Obama shows faith in Gen Allen amidst probe

Despite being under attack, General John Allen has retained the pivotal trust of his president, Barack Obama.
The US top commander in Afghanistan is being probed for his alleged “inappropriate communication” with a woman, Jill Kelley, linked to former CIA director David Petraeus, who resigned abruptly last week over an extramarital affair.
Allen will continue to command the forces while under investigation.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said, “He (President Obama) has faith in General Allen” and added that he was doing a fine job in Afghanistan.
Earlier, Obama had agreed to put on hold the nomination of Gen Allen as the next commander of the US European Command. His confirmation hearing was scheduled for Thursday.
Obama had nominated General Joseph Dunford, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, to succeed General Allen at ISAF. Dunford’s confirmation hearing, however, is as per schedule on Thursday.
The family of Jill, the Florida woman at the centre of the scandals swirling around the two top US national security officials, has been the subject of at least nine lawsuits in recent years, according to a report by Politico.com.
In one instance, Kelley and her husband Scott, a cancer surgeon, owned a three-story office building in downtown Tampa. In 2011, after the couple was sued by Central Bank, a judge ordered the building sold. Court records showed the couple owed the bank $2.2 million, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Either Jill or Scott has been the subject of nine lawsuits, including an indebtedness case from Chase Bank, a second foreclosure suit from Regions Bank, and a credit card lawsuit. The Telegraph reported the Regions Bank lawsuit was for $1.8 million. Another claim from the bank totalled $453,000. And Bank of America sued Jill for $25,000 in unpaid credit card charges and fees.