Obama eyes Petraeus as new CIA director

[Bluebear]

The White House is considering a major national-security reshuffling that could see Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta succeed Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Gen. David Petraeus take over at the CIA, an administration official said Thursday.

President Barack Obama will also need to pick a candidate to succeed the departing chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, who will step down at the end of September.

The CIA, Defense and Joint Chiefs positions are pivotal, particularly in setting U.S. policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mr. Panetta has overseen a major expansion of the CIA's drone campaign in Pakistan against al Qaeda and Taliban militants. A similar program is under consideration for Yemen, home to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

An Obama administration official described Gen. Petraeus, commander of allied forces in Afghanistan, as one of the candidates under consideration to succeed Mr. Panetta if Mr. Panetta agrees to take over for Mr. Gates, who is widely expected to step down this summer.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704630004576249333465903832.html

[Solly Mack]

1. I cringe each time I see that in print.

[bluestateguy]

2. Better to have him inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in

If he's not in the Administration or the Army I see him as becoming a superstar on the paid speech and book circuit, which would then create chatter about him running for president.

[DURHAM D]

6. He will still run for President in 2016.

He will be elected.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Aha! So THAT was the game.

A bit ago Panetta's leaving was announced, we were wondering who his departure was leaving room for.
Patreaus is always in the news, Panetta was hardly eating up headlines.

And did you notice the "expanded drone campaign in Yemen"?

[onethatcares]

4. jeez, it never stops, is Paul Bremmer available?

he should be well rested by now and in need of several hundreds of millions of dollars.

[CountAllVotes]

5. oh "groovy"

Geez, I haven't used that word in years. Groovy, just groovy alright. :puke: :puke: :puke:
:puke: :puke: :puke:

I think I'm going back to bed to attempt to get some sleep. Maybe this is a bad nightmare I can only hope! :evilfrown:

:kick:

[mazzarro]

7. Obama keeps burnishing the images of reThugs

Petraeus is no doubt a reThug and will declare himself as one once he leaves the military and any image burnishing he gets is making another reThug more acceptable to the general electorate. So I wonder what Obama is thinking here? This makes me shudder at the naivety of Obama!

[Distant Observer]

8. Why can't they bring in an OUTSIDER. Worries me that things are so closed in the NS group

[gkhouston]

9. Really? Is the Stooge Pool so shallow that you have to keep re-using the same faces? n/t

[Bluebear]

12. Stooge pool!

:)

[Ignis]

13. !

:spray:

[OnyxCollie]

10. Change! nt

[conspirator]

11. As someone with afghanistan experience he sure has the qualifications

to manage the CIA drug dealing

[spanone]

14. time to dump petreaus....he's a bu$h* boy