Panetta and The Experience Question

Thanks for articulating this so clearly. The last couple of lines sum it up really well.

I’m trying to remember Jimmy Carter’s rationale when he nominated JFK speechwriter Ted Sorenson for Director. (Then he withdrew.) I think he would have come up short on most of Larry’s criteria.

Sen. Feinstein has balls. She called the Messiah for the Pennata appointment, without talking to her first…. Even Biden was on his keen saying it was a “mistake”. Then Feinstein did the best political FU to BHO and Reid by backing the appointment of Burris. What a show….!

Larry,

The ‘problem’ is that Panetta will be the low banana on the tree, as long knives Blair will be Panetta’s boss.

Larry,
Is there no one already inside the agency that could do the job or have they all become jaded GS- numbers just waiting to finish off their twenty and go into the private sector?
IMHO, the company has become a second rate intel service who has been so busy saying “not me” that nothing gets accomplished.
I speak in particular to the facts we uncovered here through NQ which, theoretically, should have stopped Obama. Foreign activities, Logan Act violations, passport use and all the myriad other things we found should have perked up somebody’s ears and yet nothing happened.
What’s up with that anyway? And if there is no decent answer for that question, then what difference does it make who becomes director, he’ll be a eunuch anyhow…

Panetta SHOULD WITHDRAW! Not Qualified to run the CIA post-9-11.

I was hoping she wasn’t notified because she, like Rockefeller, rubber stamped the torture and “war policies” of the worst president in American history.

In my fantasy, Obama, or someone on his staff, sent Feinstein a message.

But then Obama IS known for throwing people under the bus, so maybe not so fantastical afterall.

Whether Panetta makes it through, or not.

No Panetta, No Way! I barely rest easy as it is! I hear your points Larry, but something about this is just wrong. Someone further upthread asked if there was no one in the Agency who could do the job. I’d like to know that myself. THey aren’t all Bush loyalists.

ANd, hell Larry they could have nominated YOU!

It’s world intelligence, I would think the level of skill necessary to compete, much less keep the US successful, for the long term, is beyond most of our comprehension, hell, beyond the comprehension of those who call themselves Cheney, Rumsfeld or even Hayden — never mind Kristol.

As with Russia, say, or even Iran — it would be terrific if they were Canada, say, but they’re not, and no one can do it for them, they have to do it for themselves.

It’s human nature, and the only way it works is if the world stays free, free to make stupid, self destructive decisions, even.

But you know, narcissistic thinking is a killer, balloon men with no skill fail, when the pretense is taken from them.

I know that in some government agencies the Director is the political operative and the Deputy Director is the administrative operative. And then there are other appointees who are political payoffs, but who sometimes wield considerable power in their own little universes. In that case, the Director serves as the point man for the Chief Executive and doesn’t necessarily make all the decisions or have all the control, but covers the Chief’s back and takes the heat for bad outcomes. I would be surprised if the Director of the CIA or any other Federal agency really has complete control of policy and operation. But I don’t really know. Obama is not exactly the most transparent politician on the scene and since he has no administrative experience, one cannot refer to his past administrative style.

As usual Larry, I think some of the comments on this website about Panetta are clouded by your reader’s hatred toward Obama. No matter what Obama does or how brilliant a move he makes many of your readers will always say it is wrong. Their hatred gets in the way of common sense. Not a very intelligent bunch.

Larry, you’ve done a good job at articulating what’s required of the person heading the CIA. I respect your views, and if you think Panetta is a good choice, I trust that he is. Thanks.

Will Obama listen to anyone? That’s really the question, isn’t it?

Panetta, Gupta, Clinton, Emanuel…which one is really going to have PEBO’s ear? Which one is part of the selling of the WH?

If Panetta – and boy that IS a blast from the past – is to be successful, the onus is on Obama to actually LISTEN!!!

Obama has no track record to prove that he is a team player other than from Chicago.

The real problem will always be Obama – just like Bush – unless he proves himself as a true leader.

He could start by producing a valid birth certificate and releasing his records.

Until then, he’s no better than Bush.

Um, George 41 was a big partisan hack. He was determined to win, which is why GHB gravitated to Lee Atwater.

As for Panetta, I can’t really say much more than it could be a worse choice.

And we know who Feinstein is close friends with don’t we? Another great Senator who has balls…HRC. I foresee fireworks between the State Dept. & WH.

And Obama isn’t a hack?

This is your area of expertise Larry, but it seems like a purely political appointment to me (ie: someone to cover BO politically). Doesn’t the Director needs to have an understanding of intelligence procedures and operations in order to manage the agency effectively? It must be vastly complicated. One critic said the multiple levels of complexity are impossible for someone to learn quickly on the job.

Despite an internal list of former and current CIA officials who had impressive administrative credentials, Panetta was selected, in large part, because he comes from outside the intelligence world.

