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States  US General John Allen to retire, declines top NATO job
US General John Allen has decided to retire and will not proceed
with his nomination as the NATO supreme allied commander. The
move comes after he was cleared of wrongdoing in a misconduct
scandal last month.  "Today, I met with General John Allen and
accepted his request to retire from the military so that he can
address health issues within his family," President Barack Obama
said in a statement Tuesday.  Allen had recently left a 19-month
command in Afghanistan and was nominated last fall to lead US
and NATO forces in Europe.  Obama accepted Allen's resignation
after meeting with him earlier in the day. The president praised
Allen for presiding over "significant growth" in Afghanistan's
security forces and a "further degradation" of al Qaeda.   In
Brussels, a NATO spokesperson said the organization fully
respected the Allen's dec