Word: panetta
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Equally, the American Muslim Center could hardly be less threatening. The imam, Mohamed Mardini, is a moderate cleric with strong ties to city and state officials; when the CIA hosted a dinner in Dearborn recently, he sat at the head table with Director Leon Panetta. Mardini invites non-Muslims to drop by and observe prayers and holds interfaith discussions in his office. His mosque doesn't even look out of place among the suburban homes along Outer Drive: the building used to be a Bible church...
...director, a veteran of Washington battles, is getting credit for beating back Blair, a retired Admiral. "Panetta showed he knows how to stamp on toes in this town," says the retired operations official. "[These] victories have reassured some of the doubters in Langley...
Doubts about Panetta's political skills had arisen in the summer, when President Obama decided to release secret memos about the CIA's controversial interrogation practices at Guantánamo Bay and other secret prisons - and when U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder ordered an investigation into potential wrongdoing by interrogators...
...turf battles with Blair have resulted in Panetta's being seen in a more positive light, and focused some criticism on Blair instead. "Denny's a good guy, but he should really focus on being the President's principal intelligence adviser, not on the operational stuff," says an Administration official. "Leon, of all people, certainly doesn't need to be micromanaged - and neither do the CIA folks in the field...
...more about Leon Panetta...