some of which Pentagon officials described as racy and flirtatious. A subsequent Defense Department investigation cleared Allen of any breach of the military code of conduct, but the incident was highly embarrassing, in part because of revelations about the volume of emails and other communications between the general and Kelley, which amounted to more than 20,000 pages over two years. |
| General James Amos, the marine corps commandant, told the American Enterprise Institute last week that Allen had taken the investigation hard even though it cleared him. | General James Amos, the marine corps commandant, told the American Enterprise Institute last week that Allen had taken the investigation hard even though it cleared him. |
| "The stuff that took place as a result of the Petraeus fallout took a pretty heavy toll on John, just because he's a man of such great integrity and his integrity was being questioned," he said. | "The stuff that took place as a result of the Petraeus fallout took a pretty heavy toll on John, just because he's a man of such great integrity and his integrity was being questioned," he said. |
| Obama expressed his "deep, personal appreciation for his extraordinary service over the last 19 months in Afghanistan, as well as his decades of service in the United States marine corps". | Obama expressed his "deep, personal appreciation for his extraordinary service over the last 19 months in Afghanistan, as well as his decades of service in the United States marine corps". |
| Allen's tour in Afghanistan, which ended last week, oversaw a shift from US-led assaults on the Taliban to an emphasis on local security forces bearing the brunt of the fighting. At the same time, Allen managed the first major reduction in the numbers of American troops as the US prepares to pull combat forces out by the end of next year. | Allen's tour in Afghanistan, which ended last week, oversaw a shift from US-led assaults on the Taliban to an emphasis on local security forces bearing the brunt of the fighting. At the same time, Allen managed the first major reduction in the numbers of American troops as the US prepares to pull combat forces out by the end of next year. |
| In an interview with the New York Times earlier this month, Allen said that his judgement of what amounted to success had shifted while he was in Afghanistan. | In an interview with the New York Times earlier this month, Allen said that his judgement of what amounted to success had shifted while he was in Afghanistan. |
| "When I got here, I measured success in how well we and how often we were fighting. Today, it's a very different environment. The Afghans are virtually entirely in the lead across Afghanistan," he said. | "When I got here, I measured success in how well we and how often we were fighting. Today, it's a very different environment. The Afghans are virtually entirely in the lead across Afghanistan," he said. |
| Allen said that he considered the war in Afghanistan "worth it". | Allen said that he considered the war in Afghanistan "worth it". |
| "This is bigger than anyone of us. It's bigger than the president. It's bigger than the president of Afghanistan, because this isn't about today. This is about tomorrow. This is about doing all we can to facilitate President Karzai with his desire to be successful. But it'll be about doing all we can do to set up his successor for success," he said. | "This is bigger than anyone of us. It's bigger than the president. It's bigger than the president of Afghanistan, because this isn't about today. This is about tomorrow. This is about doing all we can to facilitate President Karzai with his desire to be successful. But it'll be about doing all we can do to set up his successor for success," he said. |
| "Let me make sure I'm clear on this. Nothing is sure in a post-conflict society. But I think the indicators, as far as I'm concerned, are that we're on the right trajectory. What you have to understand, what people have to understand is some of these reforms take a very long time. | "Let me make sure I'm clear on this. Nothing is sure in a post-conflict society. But I think the indicators, as far as I'm concerned, are that we're on the right trajectory. What you have to understand, what people have to understand is some of these reforms take a very long time. |
| "In an environment where human rights were crashed under multiple different invasions or civil wars or the Taliban, creating once again the kind of bias for human rights that we would all expect in the western society, just doesn't come easily to this country." | "In an environment where human rights were crashed under multiple different invasions or civil wars or the Taliban, creating once again the kind of bias for human rights that we would all expect in the western society, just doesn't come easily to this country." |
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