Obama backs Allen over Petraeus sex scandal
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President Barack Obama (left) announces that he will nominate Leon Panetta (second, left), currently the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as Secretary of Defense to succeed current Secretary Robert Gates (not pictured), General David Petraeus (second, right) as the next director of the CIA, and General John Allen (right), currently the Deputy Commander for Centcom, as commander for US forces in Afghanistan, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, in this April 28, 2011 file photo. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A man reads biographer Paula Broadwell's book All In: The Education of General David Petraeus, in Manassas, Virginia, on Nov 13, 2012. -- PHOTO : AFP
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FBI agents carry boxes and a computer from the home of Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with retired General David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director, in the Dilworth neighbourhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday, Nov 13, 2012. -- PHOTO : AP
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News crews wait behind Jill Kelley's home on Tuesday, Nov 12, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. -- PHOTO : AP
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Director of the Central Intelligence Agency General David Petraeus attends the Allen & Co Media Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho on July 12, 2012. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
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US General John Allen, Nato's commander of foreign troops in Afghanistan, attends a ceremony in Kabul in this April 8, 2012 file photo. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
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General John R. Allen (left), incoming commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)/US Forces- Afghanistan (USFOR-A) and General David H. Petraeus, commander, ISAF/USFOR-A, attend a meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan in this July 9, 2011 file photograph. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
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Commander of the International Security Assistance Force/US Forces in Afghanistan General David Petraeus shakes hands with author Paula Broadwell in this ISAF handout photo originally posted July 13, 2011. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
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Author Paula Broadwell attends the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on US General David Petraeus' nomination to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington, in this June 23, 2011 file photo. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
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Ms Jill Kelley leaves her home on Nov 13, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. -- PHOTO : AFP
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A combination photo shows Jill Kelley (left), a friend of former US General David Petraeus' family, in Tampa, Florida on Nov 12, 2012 and Mr Petraeus' biographer Paula Broadwell, in an ISAF handout image, originally posted July 13, 2011. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
President Barack Obama (left) announces that he will nominate Leon Panetta (second, left), currently the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as Secretary of Defense to succeed current Secretary Robert Gates (not pictured), General David Petraeus (second, right) as the next director of the CIA, and General John Allen (right), currently the Deputy Commander for Centcom, as commander for US forces in Afghanistan, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, in this April 28, 2011 file photo. -- PHOTO: AFP
A man reads biographer Paula Broadwell's book All In: The Education of General David Petraeus, in Manassas, Virginia, on Nov 13, 2012. -- PHOTO : AFP
FBI agents carry boxes and a computer from the home of Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with retired General David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director, in the Dilworth neighbourhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday, Nov 13, 2012. -- PHOTO : AP
News crews wait behind Jill Kelley's home on Tuesday, Nov 12, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. -- PHOTO : AP
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency General David Petraeus attends the Allen & Co Media Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho on July 12, 2012. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
US General John Allen, Nato's commander of foreign troops in Afghanistan, attends a ceremony in Kabul in this April 8, 2012 file photo. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
General John R. Allen (left), incoming commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)/US Forces- Afghanistan (USFOR-A) and General David H. Petraeus, commander, ISAF/USFOR-A, attend a meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan in this July 9, 2011 file photograph. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
Commander of the International Security Assistance Force/US Forces in Afghanistan General David Petraeus shakes hands with author Paula Broadwell in this ISAF handout photo originally posted July 13, 2011. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
Author Paula Broadwell attends the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on US General David Petraeus' nomination to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington, in this June 23, 2011 file photo. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
Ms Jill Kelley leaves her home on Nov 13, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. -- PHOTO : AFP
A combination photo shows Jill Kelley (left), a friend of former US General David Petraeus' family, in Tampa, Florida on Nov 12, 2012 and Mr Petraeus' biographer Paula Broadwell, in an ISAF handout image, originally posted July 13, 2011. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama gave his backing to the commander of United States (US) forces in Afghanistan on Tuesday after the top general was dragged into the sex scandal that brought down Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director David Petraeus.
General John Allen was placed under investigation after Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents probing email threats sent by Petraeus' mistress stumbled upon a vast trove of "flirtatious" messages Mr Allen sent to another woman at the heart of the scandal.
According to a senior Pentagon official, Mr Allen denies any sexual liaison with the woman, 37-year-old Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, but the "sheer volume" of correspondence could be found to amount to "conduct unbecoming an officer".
Due to face lawmakers this week for a hearing to confirm his promotion to the post of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (Nato) supreme commander in Europe, Mr Allen will now return to Kabul and remain in charge in Afghanistan until the investigation is over.
