美防長帕內塔表示支持駐阿美軍司令艾倫

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says he has "continued confidence" in GenerAl John Allen to remain as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, despite his connection to a scandal that forced Central Intelligence Agency chief David Petraeus to resign.

Panetta made his first public remarks on the controversy Wednesday in Australia, where he is taking part in bilateral strategic cooperation talks.

General Allen is under an internal Pentagon investigation after the Federal Bureau of Investigation uncovered 20,000 to 30,000 pages of communications involving him and Jill Kelley. The probe is focusing on wheather the messages were "inappropriate."

It was Kelley's complaint to the FBI about threatening emails from the woman with whom General Petraeus had an affair, biographer Paula Broadwell, that eventually led to the CIA chief's resignation.

Panetta warned reporters that "no one should leap to any conclusions" about the matter.

But White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that Mr. Obama also continues to have faith in General Allen, and thinks very highly of him and his service to the country.美國國防部長帕內塔說，儘管艾倫將軍涉及迫使中央情報局長彼得雷烏斯辭職的醜聞，他仍然相信艾倫將軍能夠繼續擔任駐阿富汗美軍司令。

星期三，帕內塔在澳大利亞首次就這一具有爭議的事件公開發表評論。帕內塔目前在澳大利亞出席雙邊戰略合作會談。

美國聯邦調查局發現艾倫將軍和吉爾.凱利之間有兩萬到三萬頁的通信往來後，五角大樓對艾倫展開內部調查。調查重點在於這些通信是否“不當”。

凱利向聯邦調查局報告同彼得雷烏斯有婚外情的傳記作家葆拉.布羅德威爾給她發送帶有威脅性的電子郵件，最終導致彼得雷烏斯辭去中央情報局長職務。

帕內塔告誡記者說，任何人都不應當就此事匆忙下結論。

不過,美國白宮發言人卡尼先前對記者們說，奧巴馬總統也一直信任艾倫將軍，奧巴馬高度評價艾倫將軍以及他爲美國做出的貢獻。