Breaking: Obama to Nominate John Brennan to Head CIA; Chuck Hagel as Defense Secretary

[Hissyspit]

Source: CBS News

@CBSNews: Breaking news: Obama to nominate John Brennan to head CIA, sources tell CBS News

Obama to nominate John Brennan to head CIA, Chuck Hagel as defense secretary
January 07, 2013

WASHINGTON President Obama on Monday will nominate Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, two potentially controversial picks for his second-term national security team.

Democratic sources in the defense community and in Congress told CBS News about the Hagel nomination, and Senior administration officials confirmed for CBS News that the president will tape Brennan for the CIA post.

Hagel, even before being nominated, has faced tough criticism from congressional Republicans who say the former GOP senator is anti-Israel and soft on Iran. And Brennan, a 25-year CIA veteran, withdrew from consideration for the spy agency's top job in 2008 amid questions about his connection to enhanced interrogation techniques during the George W. Bush administration.

Read more: http://m.cbsnews.com/storysynopsis.rbml?&pageType=politics&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2F8301-250_162-57562377%2Fobama-to-nominate-john-brennan-to-head-cia-chuck-hagel-as-defense-secretary%2F&catid=57562377&nb_spl

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From Wikipedia:

"John O. Brennan (born September 22, 1955) is chief counterterrorism advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama; officially his title is Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and Assistant to the President.[1][2][3] His responsibilities include overseeing plans to protect the country from terrorism and respond to natural disasters, and he meets with the President daily.[4][5] Previously, he advised Obama on foreign policy and intelligence issues during the 2008 presidential campaign and transition.[6] Brennan withdrew his name from consideration for Director of the CIA in the new Obama administration over concerns about his support for the use of "enhanced interrogation" techniques by the CIA under President George W. Bush.[2][4] Instead, Brennan was appointed Deputy National Security Advisor, a position which did not require Senate confirmation.[2][4][7]"

[madrchsod]

1. i wonder if the morans will oppose him too...

[tblue]

2. A torture guy. Oh great.

Quelle surprise.

[Sunlei]

11. Brennen has stated he opposed the Bush admin. on torture & is inline with President O. ban on that.

He has worked well for the past 4 years in his current position. Has not swayed.

[Bonobo]

12. Ahem. Bullshit.

http://www.salon.com/2008/11/16/brennan/

[Sunlei]

17. yes, B. wrote that in a letter in 2008 when he was considered for Admin. positions. in addition-

The President stopped torture waterboarding, with a mandate the first week he was in office. You can go to the white house and read everything he did that first week.

I don't read salon. They have never liked President Obama, spin facts to suit their opinions and fuckup my computer with their tracking.

[Bonobo]

20. The salon article contains multiple sources and transcripts of statements by Brennan

that show that he was indeed a justifier of the use of enhanced interrogations, stating on more than one occasion that it was a highly useful method of obtaining information.

[Sunlei]

23. who would you suggest for the position?

[Psephos]

24. Good link. n/t

[NBachers]

3. So when was the last Republican administration that had a Democrat in the cabinet?

[Freddie Stubbs]

5. 2006

[Dragonfli]

6. Well never duh. Republicans make the best cabinet members, just ask DU or POTUS

[davidpdx]

8. It is rare but there were a few

From 2009:

For a little perspective, here's a rundown of the crossovers from a century's worth of presidential Cabinets:

• George W. Bush: Democrat Norman Mineta, transportation secretary.

• Bill Clinton: Republican William Cohen, defense secretary.

• George H. W. Bush: nada.

• Ronald Reagan: William Bennett was a Democrat when appointed as education secretary in 1985, but the following year, he became a Republican and has remained a conservative Republican voice ever since.

• Jimmy Carter: Republican James Schlesinger, who served as defense secretary under Republican presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, was tapped by Carter as America's first energy secretary.

• Richard Nixon: Daniel Patrick Moynihan served as ambassador to the United Nations, which at the time was not a Cabinet-level position.

• John F. Kennedy: Republicans C. Douglas Dillon as treasury secretary and Robert McNamara as defense secretary. McNamara wasn't such a stretch though, as Time m agazine pointed out at the time, "In politics, McNamara is a lukewarm, liberal Republican who often contributes to Democratic candidates. This year he voted for Kennedy."

• Dwight D. Eisenhower: Democrat and Labor Secretary Martin Patrick Durkin, the "plumber" among Eisenhower's so called "Nine Millionaires and a Plumber" Cabinet. Durkin was replaced in 1953 by fellow Democrat James P. Mitchell, a so-called "Democrat-for-Eisenhower."

• Franklin D. Roosevelt: Republicans Frank Knox as secretary of the Navy and Henry Stimson, secretary of war.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/feb/10/barack-obama/Three-Republicans-Cabinet-Most/

[Dragonfli]

4. Who better for the CIA than a proponent of torture?

I think it is good that our president cares so much about us that he would condone torture, it will keep us safe just the way Bush did.

Torture good!

[Bonobo]

13. Obama didn't want to look backwards for prosecutions, just for appointments nt

[Dragonfli]

14. That is was what was brilliant about not prosecuting

If he had them investigated and tried for their crimes then, he would not be able to hire from them now.

People don't understand chess, that move made when he took office seemed at the time to be a ridiculous admission that he thought some men were above the law, but only now do we know it was because he would need them latter for another move in the game!

The guy is a chess master.

[Bonobo]

15. It's true. A chessmaster always has the endgame in mind.

Protect your strongest pieces, control the center --all major features of a good chess game.

[Fuddnik]

16. Well, since Lavrenty Beria is no longer available.......

[Dragonfli]

18. True, he would have been ideal, but he left a good template

to be used by the new generation of heroes like Brennan that believe in principle at least what Lavrenty did.

A strong leader needs a strong secret polic... er I mean CIA

[Bonobo]

7. I can just see certain posters sweating as they wait for the inevitable talking points.

How to rationalize this crap...

[Dragonfli]

10. He is following a brilliant strategy

We just don't understand how important Republicans and tortures are to the larger game he is playing.

We are too stupid to understand him is all, is best too stay quiet and trust him like Jesus.

[alcibiades_mystery]

9. Good picks

[Hanzip]

19. assuming that they are confirmed

when would these guys take office?

[TwilightGardener]

21. If Brennan has long since come around on the worth and morality of

waterboarding, and he's already part of Obama's team, I don't see why it would be a concern now. More troubling might be that he seems to be big on FISA--that seems to be a permanent thing now, keeps getting renewed.

[OnyxCollie]

22. A torture guy and a guy who co-authored HAVA

and makes money off ES&S through the McCarthy Group.

Nobody else to pick from, I guess.