Part of Panetta’s outside world is his membership in the Institute for Policy Studies [IPS], described by Brian Crozier, director of the London-based Institute for the Study of Conflict, as “…the perfect intellectual front for Soviet activities which would be resisted if they were to originate openly from the KGB.”

The IPS is described as a Washinton-based “Think Factory”, which helped train extremist who incite violence in the United States and whose educational research serves as a cover for intrigue and political agitation” (FBI file 175-398). Another description given is that the “IPS apparently exercises considerable influence in the New Left Movement and may have as its goal the destruction of the United States Government.”

And, Obama’s choice for CIA Director is a member.

membership

http://www.knology.net/~bilrum/ips1.htm

Institute for Policy Studies

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6991

Uh oh

I know Panetta. I live in the Monterey Bay Area and he has always had a stellar reputation. My nona (grandma) wrote him a letter once and he took the time to stop by her home and speak with her personally. I happened to be visiting that day and I was impressed by his candor and authenticity. She was a huge fan of his until the day she died. I was thrilled when Clinton chose him as his Chief of Staff.

Then came the Iraq Study Group. Because of Panetta’s reputation for being a principled man, I believed that he would speak truth to power. I waited patiently for his assessment. I knew that he was ABSOLUTELY AGAINST any form of torture and believed that he would do his damndest to stop the atrocities. Unfortunately, I’m still waiting.

Here’s a brief refresher re: ISG.
The ISG principals were a bipartisan group of senior individuals who have had distinguished careers in public service. Its co-chairs were former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III (R) and former chairman of the House International Relations Committee Lee Hamilton (D).

Lawrence S. Eagleburger, former U.S. Secretary of State ;
Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Senior Managing Director, Lazard, Freres & Co. LLC;
Edwin Meese, III, former U.S. Attorney General;
Sandra Day O’Connor, former U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice;
Leon E. Panetta, former White House Chief of Staff;
William J. Perry, former U.S. Secretary of Defense;
Charles S. Robb, former U.S. Senator;
Alan K. Simpson, former U.S. Senator.

Same old shit, different day. Baker, Hamilton, (Didn’t they serve on the 9-11 committee, as well? How convenient for the Bush Admin.) Meese, O’Connor…
Hmmmmmmm…
Interesting that the ISG didn’t report the US violations of INTERNATIONAL LAW. Why didn’t the group take into account our LAWS defined by our Constitution? What about the Geneva Convention? Why didn’t Panetta speak out against the obvious war crimes being perpetuated in our name? Not a peep from Panetta. I can’t forget that.

I’m not saying that Panetta isn’t a “decent” man. I’m simply questioning his silence when our country desperately needed a courageous leader to shine the light and speak out when our fellow citizens and military needed their voices heard.

Panetta isn’t an outsider. He’s far from it. Why do they continue “projecting” that he has NO CONNECTIONS in any way with Bush, Gitmo, torture, etc. when he was “appointed” to “look into” the War in Iraq?

Let’s not forget that George H.W. Bush was “spun” as an “outsider”. We all know how far from the truth THAT turned out to be.

Why do “former” communists such as David Horowitz and Brian Crozier insist on accusing moderate Dems such as Panetta and Hillary of stealth marxism??

Projection? Disinformation? Or the fanaticism of the converted? I’m reminded of a joke about a catholic convert accusing the Pope of not being “Catholic enough”.

And Obama is a member of the Chicago Thug Machine. So now, perhaps, the power has just shifted to a different group. Panetta, it would appear based on past actions or inactions, is a yes man.

America has stepped through the looking glass.

Does the word diabolical seem to operate here?

Harp, I heard hte same thing about this IPS. Bill Ayers has something to do with this pick maybe???

List one “brilliant” move Obama has made in his life?

Cali,
Thanks, I really learned something. (For old dogs, an achievement)
I agree that our nation took its biggest nosedive when someone, somewhere said, “Fuck it, let’s torture the sonofabitch.” I truly believe it to be a major turning point in our nation’s history. Prior to our accepting the “need” to torture to get info, we always carried on with the ideal that we were better than that and it was what separated us from the bad guys.
The day we stepped outside the “Lone Ranger’s Code” we went down like the Hindenberg.
A new definition of the American Way started growing when my generation took over. It went from “Do the Right Thing because it is right” to “If it feels good, do it!” so quickly that it has taken since the seventies to realize that there is a consequence to our actions and that it has come due.
If you are in your fifties or sixties, you get to share in the responsibility. It was us who felt it necessary to abandon ALL that was our parents’ when we should have been a great deal more selective. Now that the horse has so gleefully left the barn, we sit here wondering what the hell happened to us.
Well, it comes down to this: Somehow those who do the right thing because it is right have historically won out over those who saw it the other way. Ask yourself why…
The answer you get inside your heart is probably telling the truth.

Buzz,
Get thee out of my cabeza!

Bottom line — I do NOT trust Obama’s judgment nor HIS rational for making this selection.

“I am a tad amused by the insistence that we need a CIA director with “intelligence” experience. Really?”

