Low-key Marine, Gen. John R. Allen, to take over Afghan war at high-stakes time - The Washington Post: "If he is confirmed, he will be the first Marine to command all U.S. forces in either Afghanistan or Iraq.
He was selected over Army Lt. Gen. David M. Rodriguez, a longtime Afghanistan hand who has served as deputy commander under McChrystal and Petraeus. While Rodriguez is seen as an effective combat leader and as highly knowledgeable about Afghanistan’s complex political terrain, senior Pentagon officials questioned whether he had the communication skills to maintain support for the war on the home front.
Allen, by contrast, has not served any combat tours in Afghanistan, although he is familiar with the country and the war because of his three years as deputy leader of Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East and part of South Asia. He will rely on a new deputy commander, Army Lt. Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, to run the day-to-day war operations.
Perhaps most important, Allen’s backers said, he has built a close relationship with Obama, having regularly briefed the president while at Central Command. They said Allen was a natural choice to take over from Petraeus, under whom he served in Tampa as well as in Iraq.
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