Petraeus to lead CIA; Panetta moves to Pentagon
Leon Panetta, a longtime congressman, former chief of staff to President Clinton and now director of the CIA, will be nominated to replace Robert Gates as secretary of defense, according to the Associated Press.
Gen. David Petraeus, now leading the NATO effort in Afghanistan, will reportedly replace Panetta at the CIA. That’s an interesting move on several counts, confirming that Petraeus intends to follow the Colin Powell/George Marshall model and be a major policy player in Washington for years to come, while staying clear of electoral politics.
The low-key Gates, initially appointed by President Bush to replace the discredited and more flamboyant Donald Rumsfeld, has been the right man in the right place for a long time now. Nobody’s irreplaceable, and Panetta brings his own strengths and credentials to the job. But it’s hard to conceive of someone doing a better job than Gates did during a particularly challenging time in the Pentagon.
– Jay Bookman
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237 comments Add your comment
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:11 am
sweet jeebus. I know I’m getting sucked in the spiraling vortex of stupid that is UGA, but here goes:
UGA, you said “It is still hilarious to hear the lefty’s talk about experience levels from the GOP.”
unless Leon Panetta is a secret GOPper, then my comment that you refer to doesn’t apply.
now, go play in the sandbox (and try not to eat any this time – that’s not Ferrero Rocher that the cats leave behind)
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:11 am
Peadawg….would that be a bad thing?
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 27th, 2011
9:12 am
jm.. you can check with Jay but I assure you that only one of the 9;04s is mine. You just can’t give credit for an accurate prediction.
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:12 am
While at Indiana University, Gates was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency and joined the agency in 1966.[15] On January 4, 1967, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force.[14][15] From 1967 to 1969, he was assigned to the Strategic Air Command as an intelligence officer which included a stint at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, where he delivered intelligence briefings to Intercontinental Ballistic Missile crews.[16] After fulfilling his military obligation, he rejoined the CIA.
Gates left the CIA in 1974 to serve on the staff of the National Security Council. He returned to the CIA in late 1979, serving briefly as the director of the Strategic Evaluation Center, Office of Strategic Research. He was named the Director of the DCI/DDCI Executive Staff in 1981, Deputy Director for Intelligence in 1982, and Deputy Director of Central Intelligence from April 18, 1986 to March 20, 1989.
stands for decibels
April 27th, 2011
9:12 am
UnU, a quick scan of the wiki list of DoD Secretaries, looks like Panetta’s coupla years in the service aren’t exactly unprecedented–Carlucci and Aspin had similarly short stints, & Cohen & Cheney had none.
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:13 am
There goes USin again….name calling “stupid”….I WIN…..god you make it to easy!! haha keep up the good work.
Peadawg
April 27th, 2011
9:13 am
“Peadog…..Bazinga? Are you a closet nerd?”
Dude, I’m a web developer. Nerd all the way!!!
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:13 am
dB – I didn’t realize that about Cohen – I always thought he rocked. Cheney – well – where’s Bosch when you need him …
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:15 am
yes, UGA, you’re a winner. just like Charlie Sheen. now, go play in the freeway.
Southern Comfort substituting for Bosch
April 27th, 2011
9:15 am
USinner
Cheney =
jm
April 27th, 2011
9:15 am
Keep 9:12 – I’m just messing with you. I was the other 9:04.
Finn McCool
April 27th, 2011
9:15 am
Democrats want to end tax subsidies for oil companies, and they’ve gotten a lift from Boehner’s ad hoc agreement with them in that ABC News interview.
http://www.slate.com/id/2292226/
I bet if we put threaten their tax subsidies, they will lower prices really fast. Once they lose those subsidies I would think it would be difficult for them to get them back.
Mighty Righty
April 27th, 2011
9:15 am
Finn and Debbie–That thing on trumps head? How about those things that stick out of the sides of Obama’s head. Looks like the Flying Nun’s hat.
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:16 am
SoCo – thanks for stepping in !
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 27th, 2011
9:16 am
LOL @ the vortex comment…
There’s been more vortexes on this blog lately than there have been in the Midwest and South.
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 27th, 2011
9:17 am
Democrats hated Petraeus before they loved him. It just depends on which administration he was serving under.
