Top US General declines NATO post

WASHINGTON - Agence France-Presse

Gen John Allen will retire instead of accepting the top job at NATO.

U.S. General John Allen said Feb. 19 he will retire instead of accepting the top job at NATO, citing his wife’s health problems. Allen’s departure comes weeks after a Pentagon investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing in a drama over emails to a Florida socialite, and he told the Washington Post the highly-publicized case did not influence his decision. The decision by the Defense Department’s Inspector General helped lift a cloud that had hung over Allen, who is married and has two daughters, since he became ensnared in the scandal that forced retired General David Petraeus to resign as CIA director in November.

The White House and Pentagon did not say who would now be nominated as the next NATO commander in Europe.