Panetta to Be Named C.I.A. Director

nytimes.com ^ | January 5, 2009 | Carl Hulse AND Mark Mazzetti

[Free ThinkerNY]

President-elect Barack Obama has selected Leon E. Panetta, the former congressman and White House chief of staff, to take over the Central Intelligence Agency, an organization that Mr. Obama criticized during the campaign for using interrogation methods he decried as torture, Democratic officials said Monday.

Mr. Panetta has a reputation in Washington as a competent manager with strong background in budget issues, but has little hands-on intelligence experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he will take control of the agency most directly responsible for hunting senior Al Qaeda leaders around the globe, but one that has been buffeted since the Sept. 11 attacks by leadership changes and morale problems.

[Finalapproach29er]

Wait til you see his military picks.

Panetta was picked to cut the budget; just like Carter and Clinton did.

[09Patriot]

man, this admin is going to be full of fail. this is AWESOME! maybe he wont last a term.

[who knows what evil?]

Jimmy Carter is starting to look like “the good old days...”

[09Patriot]

i notice no intelligence positions....good fit.

[weegee]

FEELING SAFER YET?

And no, this photo is no hoax.

[verity]

Oh, sh*t!

[SE Mom]

More change ;)

[weegee]

Wonder how many documents he will give to Sandy to shred.

[angelcindy]

change???? someone needs to tell obama what the word change means...another clintoon crony.lolol

[savedbygrace]

Who’s keeping track of all of Obama’s cabinet picks? How many has he made and how many of those are Clintonistas?

[AliVeritas]

Please tell me this is a joke.

[Argus]

CIA will be re-tasked to hunt down anyone who loves America and eliminate them.

[stainlessbanner]

Barry has to go back 28+ years go get a non-Clinton democrat with any gov’t experience.

[RexBeach]

So, this is change, ay? OK.

This whole administration is going to be the biggest mess we’ve ever seen.

I have told many of my liberal friends this: “You don’t things can be worse than Mr. Bush in The White House for eight years? Hah! Give it six months and we’ll talk again.”

[Steamburg]

I wonder if he will put agent lists on E-Bay? This could be fun with the entrenched lefties in the agency who had been doing no work and sucking down big payoffs.

[ScottinVA]

About as qualified to be CIA director as Caroline Yaknowyaknowyaknowyaknowyaknow Kennedy is for the NY senate seat.

You can’t make this sh*t up.

[April Lexington]

This is not a good development. I suspect that other intelligence organizations are busy rolling up sensitive operatins and, basically, planning for the inevitable.

[angelcindy]

You all know that clinton is advising him on his people....Can we all say its payback time..lololol the clintons are running obamas presidency

[Chgogal]

And how does this pertain to Intelligence post 9/11? This is a political appointment period. We have a political hack doing a serious job post 9/11. This smacks of stupidity. We should have a hardcore CIA field operative with years of experience in charge, not the former President Clinton's former Chief of Staff. It was former President Clinton who for political reasons let bin Laden go. President Elect Obama is playing games with the Nation's security.

[null and void]

Seriously? Possibly the dumbest appointment I’ve seen in my lifetime.....colossally stupid to name the former budget chief to head the most important organization in the fight against radical Islam.

You'd prefer Norm Mineta?