Pro-Panetta
I was really pleased to learn that Leon Panetta has been tapped as Barack OBama’s choice for new CIA Director. Especially after some rumors last week that Obama was thinking about re-appointing current spy chief, Michael Hayden — a chilly Air Force General knee-deep in the torture policies of the Bush-Cheney administration.
The rap on Panetta, of course, is that he isn’t experienced enough. True enough. There’s no record of Panetta either engaging in nor supporting rendition, torture, water-boarding or suspension of basic human rights. Indeed, he’s spoken out against all of these abominations. Including crap like this.
I just love right-wing Democrats DiFi and Jay Rockefeller hiccuping over the choice of Panetta. Two more reasons to support his nomination.
I also love the plethora of news reports speculating on how the choice of an agency outsider will affect the morale of the CIA rank and file. Excuse me for being old-fashioned, but I am more concerned about how it will affect the U.S. constitution.
Obama’s choice makes it clear he intends to end the dark chapter of sanctioning and even celebrating torture by the United States government. That’s some change we can believe in.
January 5th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
“There’s no record of Panetta either engaging in nor supporting rendition, torture, … he’s spoken out against all of these abominations.” I was thinking sorta long these lines, although my preference would would have been to tuck the agency away or eliminate it altogether.
Panetta was my congressman while I was in college.
Always thought he was a decent guy.
Administratively, he’s supposedly pretty sharp.
January 6th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Dawn Johnson at Office of Legal Counsel (John Yoo was there under Bush) is another excellent appointment:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/01/05/olc/index.html
January 6th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Intelligence Committee heads Feinstein and Rockefeller have reservations about Panetta.
It bothers me that Harry Reid pulled a George Wallace and stood in the doorway to block a black person from an all white club.
January 6th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Panetta started his political life as a Republican. That’s actually good news regarding his character and integrity because he was sacked by the Nixon gang for enforcing civil rights legislation and turned away from the StromThurmondized GOP in disgust:
http://www.beautifulhorizons.net/weblog/2009/01/leon-panetta.html
January 6th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I agree with Woody, we need someone with experience torturing people and skewing intelligence estimates to fit the political whims of the day. I wonder if Dick Cheney is free?
January 6th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Is that what I said?
Do you think that Panetta will re-hire Valerie Plame and her husband? There’s nothing like outing your own wife and filing CIA reports as opinion letters to The NYT. Yep, Democrats won’t let politics into the CIA.
January 6th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Rather than being ‘right wing’…really!..for godsake, it is much more likely Feinstein and Rockefeller, being Senior Senators and both heads of the Senate Intelligence Committee, were apparently not even informed before the announcement regarding Panetta.
It should have been a matter of common courtesy. The lack of it, I’m sure, came across as a slight to them …..and it was.
January 6th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I think Jim R essentially has it right, but if it was a slight there was a better way for them to handle it. Bringing it into the public sphere made them seem petulant.
Feinstein also wanted Steven Kappes (currently number 2) to be DCI, so in her case there’s a little more to it, but former senator Bob Graham who’s probably more knowledgeable than DiFi on national security issues, is happy with Panetta.
Also, both Russ Feingold and Pat Roberts are happy with Panetta are both happy with Panetta. That’s the very definition of bipartisanism.
January 6th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
“Bob Graham who’s probably more knowledgeable than DiFi on national security issues”
I’m sure you can safely remove the “probably” from that sentence.
January 6th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Please count me out of more of the same inhuman “security” and “Senate Intelligence” provided to me by Feinstein, Cheney, Bus et al for my tax dollars.
January 6th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
There is no serious mainstream case against Leon Panetta as DCI.
Check the sequence on NWN (and HuffPo), as my very old acquaintance DiFi proceeded to embarrass herself …
January 6th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Yep.
January 6th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Reg,
It’s just my capacity for understatement.
January 7th, 2009 at 9:11 am
Off topic – I was totally wrong about the Burris thing. I thought that the Senate could string him along until Illinois took care of Blagojovich.
January 8th, 2009 at 11:28 am
“Off topic – I was totally wrong about the Burris thing. I thought that the Senate could string him along until Illinois took care of Blagojovich.”
You misunderestimated the Chicago way.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-kass-08-jan08,0,6293839.column
January 8th, 2009 at 11:28 am
sorry for the bushism there
January 8th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
It bothers me that Harry Reid pulled a George Wallace and stood in the doorway to block a black person from an all white club.
It didn’t bother you when Wallace did it. Of course, that was different, because Wallace blocked the doorway because those students were black, whereas Burris’s race is irrelevant to his being blocked, you racist piece of shit.
January 8th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-kass-08-jan08,0,6293839.column
Pure unmitigated bullshit. Facile reductions like “the Chicago way” are moron fodder.
January 8th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Somewhat bullshitty, yes, I would agree, but not “pure unmitigated bullshit”. Kass (who as a columnist I generally don’t like) paints Obama as a “Chicago way” operator which I don’t think he is. (Rahm Emanuel on the other hand? yes, definitely, but not Obama) Although he has gotten close to some of these types through his Chicago political connections and some of the stink in Chicago has followed him to Washington. This stink is what is generated when politics is played out the “Chicago way”.
January 9th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
“whereas Burris’s race is irrelevant to his being blocked, you racist piece of shit.”
But Burris’s race was not irrelevant to his being appointed, so it is racist you ignorant piece of shit.
January 9th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
“Facile reductions like “the Chicago way” are moron fodder.”
You would know.
March 18th, 2009 at 8:30 am
I just wanted to say that I love this site