As much as I respect Petraeus, somehow he was more effective Under our President Bush (Iraq surge) than under the Idiot Messiah (Afghanistan debacle).
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:17 am
USin….childish dude….simply childish. I would expect no less.
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 27th, 2011
9:17 am
USinner
No problem. I don’t think Bosch would mind me doing that for him.
larry
April 27th, 2011
9:17 am
I can hear these birther people now………
Its fake
What took him so long
I bet they had to wait for Kenya to release it
in 3 ……..2……………..1………….
getalife
April 27th, 2011
9:19 am
Where are the apologies to the President birthers?
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:19 am
Larry….actually no. I am firmly against Obama, however if he has shown his birth certificate and it is authenticated then I am fine with it……discussion over.
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:20 am
Getalife…..apologies….sorry dude this is not an Al Sharpton forum….No need to apologize for simply asking a question.
Conspiracy Theorist
April 27th, 2011
9:20 am
larry, faking a birth certificate is a difficult manufacturing and legal process….
md
April 27th, 2011
9:20 am
“But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know.””
Made perfect sense…….especially if one looks at it from the perspective of a spook…….
The spooks aren’t even sure if they know what they think they know……….
Double, triple, quadruple agents?? Must be a neat game to try and figure out.
ByteMe
April 27th, 2011
9:20 am
There’s a web site where you can create notarized long-form birth certificates for Hawaii, doncha know.
Mighty Righty
April 27th, 2011
9:21 am
Typical liberals. Think increasing oil company costs will bring the price of gasoline down! Where do these people come from?
AmVet
April 27th, 2011
9:21 am
The prez can’t do anything about his ears.
But for Mr. “Look at How Filthy Rich I Am!!” to *choose* to wear that dead rat on his head is beyond absurd.
But not atypical for pompous, self-absorbed asses, I guess…
getalife
April 27th, 2011
9:21 am
ug,
Apologize now birther.
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:21 am
“childish dude….simply childish”
says mr. “I win!!!”
now, go play – the grown-ups are talking.
oy.
stands for decibels
April 27th, 2011
9:22 am
I didn’t realize that about Cohen – I always thought he rocked.
UnU, he’s also a UU, if such things interest you.
ByteMe
April 27th, 2011
9:22 am
Typical liberals. Think increasing oil company costs will bring the price of gasoline down!
You’re right, obviously $4 billion in subsidies isn’t working. Let’s double-down on stupid and increase it.
jm
April 27th, 2011
9:22 am
Did Walker ever do this? No…..
http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2011/04/26/emory-students-arrested-for-protest-of-worker-treatment-students-plan-vigil-tonight/
Peadawg
April 27th, 2011
9:22 am
“The prez can’t do anything about his ears.”
Actually, he could get them pinned back. Kurt Busch (a NASCAR driver) did it a few years ago.
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:23 am
Did anyone see the lady (if you want to call her that) from Ohio that was arrested for sending her kids to the wrong school district?
She showed up with her “NAACP” lawyer….what a joke.
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:23 am
Peadawg – dammit, man … you just made me picture a NASCAR driver wearing his helmet propped up on his ears
AmVet
April 27th, 2011
9:23 am
“..discussion over.”
WRONG!
The clueless fools and hyper-hateful cons are gonna have to endure being the butt of this joke, just like all the many others.
Good times in the GOP asylum…
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:24 am
dB – yet another reason to like him.
John Birch
April 27th, 2011
9:24 am
With PanHead as SecDef we can expect the current administration to bomb a lot more sovereign nations that did not attack us. As long as we just stick to bombing the evil Muslims, that’ll be fine with me.
getalife
April 27th, 2011
9:25 am
birthers should be deported today.
They can’t even man up and apologize.
stands for decibels
April 27th, 2011
9:25 am
But for Mr. “Look at How Filthy Rich I Am!!” to *choose* to wear that dead rat on his head is beyond absurd.
Disagree. Without that thing on his head, people might be more inclined to notice what an unattractive porker he really is.
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:26 am
Getalife…..if we should have be deported. You should have been aborted!
PJ
April 27th, 2011
9:26 am
I think I’d rather go to a hair dresser than have surgery any day, easier too. Donald with all your money do somthing with that hair!
Midori
April 27th, 2011
9:26 am
You’re right, obviously $4 billion in subsidies isn’t working. Let’s double-down on stupid and increase it.
we have a winner here folks!!
