美洲峰会曝性丑闻 奥巴马特工召妓不给钱

Defense chiefs are "embarrassed" over a sex scandal involving Secret Service agents and military service members as it distracted from President Barack Obama's visit to Colombia, the US military's top officer said.

His comments came as the Pentagon revealed the extent of the case was wider than initially reported, with more than five military service members implicated.

The incident served as a distraction that overshadowed "a very important" presidential visit, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a news conference.

"We are embarrassed," said Dempsey, referring to fellow chiefs of the armed forces.

"So we let the boss down, because nobody's talking about what went on in Colombia other than this incident."

A military investigation would hold accountable any personnel that "violated orders or policies or laws," Dempsey said.

The incident saw 11 Secret Service and at least five military personnel pulled from their security duties in Cartagena, Colombia at the Summit of the Americas.

The US Secret Service, which has sent the men back to the United States, is investigating claims they brought prostitutes to their hotel rooms in Cartagena late Wednesday and had a dispute over payment with one of the women.

"Whether our forces are in Colombia or any other country, or here in this country, we expect them to abide by the highest standard of behavior. That's a requirement," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told the same press conference. "And for that reason, we are conducting a full investigation into this matter."

A Pentagon spokesman said the service members who are under investigation were not handling security for the US president but were performing important work in support of the Secret Service.

"We believe that there maybe more than five involved in this incident. I don't have specific numbers. We're going to look at the facts wherever they may go," spokesman George Little told reporters.

The personnel were from more than one branch of the military, and some of them were at the same hotel as other Secret Service agents alleged to have brought prostitutes to their rooms, he said.

美军高级官员称，国防部领导人对奥巴马总统访问哥伦比亚期间曝出的美国特工和军人性丑闻“感到尴尬”。

在该官员发表评论的同时，美国国防部透露这起丑闻比最初报道的牵连更广，涉嫌的军方人员超过5人。

美国参谋长联席会议主席马丁•邓普赛将军在一个资讯发布会上说，这一干扰性事件使 “一次非常重要的”总统访问黯然失色。

邓普赛说：“我们都感到很尴尬。”他指的是他和军队中的其他首脑。

“我们让总统失望了，因为现在大家都在谈论这一丑闻，全然把哥伦比亚峰会抛在脑后。”

邓普赛说：“军方调查将让任何‘违犯命令、政策或法规的’人员承担责任。”

在这起丑闻事件中，将有11名特工和至少5名军方人员被解除在哥伦比亚卡塔赫纳的美洲峰会上的安保职务。

美国特工处已经将这些人送回美国，目前正对他们进行调查。据称这些人周三晚上在卡塔赫纳酒店中召妓，并和其中一位妓女发生报酬纠纷。

国防部部长莱昂•帕内塔在同一个资讯发布会上说：“不管我们的军队是在哥伦比亚还是在其他国家，或是在自己的国家，我们都期望他们遵守最高行为标准。这是要求。为此我们正全面调查此事。”

一位国防部发言人称，接受调查的军方人员没有负责美国总统的安保工作，但也从事着支持特工部的重要工作。

发言人乔治•里特告诉记者说：“我们认为此事牵涉的军人可能在5人以上。我不知道具体数字。不管涉案人数多少，我们都将查清事实。”

他说，这些军人来自军队的多个分支，部分军人和据称召妓的特工住在同一个酒店。