WASHINGTON – Leon Panetta is happy as CIA director and has not been asked by President Barack Obama to consider changing jobs, the agency said on Thursday, as speculation swirled over changes in top US security posts.
Robert Gates has made clear he plans to step down as defense secretary this year and the military’s top officer is expected to retire, prompting speculation about who will move where in Obama’s impending reshuffle of military and intelligence chiefs. One scenario being speculated has Panetta — who turns 73 in June — replacing Gates and the director’s office on the seventh floor of CIA headquarters being taken over by General David Petraeus, the US commander in Afghanistan.
Some Washington insiders even link machinations over the presidential election in 2012 to the Petraeus-for-Panetta scenario. They suggest the White House wants to find a high-profile post for Petraeus to ensure he will not be tapped by Republicans to challenge Obama, a Democrat. Sources familiar with White House thinking say there is no doubt Petraeus is under consideration for CIA chief if Panetta moves.
People close to Petraeus have not gone out of their way to shoot down the idea but have not touted it either.
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