Not a Company Man

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There has been some grousing in Washington (and a lot more across the river in Langley) about how Leon Panetta, President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, is not an intelligence insider. As far as we’re concerned, that’s not Mr. Panetta’s only qualification for the job, but it is certainly on the list.

We’ve seen what some top company men have been willing to go along with during the Bush-Cheney years: secret prisons beyond the reach of American law and all conscience; torture, abuse and degradation of prisoners; renditions for torture on an outsource basis; made-for-the-Sunday-news-shows intelligence reports.

Mr. Obama has pledged to end all of that. On Friday, he declared that “under my administration, the United States does not torture.” Earlier in the week, as he defended his choice of Mr. Panetta, he pointedly said his new team would ensure that he is told the truth rather than “what they think the president wants to hear.”

For any intelligence professional committed to his craft, and the nation’s security, that should be a relief. Instead, the reaction from at least some to the choice of Mr. Panetta — a longtime Washington player who has criticized President Bush’s counterterrorism tactics — was, sadly, predictably defensive.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/10/opinion/10sat1.html?pagewanted=print