DING, DING, DING!!!!!
Byteme wins best post of the year!!
Peadawg
April 27th, 2011
9:26 am
USinUK,
http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=2&id=2334662
Maybe Obama and George W Bush should follow his lead…
Mighty Righty
April 27th, 2011
9:26 am
It just doesn’t occur to you that the subsidies may be working. Gas could be $9.00 p/gal without the subsidies as they are in Europe. What do you suppose our government will do with the additional revenue? Reduce the deficit? Dream on.
Mick
April 27th, 2011
9:27 am
I like petraeus at cia, we need about 3-6 months to get assets on the ground in iraq and afghanistan, then get the boots on the ground the hell out and move to a cold war….
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:27 am
Mighty….I was just about to post the exact same thing.
TnGelding
April 27th, 2011
9:27 am
What does it say about our psyche when the military leaders are the doves?
ByteMe
April 27th, 2011
9:28 am
It just doesn’t occur to you that the subsidies may be working.
Speaking of doubling down on stupid.
jm
April 27th, 2011
9:28 am
ATL. The New Detroit. I’m on my way outta here…..
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/census-shock-result-of-926273.html
getalife
April 27th, 2011
9:28 am
trump is proud of himself.
drop out loser.
TaxPayer
April 27th, 2011
9:29 am
Hey Corporal! You out there. Which box on that long form are we supposed to be scrutinizing. I can’t remember. Should we be checking it type under an electron microscope in order to confirm that it has not been altered. How about the paper. Should it be carbon dated.
Finn McCool
April 27th, 2011
9:29 am
During a time of RECORD oil company profits, the “cut spending” conservatives can’t fathom why maybe those oil companies don’t need our tax dollars.
Just amazing!
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 27th, 2011
9:29 am
Awwww hell……….
Trump’s patting himself on the back saying that he’s the reason that Obama released his birth certificate. He said that he’s done something that nobody else could do. Ego stroking at it’s zenith.
md
April 27th, 2011
9:29 am
“Panetta switched to the Democratic Party in 1971, because he thought that the Republican Party was moving away from the political center.”
Not too sure what that means considering both parties have moved away from the “political center”.
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:30 am
ByteMe…..we didnt think you would understand.
TnGelding
April 27th, 2011
9:30 am
Gates has a good demeanor but I wasn’t that impressed. The failures in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya are too glaring. His proposals to cut the Pentagon budget are woefully inadequate.
Don't Forget
April 27th, 2011
9:30 am
Well, the long form BC has been released. What’s on it? Nothing of course. Probably won’t shut up those birthers but at least we can now tell them to shove it all the way to the elbow
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:30 am
jm….we could have all seen that coming. Atlanta is the armpit of the South. Time to go and let the pigs have it.
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 27th, 2011
9:31 am
Gas could be $9.00 p/gal without the subsidies as they are in Europe.
Gas is high in Europe because they tax themselves hard to help subsidize other forms of transit. I don’t think subsidies we have here really do that much other than boost profits for oil and gas companies.
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:32 am
Southern…..got any proof to back up that claim or are you just assuming that the subsidies are not helping keep the price of gas lower for Americans?
Midori
April 27th, 2011
9:33 am
um, Byte — that was a triple, if anything…..
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:33 am
peadawg – poor guy – went from looking like a cab going down the street with its doors open to an elf out of Lord of the Rings
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:33 am
“Gas could be $9.00 p/gal without the subsidies as they are in Europe.”
oyvey.
what are you people DRINKING over there?
petrol costs are skyhigh in the UK and Europe because of TAXES
criminey.
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:34 am
Southern….you do realize that around $.50 per gallon that you pay for fuel is tax. Right?
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:34 am
Finn – welfare for corporations not the poor!!!
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:35 am
dammit SoCo – you beat me to it (was distracted by the NASCAR driver’s ears)
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 27th, 2011
9:35 am
UGA
Simple math. Subtract the amount of subsidies for the entire industry from their profit total. If it’s a positive number, subsidies are not doing jack sh*t other than boosting the bottom line. If I give you a $2 Billion subsidy and your profit is around $500 million, then the subsidy is probably helping you keep from going under. However, if your subsidy is $4 Billion, and you profit in the ballpark of $8 Billion, odds are that you could have profitted $4 Billion without my help in the first place.
