|
Senate panel approves Obama's pick for CIA
2009-02-11
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A congressional committee has approved US President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the CIA, Leon Panetta, clearing the way for his likely confirmation by the full Senate. "Leon Panetta will mark a new beginning for the CIA as its next director," said Senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, in a statement. "He has the integrity, the drive and the judgment to ensure that the CIA fulfills its mission of producing information critical to our national security, without sacrificing our national values," Feinstein said after the committee backed Panetta for the spy agency post. His nomination will next go to the Senate, where he is expected to easily win support. Panetta, a White House chief of staff under former president Bill Clinton without direct experience in the intelligence world, made clear during hearings last week that he would break with controversial practices under the previous administration. Panetta promised to uphold the law and to repair relations between Congress and the embattled agency, which has been castigated over flawed intelligence reports in the run-up to the Iraq war and controversial tactics in the "war on terror." He said he opposed subjecting terror suspects to waterboarding, a simulated drowning technique widely condemned as torture, as well as transferring detainees to countries where they may face torture or abuse. But he also indicated he did not favor seeking prosecutions against CIA employees who carried out harsh interrogations during President George W. Bush's administration. If confirmed, Panetta would succeed Michael Hayden as CIA director, and would answer to the director of national intelligence, retired admiral Dennis Blair.
Investigator uses phony documents to get passports (2009-03-13)Democrats May Be Headed to Showdown With Obama Over Bush Probes (2009-02-16)Senate panel approves Obama's pick for CIA (2009-02-11)CIA nominee Panetta faces questioning by senators (2009-02-05)Issue of terrorists' rights to test Obama's pledge (2009-01-25)
| 
