Cia

Leon Panetta Right Choice for CIA

Dan Glickman | Posted 01.08.2009 | Politics

Read More: Cia Director, Obama Transition, Central Intelligence Agency, Leon Panetta, Leon Panetta Obama, Barack Obama, TAGS: Central Intelligence Agency, Cia, House Agriculture Committee, Obama Cabinet, Obama Appointees, Obama Appointments, Central Intelligence Agency Obama, Leon Panetta CIA, Politics News
Dan Glickman

Leon Panetta is a patriot, a veteran, and a consensus builder, and he will lead the CIA forthrightly and in full respect for the law and the Constitution. I frankly cannot think of a better choice.

Read Post

Lessons of Obama's First Cabinet Controversy

Gordon Goldstein | Posted 01.07.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama, Controversy, Leon Panetta, Cia Director, Obama's Cabinet, Politics News
Gordon Goldstein

Despite a nearly flawless transition period of astute, substantive and widely praised cabinet appointments, the Obama administration has unintentionally provoked its first controversy.

Read Post

If You Think Panetta's Wrong For CIA, You Might Be Part Of The Problem

Frank Naif | Posted 01.07.2009 | Politics

Read More: Cia, Barack Obama Cabinet, National Security, Leon Panetta, Obama's Cabinet, Cia Director, Obama Transition, Central Intelligence Agency, Leon Panetta Obama, Barack Obama, Obama Cabinet, Obama Appointees, Obama Appointments, Central Intelligence Agency Obama, Leon Panetta CIA, Politics News
Frank Naif

If the Obama administration is serious about fixing US intelligence, there is a compelling logic to putting Panetta in charge at CIA.

Read Post

The Bad Democrats Begin to Surface

Tom D'Antoni | Posted 01.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama Cabinet, Jay Rockefeller, Obama's Cabinet, Dianne Feinstein, Obama Transition, Being Happy, Leon Panetta CIA, Blue Dog Democrats, Cia Director, Central Intelligence Agency, Leon Panetta, Leon Panetta Obama, Barack Obama, Cia, Obama Appointees, Obama Appointments, Central Intelligence Agency Obama, Politics News
Tom D'Antoni

The next time you find yourself getting pissed off at Obama, say these words out loud,"George Bush."

Read Post

CIA: Parsing The Panetta Pick

William Bradley | Posted 01.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: Wmd, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cia, Afghanistan, Ronald Reagan, John Brennan, Dianne Feinstein, Iran, Ted Sorensen, Robert F. Kennedy, Allen Dulles, Tom Kuchel, Jimmy Carter, Intelligence, Jane Harman, Earl Warren, Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Stephen Kappes, John Mccone, Bob Finch, Obama Transition, Max Rafferty, Iraq, Leon Panetta, Nancy Pelosi, Central Intelligence Agency, Leon Panetta Obama, Feinstein Panetta, Obama Cabinet, Obama Appointees, Central Intelligence Agency Obama, Leon Panetta CIA, Cia Director, Jay Rockefeller, Obama Appointments, Pat Buchanan, Jerry Brown, Politics News
William Bradley

To say Panetta is a Clinton retread is to ignore his actual background. He comes out of a tradition which is almost forgotten today, that of the liberal Republican.

Read Post

Regarding Panetta: Let's Not Forget About Gates

Kristen Breitweiser | Posted 01.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama Transition, Department of Defense, Cia, National Security, Cia Director, Jay Rockefeller, Central Intelligence Agency, Dni, Leon Panetta, Dianne Feinstein, Director of National Intelligence, CIA Torture, Leon Panetta Obama, Barack Obama, Feinstein Panetta, Bush Administration Torture, Panetta Torture, Obama Cabinet, Dennis Blair, Obama Appointees, Obama Appointments, Central Intelligence Agency Obama, Torture, Leon Panetta CIA, Politics News
Kristen Breitweiser

Placing an inexperienced person like Leon Panetta at CIA for his clean hands and "managerial expertise" will cost lives on the day of the next domestic terrorist attack.

Read Post

Feinstein/Panetta: Senatorial Prerogative, "Intelligence Professionalism," and Political Leadership of the CIA

RJ Eskow | Posted 01.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: Dennis Blair, Dianne Feinstein, Leon Panetta CIA, Cia, Leon Panetta, Feinstein Panetta, Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency Obama, Politics News
RJ Eskow

Panetta opponents warn us that insiders will run circles around him. They're forgetting about the man to whom Mr. Panetta will report.

