Senate confirms Panetta as CIA director

[ProSense]

Senate confirms Panetta as CIA director

WASHINGTON – The Senate has confirmed former Rep. Leon Panetta to run the CIA.

Panetta's nomination sailed through the chamber by a voice vote.

The former Democratic congressman from California has no direct intelligence gathering or analysis experience. Obama said he was selected because of his managerial skills and ability to repair the agency's relationship with Congress after two tumultuous Bush terms.

During his confirmation hearings, Panetta said it was time for the agency to move ahead and not to dwell on the harsh treatment of foreign detainees in the previous administration. He won't seek prosecutions of people who participated in such interrogations.

[Barack_America]

1. Um, yea and boo!

:shrug:

[ProSense]

3. Boo what? n/t

[Barack_America]

5. .

The last paragraph.

[ProSense]

6. Yeah, well that's AP and the media's version of cherry picking.

Most Democrats who want to pursue Bush crimes are mostly interested in the officials who gave the orders.

While the Obama administration is turning its back on some Bush administration practices, Panetta said there is no intention to hold CIA officers responsible for the policies they were told to carry out. CIA interrogators who used waterboarding or other harsh techniques against prisoners with the permission of the White House should not be prosecuted, he said.

The Bush White House approved CIA waterboarding, a form of simulated drowning, for three prisoners in 2002 and 2003. The CIA banned the practice internally in 2006. Obama has prohibited harsh interrogation techniques going forward.

But Panetta said if interrogators went beyond the methods they were told were legal, they should be investigated.

"We can protect this country, we can get the information we need, we can provide for the security of the American people and we can abide by the law. I'm absolutely convinced that we can do that," he said.

link

[Thrill]

2. What about Hilda?

[blaze]

4. I think this is great news! n/t

[HOLOS]

7. Excellent

[Jennicut]

8. Good, the CIA needs an overhaul.