Former Congressman Leon Panetta is New US C.I.A. Chief

A former congressman and White House Chief of Staff has been appointed by President-elect Barrack Obama to be new Chief of the US Central Intelligence Agency. His name is Leon E. Panetta, a 70-year old former Chief of Staff during the Clinton presidency.

Mr. Panetta’s appointment immediately drew critical reactions from various sectors including incumbent democrats in congress. They said that Mr. Panetta lacks the experience that would make him effective in handling the job stressing that the C.I.A. should be handled by intelligence professional.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a democrat from California said: ‘My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time’.

John D. Rockefeller IV, also a democrat from West Virginia, the present chairman of the intelligence committee shares Senator’s Feinstein’s concerns, according to democratic congressional aides.

On the other hand, Sen. Ron Wyden seems to favor Mr. Panetta’s appointment, saying that Panetta is a ‘strong choice’ and that ‘he has the skills to usher in a new era of accountability at the nation’s premier intelligence agency’.

Mr. John M. Deutz, a former deputy defense secretary and now professor at the MIT said, Mr. Panetta is a ‘talented and experienced manager of government and a widely respected person in congress.

Leon Panetta is known to have opposed any policy that would allow torture and abuse during interrogations by the C.I.A. or other agencies of government, which drew support

from human rights groups including Elisa Massimino, Executive Director of Human Rights First, who said that it was important that a new C.I.A director be someone ‘who recognizes that torture is illegal, immoral, dangerous and counter productive’.

New York Times: ‘The C.I.A.has settled down from years of turmoil after the September 11 attacks and fall out from flawed intelligence assessment about Iraq’s unconventional weapons programs. But the agency’s role among the constellation of spy agencies operating under the director of national intelligence remains ill-defined’.

Mr. Panetta, a native of Monterey, California, served eight years in the House before becoming the chief budget adviser of Mr. Clinton in 1993 and taking over as Mr. Clinton’s Chief of Staff from July 1994 to January 1997.