Obama's intel team: Blair and Panetta

by Greg Miller

President-elect Barack Obama formally introduced his choices to lead the U.S. intelligence community on Friday, nominating retired U.S. Navy Admiral Dennis C. Blair to serve as director of national intelligence, and former California congressman Leon E. Panetta to head the CIA.

Obama pressed ahead with the picks despite resistance earlier this week on Capitol Hill to putting Panetta, a veteran of the Clinton White House with little intelligence experience, in charge of the nation's premiere spy agency.

If confirmed, Blair and Panetta would step into key leadership positions at a time when the nation's spy services face the challenges of two ongoing wars, the pursuit of Al Qaeda, and the proliferation of dangerous weapons technologies.

The president-elect also made it clear that Blair and Panetta would be charged with carrying out Obama's campaign pledges to dismantle some of the controversial intelligence programs authorized by President Bush, particularly the CIA's use of harsh interrogation techniques.

"Under my administration the United States does not torture," Obama said, adding that it "is important for us to do that not only because that's who we are but also because ultimately it will make us safer and help change hearts and minds in our struggle against extremists."

Blair, who was formerly head of U.S. forces in the Pacific, will step into a position created four years ago to oversee all 16 agencies that comprise the U.S. intelligence community, and fix breakdowns that contributed to failures leading up the Sept. 11 attacks and the war in Iraq.

Blair said he would work to make sure U.S. spy agencies presented unvarnished views to the White House. "We will tell you how well we know what we know, and what we don't know," Blair said.

Panetta would lead an agency that saw its clout diminished by intelligence reform legislation, and one that has been accused of human rights abuses for its treatment of detainees in the war on terrorism.

Responding to questions about Panetta's experience, Obama said the CIA nominee had "handled intelligence daily at the highest levels," when he served as chief of staff in the Clinton White House. Panetta "has my complete trust and substantial clout," Obama said. "He will be a strong manager and a strong advocate for the CIA."

The nominations round out the upper ranks of Obama's national security roster. The president-elect also said that a senior campaign adviser and CIA veteran, John Brennan, would serve as deputy national security adviser on counter-terrorism.

Brennan was previously considered a likely choice to lead the CIA, but bowed out of contention over criticism of his ties to Bush administration interrogation and detention policies.

After facing skepticism on Capitol Hill, Panetta appears to have secured wide support from key lawmakers. Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, praised the Panetta pick and encouraged the nominee to press for a "much-needed change in the agency's culture."