Read Post

Panetta

Jayne Lyn Stahl | Posted 01.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: George Bush, John McCain, Leon Panetta Obama, Cia, Leon Panetta, Barack Obama, Caroline Kennedy, Leon Panetta CIA, Obama Cabinet, Obama's Cabinet, Politics News
Jayne Lyn Stahl

Leon Panetta is an "unconventional" choice for CIA Director, a word Caroline Kennedy used to describe herself, but consider the corruption inherent in the more conventional options.

Read Post

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

Phil Trounstine | Posted 01.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama's Cabinet, Leon Panetta CIA, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Obama Transition, Cia, Cia Director, Jay Rockefeller, Central Intelligence Agency, Leon Panetta, Dianne Feinstein, Leon Panetta Obama, Barack Obama, Feinstein Panetta, Obama Cabinet, Obama Appointees, Obama Appointments, Central Intelligence Agency Obama, Cia Directors, Politics News
Phil Trounstine

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.

Read Post

What's Wrong with Panetta?

John McQuaid | Posted 01.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: Jay Rockefeller, Dianne Feinstein, Porter Goss, Cia, Leon Panetta, Barack Obama, Feinstein Panetta, Central Intelligence Agency, Leon Panetta Obama, Leon Panetta CIA, What's Wrong With the Cia, Goss Bush Panetta, Panetta Quotes George Tenet, Politics News
John McQuaid

I don't quite understand why Feinstein and Rockefeller are objecting to Obama's pick, Leon Panetta. As objections go, theirs are weak. There is no reason that the CIA director has to be an intelligence expert.

Read Post

New CIA Chief Must Be Anti-Torture

Jon Soltz | Posted 01.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama Appointees, Obama Transition, Central Intelligence Agency, Cia, Obama Appointments, Leon Panetta, Central Intelligence Agency Obama, Cia Director, President Obama, Obama's Cabinet, Leon Panetta CIA, Politics News
Jon Soltz

Leon Panetta certainly understands intelligence. But, most importantly, he understands the importance of our intelligence apparatus operating on the moral, ethical, and legal high ground.

Read Post

Fuss Over Panetta Should Remind Hill Dems: It's Not About You

Art Brodsky | Posted 01.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: Dianne Feinstein, Cia, Leon Panetta, Barack Obama, President Obama, Obama Cabinet, Cia Director, Obama Transition, Central Intelligence Agency, Feinstein Panetta, Obama Appointees, Obama Appointments, Central Intelligence Agency Obama, Leon Panetta CIA, Politics News
Art Brodsky

Obama comes into office with a clear election mandate, and the last thing he needs is the public view of a bunch of squabbling Democrats (see: Burris, Roland) doing the GOP's work for it.

Read Post

Doing the Right Thing in Somalia

Frankie Martin | Posted 01.05.2009 | World

Read More: Senator Russ Feingold, Uganda, Rendition, Islam, Cia, War on Terror, Africa, Politics, Somalia, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, United Nations, US Foreign Policy, Al Shabab, Ethiopia, World News, Union of Islamic Courts, Hillary Clinton, Somali Pirates, African Union, Terrorism, Djibouti, Burundi, Barack Obama, Us Somalia, Un Somalia Peacekeepers, Us Foreign Relations, Uic, Un Peacekeepers, Ban Ki-Moon, Humanitarian Crisis, World News
Frankie Martin

An international stabilization force may well be what is needed in Somalia, but the tough groundwork will have to be laid first. And for this, the Somali people must be on board.

Read Post

The Leon E. Panetta Central Intelligence Agency. . .?

Steve Clemons | Posted 01.05.2009 | Politics

Read More: Clinton Global Initiative, Jeff Bingaman, Sylvia Panetta, Cia, Dci, Leon Panetta, Barack Obama, Politics News
Steve Clemons

I've always found it a bit amusing that he serves on the Board of Directors of the Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute which hosts the Leon Panetta Lecture Series and which also is home to the Leon E. Panetta Archive.

Read Post

Leon Panetta: CIA Director

The Huffington Post | Posted 01.05.2009 | Politics

Read More: Cia Director, Cia, Leon Panetta, Obama's Cabinet, President Obama, Leon Panetta Obama, Leon Panetta CIA, Politics News

UPDATE 1/06: Marc Ambinder reports that President-elect Obama is confident that Leon Panetta won't face serious opposition, despite Democratic Senator...

Read Whole Story

It's Gonna Take More Than The Perfect DNI Appointment To Fix Our Broken Spy Culture

Frank Naif | Posted 01.05.2009 | Politics

Read More: Dusty Foggo, Dennis Blair, Obama Cabinet, Cia, National Security, Obama's Cabinet, Dni, Politics News
Frank Naif

At the CIA I knew, the consequences for taking a day of sick leave adjacent to a weekend were far greater than the consequences of say, leaving classified documents in the back of a rental car.

