Bureaucratic Talent

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has an intriguing piece in U.S. News & World Report today in which he suggests that National Intelligence Director Admiral Dennis Blair and Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta should switch jobs. I wrote back in January that Panetta's experience as director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton administration might prepare him to improve morale and performance at CIA, an agency similarly dominated by extremely smart, specialized professionals. But I take Issa's point that:

The challenges are there for Director Panetta too--from the burden of reinvigorating an agency hard hit in a current climate of congressional accusation to working within a legal framework that potentially buffers his direct access to the president. Panetta's strengths--the ability to direct the traffic of government at both the Office and Management and Budget and as White House chief of staff--are naturally predisposed to coordination and administration.

In this instance, the Obama administration has selected two outstanding and experienced leaders to serve America's national security interests. If internal conflicts now threaten the effective coordination of these interests, the president may need to intervene personally and reorganize his national security team. Perhaps Panetta, with his vast administrative and political experience, is better suited as DNI while Blair, with his extensive background as a commander, would thrive at the CIA.

In other Panetta reading, Jane Mayer's New Yorker profile of him asks a series of tough questions about how Panetta, a very strong opponent of torture is managing the consequences of Bush administration policies at CIA.