Gen. Allen: ‘No question’ troops will follow woman commander in chief

Retired four-star Marine Gen. John Allen, who has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, told Yahoo News in a Thursday interview that there is “no question” that American troops will take orders from a woman commander in chief.

Allen, who commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan and was President Obama’s top military adviser in the campaign against the so-called Islamic State, also said that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said things that make U.S. forces around the world less safe.

He cited Trump’s calls to resume using torture, to target the families of suspected terrorists, and to ban travel to the United States by Muslims.

“Those kinds of comments make our troops vulnerable and at risk overseas,” he said. And that kind of language “also has the potential to light off individuals that could be radicalized in the United States … accelerating or even creating a radicalization which could push people into the arms of violent extremists.”

Asked whether American troops are ready to serve under a woman commander in chief, Allen replied that “there’s no question in my mind” that they are.

“She’s exactly the kind of person that we want to be the commander in chief,” said the Marine, who praised Clinton’s work with him when she was secretary of state and he led NATO and the U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Asked whether Clinton’s email controversy gave him pause, Allen replied that, given his experience in dealing with her, “I have no reason to question her judgment.”
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