Nice post from Nominay’s site:
From my Facebook status update:
Leon Panetta has released a new book. I took an interest in reading it because a source on the internet said that Panetta and Obama were scared of the CIA. Sure enough, Panetta was completely controlled by the agency. They even refused to comply with certain decisions he made, openly. They would even tell him what to do!
On the few battles Panetta did pick with them, the CIA bypassed him and took their complaints to the White House. Obama would almost always let the CIA have their way! Panetta might as well have bent over and have the CIA prod him with a sharp stick. Given that this is the same agency that assassinated President Kennedy, this sadly shouldn’t be surprising. To this day they refuse to declassify documents as mandated by the President and Congress.
It’s not like Panetta was some pushover who came out of nowhere. He’s had an illustrious career, starting with being the first person in his family to attend college, graduating Magna Cum Laude, then with a Juris Doctor. Even in high school he became President of the Student Body.
He would later go on to become a military intelligence officer in the Army, defied President Nixon after he was appointed by him to head the Civil Rights Office (Nixon essentially didn’t want Panetta to do his job). Panetta retained his job through his superiors who threatened to resign if Nixon fired him.
Panetta then went on to become a Congressman where he quickly rose in the ranks through hard work and committee leadership. He was in charge of the US budget under President Clinton. To get the budget passed, you have to work with Congress which was not easy in the 1990’s, and is nearly impossible to do today. Panetta was successful in his tenure there like he was with everything else he ever did in life.
He did some of his most serious work with that after he technically left the budget post to become Clinton’s White House Chief of Staff. Veteran political author Nigel Hamilton notes, “Panetta replaced (Mack) McLarty for the rest of Clinton’s first term—and the rest is history. To be a great leader, a modern president must have a great chief of staff—and in Leon Panetta, Clinton got the enforcer he deserved.” …..
Then he became CIA Director.
Leon Panetta had always been successful in his personal and professional relationships, and was revered by his colleagues. He was affable, positive, and generally happy, but he was also use to being a take-charge leader who infused high morale in those who worked for him. This was not a man lacking in social skills and insight. He is an overachiever who Presidents lean on for governmental solutions, and was use to his wisdom being the one that prevailed.
And yet, having read the chapters on the CIA in his book, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the CIA made Panetta their bitch. And no matter what you may think of Obama, as President he thought highly enough of Leon Panetta to follow up his appointment of him as CIA Director with the even more serious position of Defense Secretary. The US Senate thought highly enough of CIA Director Panetta to vote in favor of him as Secretary of Defense unanimously!
Panetta is no shrinking violet by reputation, and yet he gained no real, civilian control of the CIA under his leadership. Granted, some of this responsibility lies with the President, but don’t you get the feeling that the CIA does what it wants regardless of how weak or strong a Chief Executive is? Is there anyone tough enough to run the CIA? They sure aren’t intimidated by legendary bad ass Jesse Ventura.
