Obama has picked CIA Director Leon Panetta to replace outgoing Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; Afghan commander Gen. David Petraeus to take the helm of the CIA; and Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John Allen to take command in Afghanistan, where he will be joined in Kabul by former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker.
“I don’t see the picks as a dramatic departure, but President Obama has already shown that he is more interested in bold initiatives and waging his battles on the domestic front,” said Andrew Krepinevich, president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, who views the new team as essentially an extension of the Gates tenure, with its focus on pragmatism, centrism, and experience. “Given White House concerns that Democrats are perceived as weak on defense, and Obama’s own lack of national security experience, it makes sense for him to stick with a strong and experienced team like this.”
On closer inspection there is precedent for each of the new picks. Panetta’s lengthy resume of government service and reputation as a centrist who gets along with Congress, capped by a stint as director of the CIA, mirrors Gates's own path to the Pentagon. “When Gates first came to the Pentagon with his background in intelligence, a lot of people thought he was a curious choice,” said Krepinevich. “But what we’ve learned in Afghanistan, Iraq, and in counterterrorism operations is that the most critical dimension to this kind of fight is intelligence. In that regard, picking Gates made sense, and arguably selecting Panetta to replace him also makes sense.”