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Ear to the Ground

Report: Obama Might Replace CIA Chief

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Posted on Aug 24, 2009
White House

Director Panetta stands by his boss as he addresses the CIA.

CIA Director Leon Panetta might quit or get canned in the next year, reports ABC News. Anonymous officials said Panetta, who may have already threatened to walk, is unhappy with everything from his role in the hierarchy to some of the nasty things the agency is up to. Both the White House and the CIA vehemently deny the report.

By “vehemently deny,” we mean “wrong, inaccurate, bogus and false,” in the words of a CIA spokesman. The anonymous sources beg to differ, but then they’re anonymous and should be treated with suspicion, accordingly. 

Panetta was considered an odd choice to begin with. He’s a politician, not a national security expert, although he may have picked something up as Bill Clinton’s chief of staff. Perhaps to foster credibility with his agents, Panetta has resisted administration efforts to hold the agency accountable for Bush-era transgressions.  —PS

ABC News:

In addition to concerns about the CIA’s reputation and its legal exposure, other White House insiders say Panetta has been frustrated by what he perceives to be less of a role than he was promised in the administration’s intelligence structure. Panetta has reportedly chafed at reporting through the director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, according to the senior adviser who said Blair is equally unhappy with Panetta.

“Leon will be leaving,” predicted a former top U.S. intelligence official, citing the conflict with Blair. The former official said Panetta is also “uncomfortable” with some of the operations being carried out by the CIA that he did not know about until he took the job.

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By ardee, August 27 at 7:13 am #

Do you, as does Karl I suspect, advocate the continuation of CIA torture, assassination and other abuses of the law?

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By she-urt, August 26 at 10:13 pm #

I have to weigh in here…I totally agree with Coloradokarl, that we do need someone who isnt afraid to get their hands dirty! It’s time to start getting people into the right places at the right time to clean house!

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By ardee, August 25 at 5:24 am #

I am unsure what ideology coloradokarl espouses here, perhaps his post is sarcasm, at least I hope it is such.

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By ChaoticGood, August 25 at 2:30 am #

Leon is a good man, he is ill served by being put in charge of bad men, when all his instincts to change them for the better are frustrated by realpolitik.
I hope for his sake that Obama lets him off the hook or gives him the power to really clean up a corrupt CIA.

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By coloradokarl, August 24 at 9:06 pm #

Panette strikes me as a “mommies boy” we need some one who is sneaky and not afraid to get her hands dirty. Now that Hayden character scared me a little too much. Leon was a Poor choice as are over half of Obama’s Crew. He is losing me…....

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