US intel picks short on direct experience
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 07, 2009 00:00
WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama's selection of an old White House hand to head the CIA shows a preference for a strong manager over an intelligence expert.
His decision to name Leon Panetta to lead the premier U.S. intelligence agency surprised the spy community and signaled the Democrat's intention for a clean break from Bush administration policies.
Panetta is a retired eight-term congressman, former Clinton White House chief of staff, and former head of the Office Management and Budget. There isn't a hint of direct intelligence collection or analysis experience on his long resume. Instead, he's only been what Washington calls a consumer of intelligence. Dennis Blair, the retired admiral whom Obama is tapping to become the next director of national intelligence - the president's chief intelligence adviser - has almost as thin a resume as Panetta when it comes to the spy game.
Veterans of the CIA were surprised at the pick. "I'm at a loss," said Robert Grenier, a former director of the CIA's counterterrorism center and 27-year veteran of the agency, who now is managing director of Kroll, a security consulting company. He said Panetta is at "a tremendous disadvantage."
Panetta is a retired eight-term congressman, former Clinton White House chief of staff, and former head of the Office Management and Budget. There isn't a hint of direct intelligence collection or analysis experience on his long resume. Instead, he's only been what Washington calls a consumer of intelligence. Dennis Blair, the retired admiral whom Obama is tapping to become the next director of national intelligence - the president's chief intelligence adviser - has almost as thin a resume as Panetta when it comes to the spy game.
Veterans of the CIA were surprised at the pick. "I'm at a loss," said Robert Grenier, a former director of the CIA's counterterrorism center and 27-year veteran of the agency, who now is managing director of Kroll, a security consulting company. He said Panetta is at "a tremendous disadvantage."