Peadawg
April 27th, 2011
9:35 am
“poor guy – went from looking like a cab going down the street with its doors open to an elf out of Lord of the Rings”
EPIC! That’s hilarious!
ByteMe
April 27th, 2011
9:36 am
Midori & USinUK: you can’t fix “stupid”. Don’t even bother. They really just can’t get out there and do the homework for themselves to learn about where every penny of cost in gasoline goes. It’s all out there documented, but they just won’t go look and would rather be blissfully ignorant.
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:36 am
Southern….i understand and I am not arguing with all of your point.
Finn McCool
April 27th, 2011
9:36 am
“maybe the subsidies are working
Do you need a subsidy to go to get out of bed and go to work every day? Is a subsidy the only thing that can motivate you to earn a living?
“Oh, your family earns $200,000 a year? Bravo, let’s give you a subsidy so your family will CONTINUE to put in the effort to make that dollar amount year after year.”
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:36 am
UGA –
From 4th January 2011 the UK duty rate for the road fuels unleaded petrol, diesel, biodiesel and bioethanol is GB£0.5895 per litre (£2.65 per imperial gallon or £2.20 per U.S. gallon).[4] Value Added Tax at 20% is also charged on the price of the fuel and on the duty.
AmVet
April 27th, 2011
9:37 am
Too funny.
Once again the cons and Tea Partiers get played like cheap fiddles.
P. T. Barnum was right about a Republican being born every minute.
The Party of Permanent Rubes…
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 27th, 2011
9:37 am
UGA
WHen I went to Germany last year, we were paying right around $2.50 or so for gas. That’s $2.50 per gallon. Germany’s price was $1.35 per liter, which would mean around $5.40 or so per gallon. Their taxes are much, much more than our $.50 per gallon. Google it.
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:37 am
However if the subsidies are taken away and gas increases to $5-$6 per gallon….Obama is a goner. Lets all pray that he does it.
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:38 am
ByteMe – which is why I was really trying to avoid getting sucked into the vortex … I made the mistake of confusing WRONG with STOOPID …
Good little liberal
April 27th, 2011
9:38 am
Trump does the job:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110427/ts_yblog_theticket/white-house-releases-obama-birth-certificate
My only question is: why all the secrecy for all these years? If it was this easy, why didn’t the clown do it four years ago?
Now about those transcripts . . .
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 27th, 2011
9:39 am
UGA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_tax
Fuel taxes in Germany are €0.4704 per litre for ultra-low sulphur Diesel and €0.6545 per litre for conventional unleaded petrol, plus Value Added Tax (19%) on the fuel itself and the Fuel Tax. That adds up to prices of €1.03 per litre for ultra-low sulphur Diesel and €1.22 per litre (approximately USD 6.28 per US gallon) for unleaded petrol (March 2009).
[...]
From 4th January 2011 the UK duty rate for the road fuels unleaded petrol, diesel, biodiesel and bioethanol is GB£0.5895 per litre (£2.65 per imperial gallon or £2.20 per U.S. gallon).[4] Value Added Tax at 20% is also charged on the price of the fuel and on the duty.
ByteMe
April 27th, 2011
9:39 am
However if the subsidies are taken away and gas increases to $5-$6 per gallon….Obama is a goner.
Someone should have spent more time in the UGA classroom and less time getting stoned.
AmVet
April 27th, 2011
9:39 am
md, it means that the GOP has moved away from the political center at warp speed.
Hell, they are so far out there now, they couldn’t see it with the Hubble Telescope…
ByteMe
April 27th, 2011
9:40 am
why all the secrecy for all these years? If it was this easy, why didn’t the clown do it four years ago?
Helped us identify the crazy. They don’t wear team colors, so we needed another way.
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 27th, 2011
9:40 am
However if the subsidies are taken away and gas increases to $5-$6 per gallon….Obama is a goner. Lets all pray that he does it.
I’m sure you do UGA proud with your logic. Subsidies have almost nothing to do with gas prices here. Supply and demand will dictate that more than any subsidy ever could. Subsidies are nothing more than profit padding nowadays.
