The Panetta Predicament
The appointment of Leon Panetta by president elect Obama to head the CIA is being panned by critics who feel Panetta lacks the appropriate experience to hold such an important intel position. They’re right.
As everyone is beginning to find out, the only reason Obama chose Panetta is because the people at Move On, who believe they’re holding Obama on a leash, wouldn’t accept anyone who was involved in intel in any way for the last 8 years. The problem is that disqualifies pretty much anyone who is truly qualified to do the job.
This is a partisan pick. How else could it be perceived when we all know Panetta was Bill Clinton’s chief of staff?
Ralph Peters at the New York Post agrees in an article published today titled “An Awful Pick. O Opts to Politicize Intelligence.”
“WOULD you ask your accountant to perform brain surgery on your child?”
“The intelligence community’s job isn’t to make anybody feel good – its core mission is to provide nonpartisan analysis to our leaders.”
Peters is right on point. The job of intel has nothing to do with Obama, George W. Bush, Democrats or Republicans. The job of intel has to do solely with keeping America safe. By giving this appointment to Panetta, Obama is making a political decision which puts American lives at risk. Just. Plain. Stupid.
Dick Morris wrote recently on his blog:
“Paneta is too inexperienced, too weak, and too liberal to make an effective CIA head. And, surrounded by people who know even less than he does about national security issues, it is a truly terrifying appointment.”
Read the whole entry, the opening paints an even scarier picture.
I guess all we have now is the hope that Obama’s been talking about for the last few years. We have to hope that Panetta turns out to be an intel wiz kid. We have to hope that we are able to gather intel that protects America. And we have to hope that we don’t get attacked again.
I suppose we could also hope that within the next 30 days Panetta gets caught up in some sort of pay for play scandal that would keep him from being appointed a la Bill Richardson.
Given everything that’s happened since the election, I’m not sure that’s so far fetched.
