The White House on Tuesday would not confirm reports that retired Gen. John Allen is stepping down as the Obama administration’s envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State group, referring questions to the State Department. But a spokesman did argue that the coalition is strong and successfully fighting the terrorist group, despite claims that Allen is leaving the post out of frustration.
The State Department also declined to confirm that Allen plans to step down in November.
“He remains at work,” spokesman Mark Toner said, adding that he didn’t have any “personnel announcements” to make Tuesday.
According to Bloomberg News, “U.S. officials familiar with Allen’s decision say he has been frustrated with White House micromanagement of the war and its failure to provide adequate resources to the fight.”
The 62-country coalition battling the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq is making progress, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
The best indication “is the recent commitment that we’ve received from Turkey to more deeply engage in this international effort to degrade and ultimately destroy” the jihadist group, Earnest said. “And that has included stepped-up efforts on the part of the Turks to engage militarily and support ongoing military efforts there. It also reflects the recent commitment of the Turks to allow the United States and our coalition partners to use certain military facilities inside of Turkey that will facilitate the more effective application of military force inside of Syria.”
Declining to say whether Allen told Obama that he is frustrated, Earnest said the retired general is committed to the position. His job title for the State Department is special presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter the Islamic State.
“What I can say more generally about General Allen is he is somebody who signed up for a six-month tour, and he’s been on the job for, I believe, more than a year now,” Earnest said. “So that is an indication of the commitment to his service that he’s demonstrated.”
Republicans immediately seized on the Bloomberg report as proof that the U.S.-led coalition is in a stalemate with ISIS.
A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, circulated the story shortly after it was published, noting that: “Just over one year later, the president has yet to commit to a real plan to ‘degrade and destroy’ the Islamic State, as he has repeatedly said is his goal,” said Cory Fitz. “Until that changes, Allen’s replacement will face the same roadblocks that he did, and the war against the Islamic State will continue to flounder.”