Don't Forget
April 27th, 2011
9:42 am
Good lord people. Oil is traded on a world market. Europe pays the same price for a barrel as we do. The difference in the price of gas is due to taxes and taxes alone.
Peadawg
April 27th, 2011
9:43 am
Saw this comment on Yahoo.com’s birth certificate article:
“Obama showed us his birth certificate, Trump please show us your hairline.”
Too funny!!!
Yippee
April 27th, 2011
9:43 am
If someone could figure out how to capture; compress; and burn what my dog emits…my gosh, that animal runs faster than cheap stockings.
RW-(the original)
April 27th, 2011
9:44 am
I’d still say that the single worst appointment made by the Bush administration was Paul Brenner to head the Iraq reconstruction
Who? Geez….
jm
April 27th, 2011
9:44 am
Greek Bond Yields are at 25% and Portugal is over 10%.
Joe Cool
April 27th, 2011
9:44 am
DUDE, why do you guys even go back and forth with UBUMB1999….. UGA=WOW. You’re just wasting keystrokes.
Ohh…and Poor Birthers. What next? The Prez just K!lled ya’lls lil souls. lol.
Now you guys can fully see how DUMB you all look. Go eat birth crow chumps.
And Good Morning to the rest of you all!
AmVet
April 27th, 2011
9:44 am
So the rubes believe the new Head Rube, Donald, is the reason for this non-news?
Incredibly humorous.
You boys got owned. Yet again.
Must have been his “tough talking”. The same kind he would apparently use to get OPEC to bend to his charms?
Clown with a capital C. (And poor Rudy 9/11! Giuliani. Sucking up to the Hairpiece.)
Even when you get punked, you neo-cons act like you’re not the punkees…
md
April 27th, 2011
9:45 am
“As far as subsidies themselves, I am neither for or against them. It depends. The question I would ask is what are the consequences with and without the subsidies. If an oil company subsidy merely preferentially increases the profitability of an oil company relative to other industries (i.e., a special subsidy that other industries don’t receive), or subsidizes consumption by making gasoline cheaper, I would be against it. If it increased domestic production and backed out imports, then the overall costs to society have to be taken into account in order to judge whether it is a good taxpayer investment.”
I doubt it is as cut and dried as many here want to make it………………one would be wise to look at the affects of said subsidies on the overall big picture………
Mighty Righty
April 27th, 2011
9:45 am
This is the umpteenth time Obama has produced the “Official” not witnessed, no doctor, not certified, no signature, certificate of birth. It has been released multyiple times it must be real. Besides not only has Obama himself said it, all of his supporters say it. The evidence is overwhelming. I’m convenced.
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:45 am
Joe….read my prior posts this morning about the birth certificate. Before you post you may want to educate yourself.
Nice work!
USinUK
April 27th, 2011
9:46 am
Peadawg – 9:43 – I don’t care who you are, now THAT’S funny!
ByteMe – 9:40 – well said! (and, now we know what happened to all the Clinton Conspiracy nutters)
Don't Forget
April 27th, 2011
9:46 am
ByteMe
April 27th, 2011
9:40 am
why all the secrecy for all these years? If it was this easy, why didn’t the clown do it four years ago?
Because, if your opponents are making idiots out of themselves you shouldn’t stop them and the subject was never worthy of a response. I thought he’d do it just before the election next year to maximize their embarrasment.
UGA1999
April 27th, 2011
9:48 am
Dont Forget…..I am glad that he produced the document now we can move on. However why should anyone be embarressed of simply asking a question regarding an elected official?
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 27th, 2011
9:48 am
I’m beginning to think there has been a major cheating scandal at UGA….sometime around 1999. Did they offer online courses then?
___________________________________
Obama to have a press conference about his birth certificate?
Good little liberal
April 27th, 2011
9:48 am
ByteMe
Identify the crazy? Like a harvard professor just dumb enough to let the controversy continue for four years?
And you want to see crazy? Read what about half the liberals on here claim every day.
N-GA
April 27th, 2011
9:48 am
Most of the Birthers will have to have someone else read the birth certificate to them.
retired early
April 27th, 2011
9:49 am
Off topic
How about those Afgan soldiers killing NATO/American soldiers form the same detachment after an argument.
Get the HELL out of that crazy country NOW. 10 years of fighting for what….They don’t want us there….and they still can’t take care of themselves….