On CBS, Allen talked about the "long-term campaign" to fight the spill that will likely last into the Fall.

ABC's Jake Tapper asked the admiral about reports that BP and the Coast Guard were preventing journalists from reporting on the spill.

TAPPER: Lastly, I saw firsthand when I was down in Louisiana over the weekend, all the workers there, whether they work for the governor or for BP or for private contractors who work for BP, they've all been told not to talk to the press, not to talk to the public about their work. Shouldn't they be allowed to share with the public the work that they're doing?

ALLEN: I put out a written directive and I can provide it for the record that says the media will have uninhibited access anywhere we're doing operations, except for two things, if it's a security or safety problem. That is my policy. I'm the national incident commander.

TAPPER: Well, I can tell you firsthand people are not -- people are not following that.

ALLEN: You take (ph) the information and you tell me where it's at, and we'll get the word to them.