Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Panetta   [James S. Robbins]

I would think that given his background and expertise Mr. Panetta would be a good choice for again being director of OMB, not CIA. His lack of intelligence background will not inspire the employees at the Agency, who have seen their institution under attack from all sides in recent years and need some breathing space. Those on the Democratic side who complained loudly about the politicization of intelligence during the Bush years will be hard-pressed to support what can only be seen as a politically inspired appointment. Also, given the organizational changes in the Intelligence Community in recent years, being the CIA director is not as important a job as it used to be. Admiral Dennis Blair, the proposed director of national intelligence — who will be Panetta's boss — is highly experienced in the ways of Washington and has intelligence experience that he picked up during his long and distinguished Navy career. With a weak DCI, Blair may be tempted to continue the expansion of ODNI in ways the old guard at CIA may not like. If Obama's objective is to render the CIA less effective in a bureaucratic sense, this is a good way to do it.

01/06 05:44 AMShare