The top US military officer said the nation’s military leaders are embarrassed by allegations of
misconduct against at least 10 Secret Service members at a Colombia hotel on the eve of President Barack Obama’s visit over
the weekend.
Defence Leon Panetta (left), with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey <br />Photo:
EPA/SHAWN THEW
“We let the boss down,” Army Gen Martin
Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon news conference on Monday. He said he regretted that the
scandal, which also involved 11 Secret Service agents accused of cavorting with prostitutes at the hotel, diverted attention
from Obama’s diplomacy at a Latin America summit.
“I can speak for myself and my fellow
chiefs: We’re embarrassed by what occurred in Colombia, though we’re not sure exactly what it is,” Dempsey
added.
Pentagon officials said earlier Monday that the number of military members involved in
the scandal appears to be greater than the five originally cited. One senior defence official said that at least 10 military
members may have been involved. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is under
investigation.
Pentagon press secretary George Little said that military members who are being
investigated were assigned to support the Secret Service in preparation for Obama’s official visit to Cartagena. He said
they were not directly involved in presidential security.
The Secret Service sent 11 of its
agents home from Colombia amid allegations that they had hired prostitutes at a Cartagena hotel. The military members being
investigated were staying at the same hotel, Little said.
Appearing with Dempsey at the Pentagon, Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta said US troops are expected to abide by “the highest standards” of behaviour whether they are at home
or abroad. He noted that a military investigation is under way and promised that if wrongdoing is confirmed, “these
individuals will be held accountable.”
Army Col Scott Malcom, chief spokesman for US southern Command, which organised
the military team that was assigned to support the Secret Service’s mission in Cartagena, declined to say how many
additional service members are under investigation. He also would not say which branch of the military they were
from.
“We are still putting together all the facts,” Malcom said.
A defence official in Washington said at
least some of those under investigation are members of the Army. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the
matter is under active investigation.
Malcom said a colonel from the southern Command staff, whom he would not
identify by name, had been sent to Cartagena to gather facts. He said at least five military members under investigation were
being flown to Miami on Monday.
The US southern Command had announced on Saturday that five service members assigned
to the presidential mission in Colombia had violated curfew and may have been involved in “inappropriate conduct.”
In
a statement Saturday, Air Force Gen Douglas Fraser, commander of southern Command, said he was “disappointed by the entire
incident” and that “this behaviour is not in keeping with the professional standards expected of members of the United States
military.”
The Secret Service placed the 11 agents on leave while the agency reviews what happened.
“I expect
that investigation to be thorough, and I expect it to be rigorous,” Obama said Sunday. “If it turns out that some of the
allegations that have been made in the press are confirmed, then of course I’ll be angry. … We are representing the people
of the United States, and when we travel to another country, I expect us to observe the highest standards.”
California
Rep Darrell Issa, chairman of a House of Representatives investigative panel, said he was not certain whether Congress would
hold hearings on the alleged misconduct. Lawmakers will be looking “over the shoulder” of the Secret Service, he said, to
make sure that the agency’s methods for training and screening agents are not endangering the nation’s VIPs.
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