Gee I am a amused that tad thinks experience doesn’t matter anymore. No suppose tad needed to have brain surgery. Now tad, I ask you–would you go to a guy with no experience? It is a post 911 world. We need the best. Pinata is not the guy for the job.

CALI: what worries me is that Panetta will ignore mavericks ..in the CIA ..like John O’Neil was ignored by the FBI..he was one of the top anti terrorists experts and he was ignored by this administration and the powers that were..to the point he left the FBI and with him left a great maverick who was willing to do what was nessesary to protect this nation and her people…I believe it is the mavericks that save lives.People willing to put their lives on the line and fight for truth and what is right..but there are always those above these people willing to compromise and to negate the people in the position to know where danger exists..and those above only care about their own ego, or position..

I have great worries about Panetta.. why can’t we get someone new?? Why do we keep getting the same people recycled? Why can’t we have fresh eyes , non military..and someone with integrity without conditions or ties to the people who have failed us already????????
I don’t like anyone that has sat so close to those liars who were part of the 9/11 commission..and led us into war..the wrong war for the wrong reasons!

None of these same old same old bastards keeps us safe..they have done nothing but made us disliked everywhere in the world.

Tenet was a danger because he wanted to be liked by the Bush cabal..he was more nterested in being “one of the good ole boys”,.and the consequences was my co-workers died on 9/11 and passengers on my airline were killed, and people on the ground died because of incompetance.
No REAL INVESTIGATION has ever taken place.
And yet we keep recyling the same failures over and over again, and when they fail , there are no consequences to them..only to innocent people..and innocent peoples lives.
Panetta proved himself to bwe the same crap recycled when he stayed silent about torture, and the lies of this damn war.

Obama is not going to bring change..and I never thought he would…not for one city second..its just more of the same old shit…wash, rinse, spin…recycle…wash, rinse, spin..

If you believe otherwise..you only fool yourself.

I would think you’re looking for a specific skill set, correct?

And perhaps Panetta has that skill set.

We are fighting a war against extremist your telling me that this guy can afford to learn on the job. Panetta must be you buddy or something Larry. This don’t make any sense whatsoever.

So now we need a CIA director with
“intelligence” and “experience”. We should have started with a president elected that has “intelligence” and “experience”. NOT the fraud we have now.

I want a guy who knows the pointy end from the dull end. I want a guy who instills an esprit that’s been missing since the good ol’ days when Congress didn’t stick its nose into real people’s business.
I want Wild Bill Donovan. (look him up)
I want a CIA that will very quietly go kill some sonofabitch because he helped some other sonofabitch hurt people.
Barring that, how much to rent Mossad?
They don’t have half the Yale Glee Club to go through when they want something done.
But I forget myself. This is all on Obama so nothing good will come from it. Get used to that one… if its from Obama, its shit.
Or you could Hope things Change…

Zeke…you hit the nail on the head and what i meant about having a Maverick..we need someone who will push the damn door open and make oz listen ..no matter what..who will kick damn doors open ..and who will stop any damn threat..no matter what the gutless leaders say or worry about their political careers..Wild Bill Donovan, John O’Neil..Valerie Plame..Joe Wilson..all who put their country first..above their own careers..above their own ego..those people gave me a lifetime of security when I went to work each day..that all ended with Tenet who cared more about the boys club..and Porter Goss who was up to his eyeballs in corruptness..Woolsey..what a bunch of crap..we have A COUNTRY OF BRILLANT INTELLIGENCE PEOPLE.. and what do we get?? retreads..over an over again…

Are there no good people available???? where are all our brains?? Do we honestly think that the recycle of failures will keep us safe now???????

Will Panetta keep planes in the sky where they belong while he learns on the job?

No

I have zero faith in this nomination…in fact less than zero faith.

It’s a shame you ran with the Whitey Tape story and the Birth Certificate nonsense story. You’ve attracted a readership that isn’t rational. Wear them like a burning tire around your neck. You asked for them.

He’s already apologized to Feinstein so I’m guessing he made a miscalculation. How soon will Gupta have that cute little uniform redesigned? Anyone?

And you are supposed to be “rational”??

I would like to see Feinstein replace Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader. Believe that many in that august body are a bit miffed with their fearless leader right now because of some recent missteps regarding his “tourists smell” remark, waffling on Lieberman and now the Burris debacle.

Looks like it’s time for old Harry to pack it in!

I agree. If the existing No. 2 stays on as anticipated and Panetta confers with him often, I’m pretty confident that he’ll do well. He always seemed like a fair, straight shooter to me and those in the Agency shouldn’t prejudge him. I don’t think that he’ll make the same mistakes that Porter Goss made — heard that his people sort of took over in an arrogant way, which proved disastrous for all.

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Considering how the Bush White House used the CIA as a tool for their phony baloney war in Iraq, the appointment of Panetta might actually bring some morale and purpose back to the agency.

%27va Information Security Officer Self-assessment%27…

Maybe, but I’m not sure it’for everyone….