Obama to put Petraeus at CIA, Panetta at Pentagon
Share with others:
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will announce today a major overhaul of his defense and intelligence teams, one that analysts say has the potential -- but no guarantee -- to speed a drawdown of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
He will nominate CIA Director Leon Panetta to lead the Defense Department, replacing Secretary Robert Gates, who is retiring. Gen. David Petraeus, commander of forces in Afghanistan, will retire from the military and become the new CIA chief.
Lt. Gen. John Allen, now the deputy at U.S. Central Command, would fill Gen. Petraeus' shoes in Afghanistan to command U.S.-led forces. Ryan Crocker, a career ambassador who served in Iraq and Pakistan under former President George W. Bush before retiring in 2009, would return to become U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, replacing Karl Eikenberry.
The Senate must confirm the nominations. Initial reaction from Capitol Hill was positive.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Senate Armed Services Committee member, said he "could not be more pleased with these selections," and that they would "provide the leadership to help make our nation safer."
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., praised Mr. Panetta and Gen. Petraeus, but signaled that she will question the general about his readiness to lead the CIA. She said in a statement that she had "enormous respect" for Gen. Petraeus but, until now, he had been "a consumer of intelligence. ... That is a different role than leading the top civilian intelligence agency."
By tapping Gen. Petraeus for the CIA, Mr. Obama would reward the four-star veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan with a promotion to a prestigious post. Gen. Petraeus, however, will have a limited ability to forge and implement U.S. security policy, including setting the pace and size of the U.S. troop drawdown from Afghanistan, which begins this year and which, as the U.S. military commander, he has indicated should be limited.
Obama advisers sought to downplay the idea that the changes would affect policy or the pace of the Afghanistan drawdown between this summer and 2014, saying the president would make those decisions.
First Published April 28, 2011 12:00 am
