Obama White House v. CIA; Panetta Threatened To Quit -- ABC NewsTensions Lead to CIA Director's "Screaming Match" at the White House
A "profanity-laced screaming match" at the White House involving CIA Director Leon Panetta, and the expected release today of another damning internal investigation, has administration officials worrying about the direction of its newly-appoint intelligence team, current and former senior intelligence officials tell ABC News.com.
Amid reports that Panetta had threatened to quit just seven months after taking over at the spy agency, other insiders tell ABCNews.com that senior White House staff members are already discussing a possible shake-up of top national security officials.
Read more ....
Update #1: Panetta Letter to CIA Staff on Release of Interrogation Report -- FOX News
Update #2: New Unit to Question Key Terror Suspects -- Washington Post
Update #3: Obama spokesman announces interrogation unit -- Yahoo News/AP
My Comment: People like Panetta and others in the Intelligence and National Security Agencies are blunt in saying that White House intervention and involvement is affecting these Agencies and harming national security. The White House disagrees .... hence the conflict.
I am surprised my Panetta's reactions. When he was appointed I labeled him as a political operative, who was appointed solely to keep the CIA in line and to not give President Obama any headaches.
I was wrong.
He has had his miscues, but he has also being visceral in the protection of the Agency. I can only assume that he is like this because he is reading the intelligence briefs and threat assessments each and every day .... and is probably very disturbed by its content.
But Panetta is not going to win this battle. The White House runs the show, and it will now directly influence the direction and operations of the CIA. White House supervisions of interrogations is just the tip of this iceberg.
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