Read Post

Protecting the President: Lessons Learned?

Geri Spieler | Posted 01.04.2009 | Politics

Read More: Protection, Protecting, Squeaky Fromme. Gun, Patti Hearst, Cia, Shield, Secret Service, President Obama, Safety, Fbi, Obama, Ford, President, Gerald Ford, Sara Jane Moore, Defense, National Security, Manson, Assassin, Security, San Francisco, Politics News
Geri Spieler

The woman was Sara Jane Moore. There were two significant Secret-Service-related reasons that she was free to stand on that sidewalk that afternoon, gun in hand.

Read Post

Will Foreign Policy Get Even Sexier in 2009?

Phil Bronstein | Posted 12.31.2008 | Politics

Read More: Dubai, Cia, Middle East, Sex, Viagra, Afghanistan, Phil Bronstein, Foreign Policy, New Year's Commentary, Politics News
Phil Bronstein

The line between punishment and reward can be confusing in any culture. Particularly when it comes to sex.

Read Post

CIA Using Viagra To Help Build Alliances In Afghanistan

Washington Post | Joby Warrick | Posted 12.25.2008 | Politics

Read More: Warwire, Cia, Viagra Afghanistan, Viagra, Afghanistan, CIA Afghanistan, CIA Viagra, Politics News

The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and h...

Read Whole Story

Blackwater's Drag On US Efforts Abroad

Frank Naif | Posted 12.21.2008 | Politics

Read More: Outsourcing, Erik Prince, Cia, National Security, Blackwater, Foreign Policy, Politics News
Frank Naif

Notorious security company Blackwater is back in the news, just in time to remind us (again) how over-reliance on contractors for sensitive security missions is hurting American effectiveness abroad.

Read Post

What the CIA Doesn't Need You to Know

Keith Thomson | Posted 12.18.2008 | Politics

Read More: Zbigniew Brzezinski, Central Intelligence Agency, Ryszard Kuklinski, Michael Hayden, Cia, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Espionage, David Ignatius, Journalism, Soviet Union, Politics News
Keith Thomson

CIA Director Michael Hayden is taking significant steps to soften critics of the CIA's overclassification and other obfuscations -- and perhaps even to rekindle America's confidence in the Agency.

Read Post

Reckoning Renditions to America's Allies

Frank Naif | Posted 12.16.2008 | World

Read More: Cia, National Security, Obama Transition, Rendition, Mahar Arar, War on Terror, Hassan Mustafa Omar Nasr, Cia Operations, El-Masri, Abu Omar, Obama Administration, Secretary of State Clinton, Obama Foreign Policy, Abu Ghraib, Bush Administration Renditions, Counterterrorism, Guantanamo Bay, Attorney General Holder, Extrajudicial Renditions, Torture, World News
Frank Naif

While it's true that Guantanamo has been a blow to US prestige and moral leadership, the policy of rendition has unnecessarily complicated relations between the US and long-time allies.

Read Post

A History of Music Torture in the "War on Terror"

Andy Worthington | Posted 12.15.2008 | Politics

Read More: Ruhal Ahmed, Dr. Dre, Trent Reznor, Cia, Donald Vance, Britney Spears, Music Torture, Nine Inch Nails, Eminem, Afghanistan, Terrorism, Rage Against the Machine, George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Guantanamo, Tom Morello, David Gray, David Addington, Drowning Pool, Binyam Mohamed, Metallica, Pamela Anderson, Abu Ghraib, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, Guantanamo Music Torture, Dark Prison, Bob Singleton, William J. Haynes II, Iraq, Sere, Deicide, Politics News
Andy Worthington

U.S. military personnel were ordered to keep prisoners awake by blasting ear-splittingly loud music at them -- for days, weeks or even months on end -- at prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.

Read Post

The Camel Club Meets Again -- An Audio Book Review

Tom Alderman | Posted 12.04.2008 | Entertainment

Read More: Divine Justice, Ron McLarty, David Baldacci, Cia, Oliver Stone, Hachette Audio, The Camel Club, Entertainment News
Tom Alderman

The Camel Club needs invigoration, or a new agenda, or to declare victory and go home.

Read Post

Terrorist Money Trail Leads to Allied Ire, But Not Terrorists

Frank Naif | Posted 12.04.2008 | World

Read More: Civil Liberties, Obama Transition, War on Terror, Cia, Privacy, Eu, Terrorism, Al Qaeda, World News
Frank Naif

The US campaign against terrorism has lost America its friends and alienated it allies. Following terrorist money is a cornerstone of US counter-terrorism strategy that has achieved unwelcome results.

Read Post