Obama administration taps retired General John Allen – who opposed Iraq troop pullout – to coordinate 'coalition' effort against ISIS

  • Top Marine said after his retirement that 'I don't think there's any question' Iraq would have been safer if the US hadn't withdrawn all its forces
  • He was caught up in the 2013 David Petraeus sex scandal after an investigation found that both men had flirted with a socialite via emails
  • Allen was the U.S. commander in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2013
  • He will cooordinate a multinational coalition of nations that will devote various resources to the fight against the ISIS terror group 

By David Martosko, Us Political Editor for MailOnline and Associated Press

Published: 13:47 EST, 11 September 2014 | Updated: 18:23 EST, 11 September 2014

U.S. officials told the Associated Press on Thursday that retired Marine Lieutenant General John Allen will coordinate the broad international effort to battle the self-declared Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), as nations begin to determine what part they will play.

Several U.S. officials said Allen will coordinate the contributions of various nations. Nearly 40 countries around the world have agreed to join the fight, although few have said they will put soldiers in harm's way.

In a post-retirement television interview, Allen said he was concerned that Iraq was descending into chaos following the U.S. troop pullout at the end of 2011.

Asked if the Middle Eastern country would be more stable if the Obama administration had left a residual force behind,he responded, 'I don’t think there’s any question.'

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Retired Marine Lt. Gen. John Allen said after his retirement that 'I don't think there's any question' Iraq would have been safer if the US hadn't withdrawn all its forces, but now he's on mop-up duty as ISIS grows

Retired Marine Lt. Gen. John Allen said after his retirement that 'I don't think there's any question' Iraq would have been safer if the US hadn't withdrawn all its forces, but now he's on mop-up duty as ISIS grows

President Barack Obama said Wednesday night that he would rely on an international coalition to help 'degrade and destroy' ISIS -- a coalition that Gen. Allen will lead

President Barack Obama said Wednesday night that he would rely on an international coalition to help 'degrade and destroy' ISIS -- a coalition that Gen. Allen will lead

'My fear is that we could see a polarization of the principle elements in Iraq,' he told ABC News. 

Allen cited 'the increase in violence for all of us that served there, in particular those of us who served in the Anbar Province, which was a really violent area ... We don’t want to see it return to that.' 

Anbar hasn't been the focus of ISIS's reign of terror – those operations have mostly been focused to the north – but that region, which abuts Syria to the west, is a reliable transit point for jihadis who travel between the two countries across a largely invisible border.

Allen will come to the job with vast experience coordinating international allies on the warfront. 

He served as deputy commander in Iraq's Anbar province from 2006 to 2008, working with Arab partners to organize the Sunni uprising against al-Qaeda.

Allen was also the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2013, another position that put him in close contact with America's international allies.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the appointment ahead of an announcement.

Allen (right) was ensnared in a sex scandal -- many say unfairly -- in 2013 linked to disgraced Gen. David Petraeus

Allen (right) was ensnared in a sex scandal -- many say unfairly -- in 2013 linked to disgraced Gen. David Petraeus

Petraeus slept with his biographer, Paula Broadwell (right), and both generals carried on allegedly flirtatious email relationships with Tampa socialite Jill Kelley (left)

Petraeus slept with his biographer, Paula Broadwell (right), and both generals carried on allegedly flirtatious email relationships with Tampa socialite Jill Kelley (left)

Allen became tabloid fodder in 2013 when his retirement was preceded by a sex scandal involving Gen. David Petraeus, then the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Petraeus was caught having an extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell, his biographer.

An investigation found that Allen and Petraeus had both become uncomfortably friendly with socialite Jill Kelley, who lived in Tampa where U.S. Central Command is located.

Allen was accused of flirting with Kelley in a series of conversations that spanned more than 1,200 emails, and ultimately left military service to help his wife recover from a severe autoimmune disease. 

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