Petraeus to head CIA, Panetta to lead Defense: reports

WASHINGTON: In a major shakeup of President Barack Obama's national security team, CIA director Leon Panetta is to be named to take over as defense secretary this summer, a US official told AFP on Wednesday.

As part of the overhaul, Obama also is expected to nominate his war commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, to succeed Panetta at the helm of the Central Intelligence Agency, US media reported.

Panetta, 72, would replace Defense Secretary Robert Gates, an influential figure in Obama's cabinet whose tenure began under Obama's Republican predecessor, George W. Bush.

Gates, who had vowed to step down later this year, is himself a former CIA director and has spoken highly of Panetta's work at the spy agency.

The overhaul comes at a pivotal moment and will help shape Obama's approach to the increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan, the NATO-led air war in Libya launched last month and the Arab uprisings threatening Washington's influence in the Middle East.

If he receives Senate confirmation to the top Pentagon post, Panetta would be the first Democrat to hold the top US defense job since William Perry in 1997.

Unlike Gates, a career intelligence officer and a veteran of national security decision-making, Panetta has been steeped in partisan politics, starting with his years as a lawmaker in Congress.

The reshuffling of the president's top echelon of security officials was floated weeks ago by the administration.

ABC and NBC television reported that Petraeus, the commander leading military operations in Afghanistan, will be replaced there by Lieutenant General John Allen, who currently is deputy head of US Central Command.

On the civilian side in Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, a former US diplomat who served as ambassador in Pakistan and Iraq, will reportedly replace Ambassador Karl Eikenberry in Kabul, who has had a strained relationship with the Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

The White House on Wednesday declined comment about the reports.

Apart from the top defense job, a number of crucial national security posts are coming open in the next several months, including the military's top officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, who finishes his term in September while Petraeus was long expected to wrap up his stint in Afghanistan by year's end.

Panetta -- who enjoys solid bipartisan support in Congress -- emerged as a strong candidate to succeed Gates as Pentagon chief after it became clear Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not interested in the job.

With his experience as lawmaker and as a budget chief under former president Bill Clinton, Panetta may be well-equipped to take over at the Pentagon at a time of growing fiscal pressures and belt-tightening.

The son of Italian immigrants, Panetta in 1993 was appointed as the director of the office of management and budget for the Clinton administration, and was widely credited with helping to balance the federal budget and achieve a surplus.

In July 1994, Panetta was appointed Clinton's chief of staff, serving for almost three years.

As for Petraeus, some former CIA officials and analysts have touted the general as a perfect fit for the spy agency, citing his work with intelligence operatives battling Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and elsewhere, as well as his experience in Washington's policy debates.

House Homeland Security Committee chairman Peter King, a Republican often fiercely critical of the White House, welcomed news of the nominations.

King said Panetta had done "an outstanding job" at the struggling US spy agency while Petraeus numbers among "the great American military leaders."

"Both men currently play integral roles in our nation's war against Al-Qaeda and its affiliates and will be instrumental as we continue to combat the terrorist threat," he said.

Petraeus, a four-star general with a high profile and an acute intellect, has been widely credited in Washington for helping to salvage the war effort in Iraq in 2007-2008.