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http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/27/defense.panetta/index.html?hpt=C1
Interesting move Obama....
Obama picks Panetta for defense, Petraeus for CIA
Washington (CNN)
-- In the most extensive reshaping of the administration's national
security team to date, President Barack Obama will name CIA Director
Leon Panetta as his nominee to succeed Robert Gates as defense
secretary, a senior defense official and another U.S. official said
Wednesday.
Obama will also name Gen. David Petraeus, now the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, as the replacement for Panetta as CIA director, a senior defense official said.
Rounding
out the reshuffling, Obama will nominate Lt. Gen. John Allen to replace
Petraeus, a senior U.S. official said, and will nominate longtime
diplomat Ryan Crocker as the next U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan,
sources said.
Big changes for national security team
In
addition to Gates retiring, the president will need replacements for
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and FBI
Director Robert Mueller. Both of their terms are expiring, and they are
not eligible for renomination.
Panetta, 72, took over at the CIA
in February 2009. He was chief of staff to President Bill Clinton
between 1994 and 1997, and was previously the director of the Office of
Management and Budget. The California Democrat served in the House of
Representatives from 1977 to 1993.
Before coming to the CIA, he spent 10 years co-directing a public policy institute with his wife, Sylvia.
He
was brought in as a relative outsider, without hands-on intelligence
experience, to manage an agency that had been shaken by the exposure and
criticism of its controversial interrogation and detention program.
Panetta's longstanding ties to Congress were seen as a way to restore
the administration's relationship with oversight committees. He has been
given high marks on both fronts from inside the agency and in Congress.
David
Berteau, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International
Studies, said Panetta brings several important qualities to the table.
He
"learned a lot of lessons" about defense budgeting during his stint as
the head of the OMB and knows how to deal with a Republican Congress, as
he did during the Clinton administration, Berteau said.
Panetta's former congressional district in Northern California had a huge defense presence, Berteau said.
Panetta
has earned the trust and confidence of Obama as leader of the CIA, and
has name recognition, which is important, Berteau said. "It's a name
Americans recognize. Filling Bob Gates' shoes is really going to be a
tough job."
Berteau said the president's choice of Petraeus to
lead the CIA indicates that Obama is interested in his national security
views and efforts and it "indicates that the president cares about the
way all those pieces fit together."
Petraeus, earlier this month,
took a highly unusual step for a military officer when he publicly
acknowledged the possibility of being in contention for a presidential
appointment. "It's probably not appropriate for me to comment on
whatever might be considered down the road," he told reporters in Kabul
when asked about the possible CIA nomination. "I've had discussions, but
again, it wouldn't be appropriate to comment."
Petraeus, 58, assumed command of the NATO International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan in July after serving for more than 20 months as commander of U.S. Central Command.
Man opens fire on Americans in Kabul, Afghan official says
He previously commanded multinational forces in Iraq, leading the so-called surge.
During
his time commanding the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort
Leavenworth, he oversaw the development of the Army/Marine Corps
Counterinsurgency Manual.
Crocker previously has been U.S. ambassador to Iraq and to Pakistan.
Allen became deputy commander of U.S. Central Command in July 2008.
CNN's Barbara Starr, Joe Sterling, and Chris Lawrence contributed to this report.
Interesting move Obama....
Obama picks Panetta for defense, Petraeus for CIA
Washington (CNN)
-- In the most extensive reshaping of the administration's national
security team to date, President Barack Obama will name CIA Director
Leon Panetta as his nominee to succeed Robert Gates as defense
secretary, a senior defense official and another U.S. official said
Wednesday.
Obama will also name Gen. David Petraeus, now the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, as the replacement for Panetta as CIA director, a senior defense official said.
Rounding
out the reshuffling, Obama will nominate Lt. Gen. John Allen to replace
Petraeus, a senior U.S. official said, and will nominate longtime
diplomat Ryan Crocker as the next U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan,
sources said.
Big changes for national security team
In
addition to Gates retiring, the president will need replacements for
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and FBI
Director Robert Mueller. Both of their terms are expiring, and they are
not eligible for renomination.
Panetta, 72, took over at the CIA
in February 2009. He was chief of staff to President Bill Clinton
between 1994 and 1997, and was previously the director of the Office of
Management and Budget. The California Democrat served in the House of
Representatives from 1977 to 1993.
Before coming to the CIA, he spent 10 years co-directing a public policy institute with his wife, Sylvia.
He
was brought in as a relative outsider, without hands-on intelligence
experience, to manage an agency that had been shaken by the exposure and
criticism of its controversial interrogation and detention program.
Panetta's longstanding ties to Congress were seen as a way to restore
the administration's relationship with oversight committees. He has been
given high marks on both fronts from inside the agency and in Congress.
David
Berteau, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International
Studies, said Panetta brings several important qualities to the table.
He
"learned a lot of lessons" about defense budgeting during his stint as
the head of the OMB and knows how to deal with a Republican Congress, as
he did during the Clinton administration, Berteau said.
Panetta's former congressional district in Northern California had a huge defense presence, Berteau said.
Panetta
has earned the trust and confidence of Obama as leader of the CIA, and
has name recognition, which is important, Berteau said. "It's a name
Americans recognize. Filling Bob Gates' shoes is really going to be a
tough job."
Berteau said the president's choice of Petraeus to
lead the CIA indicates that Obama is interested in his national security
views and efforts and it "indicates that the president cares about the
way all those pieces fit together."
Petraeus, earlier this month,
took a highly unusual step for a military officer when he publicly
acknowledged the possibility of being in contention for a presidential
appointment. "It's probably not appropriate for me to comment on
whatever might be considered down the road," he told reporters in Kabul
when asked about the possible CIA nomination. "I've had discussions, but
again, it wouldn't be appropriate to comment."
Petraeus, 58, assumed command of the NATO International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan in July after serving for more than 20 months as commander of U.S. Central Command.
Man opens fire on Americans in Kabul, Afghan official says
He previously commanded multinational forces in Iraq, leading the so-called surge.
During
his time commanding the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort
Leavenworth, he oversaw the development of the Army/Marine Corps
Counterinsurgency Manual.
Crocker previously has been U.S. ambassador to Iraq and to Pakistan.
Allen became deputy commander of U.S. Central Command in July 2008.
CNN's Barbara Starr, Joe Sterling, and Chris Lawrence contributed to this report.