Sorry Dianne: Panetta's a Great Choice for CIA Director

Leon Panetta is not only an experienced, level-headed Washington hand and a decent human being, but he's eminently qualified to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Sorry, Sen. Feinstein, that the news leaked out before you could be briefed or suggest your own candidate for the job. But having frozen Panetta out of the California governor's race in 1998 by not deciding whether to run until he had no chance of lining up financial backing, now would be a good time to stand aside and let him rise to the occasion.

Besides, a number of CIA directors, including George H.W. Bush, were not "intelligence experts" when named to head the agency. Like them, Panetta will surround himself with professional spooks but he'll be the civilian in charge of setting policy and operating rules.

Let's celebrate the idea that the new director of the CIA will be someone who is unequivocally opposed to torture and who understands -- as a former Chief of Staff -- that the president needs to hear unfiltered, honest intelligence reports.

Let's be glad that president-elect Barack Obama has selected someone who will not be cowed by the testosterone-poisoned atmosphere of the "intelligence community."

And let's savor the fact that Panetta is a man of integrity, intelligence and humility - a rare set of qualities in a CIA director.

Comments

[Okieborn]

Sour Grapes !! Uh HUH !!!

[Okieborn]

Sen Feinstein was a big backer of Hillary !!
I see some sour grapes !!!!!

[Okieborn]

Senator Feinstein has had "SOUR GRAPES" every since Hillary lost the Presidential Race !!
Happy New Year America !!!

[eqactor2]

Mr. Troustine - you do know that Pappa Bush was in the CIA before he was named to head it. He was in covert ops for YEARS.

[Jezreel]

Great commentary, Mr. Troustine. I couldn't agree with you more.

[strangerinthenight]

If you believe that CIA is only about a stance of torture, you are absolutely misguided. Panetta's stance on torture is a boiler plate statement, used by every politicians.

It's ridiculous.

[eqactor2]

You see, the thing about Panetta is, that he really believes torture's wrong. Unlike our Vice-President, Mr. Cheney, who thinks it's perfectly fine. Panetta is not a "lip-service" man.

[strangerinthenight]

Panetta's view is boiler plate and boiler plate defenses are exactly what lip-service is.

[marcusthomas]

intelligence failures led both to 9/11 and the ill advised invasion of iraq....this is not about "testosterone culture", phil, it's about competence... feinstein understands this

[FatherWolf]

Utterly wrong about intel failures.

The White House had ample warning in August 01 that something big was up. Had they paid attention, they could have gotten more dots connected. And the big "intel failure" leading up to the invasion of Iraq was the administration's cherry picking of ambiguous, contradictory, and worthless stuff to promote the invasion.

[marcusthomas]

see above fatherwolf. the 9/11 attackers went to flight school in the u.s. during the clinton administration... the national defense must be above politics

[Robespierre]

The only intelligence failures leading up to both 9/11 and Iraq was a lack of intelligence on the part of George w. Bush and Dick cheney.

[marcusthomas]

are you kidding? did not the attackers of 9/11 go to flight school in the united states, leading one instructor to notify the fbi, and nothing happened? remember this one: http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/03/12/inv.flight.school.visas/

have you read the 9/11 report? did not the international community, including the german and english governments, offer us bad intel on iraq's possession of wmd?

bush and chaney cherry picked the intel -- and did a mountain of harm to our country in the process -- but it's naive and dangerous to assume their incompetence was the only incompetence....

we need able, experienced leaders in the intel services...panetta is not proven

[alexr0812]

COMPETENCE??? Are you out of your mind? Where had they been these 8 years, better yet where have you been?

[JDJase]

I believe its George H.W. Bush, not George H.B. Bush

[Phil Trounstine - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks...typo...corrected

[snesich]

If Dianne "I'm not a progressive but I play one on TV" Feinstein is opposed to Leon Panetta, it only gives him more credibility. Panetta will bring fresh leadership to this agency. He has great intelligence, superior management skills and absolute integrity.

The fact that Dianne Feinstein---who gave Bush absolutely everything he wanted regarding Iraq, illegal wiretaps and much more---dislikes him just sweetens the deal. Now, I want Panetta more than ever!

[kjg25171]

Amen

[roger37]

Hear! Hear!

[mrcontinental]

Well put!

[Texas Blue]

I agree 100%.

Feinstein also gave her support today to seating Blago's Burris.
.
Strike Two, Diane.

[cruisepuppy7452a]

Honestly, I would question anything that Reid and Pelosi do or say. Both are republicans in dems clothing, have gotten by with murder, literally, ignored demands of impeachment and federal jail time for b ush and cheney, when clearly, there were numerous grounds to do so. Now they dare question Panetta or his abilities? Thy do things that suit thier party, but not the party of dems, oh no, its the party of republicans whom they really represent. They should be ousted asap. To keep them in, is asking for more trouble for the people of the US here and abroad. They are nothing more than shills for the republicans.

[ObjectiveRealist]

Rick Wagoner (GM) has not experience assembling automobiles and Vikram Pandit has no experience as a loan officer. Are their lacka of entry-level professional experiences the reason they are both incompetent CEOs?

Yes or no, Senator Feinstein, and not a word more.

[anothermba]

Thank you. I tried to make the same point earlier and HuffPo didn't publish my comments.

And for those who keep reiterating "in these times", well these times are no damn different from other times. In fact "in these times" there indeed needs to be a man of integrity in that role and not a scared, scaremonger, unethical, anti-civil-rights to head that agency.

[DontJustFollow]

In all seriousness - I see where you are going but using your logic, since Obama has no experience in business, the military, foreign policy, the enviroment, anything, that would mean he is not going to be a a a a a a

never mind...

[lagumbo]

And lets be glad that PRESIDENT OBAMA doesn't have to have permission from Feinstein to select
his appointees.

[orangepetal]

I'm sorry I think Sen. Feinstein has the right and is performing her duty by stating her concern. Speaking of past appointments is hardly relevant at this time.

[todayslies]

Is it me, or does it seem like Feinstein has some sort of personal issue with her fellow Californian Panetta? She blocked his path to the statehouse, now trying to block him from the CIA?

[DeniseD]

Well, she did back Hillary to the bitter end. I personally like Mr. Panetta.

[richdoll]

it shows that obama can think for his self with out hillary/finstien calling the shots