General Allen maintains his innocence.  If he is not guilty of any wrong doings, I say stay in it for the long haul.  That would be the correct judgement call.

Mr Panetta said in a statement that his department was informed about the case by the FBI on Sunday and that he had referred it to the Pentagon's inspector general for investigation.

He had ordered a Pentagon investigation of Gen Allen on Monday, he said.

He added Gen Allen would remain in Kabul as the commander of NATO-led security forces but that he had asked the Senate Armed Services Committee to delay action on Allen's pending nomination to be NATO's supreme allied commander.