In a major shake up of President Barack Obama’s national security team, CIA director Leon Panetta will become the new Pentagon chief secretary this summer, a US official told AFP on Wednesday. ABC and NBC television reported meanwhile that General David Petraeus will replace Panetta at the helm of the US spy agency.
The US official said Panetta is to replace Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who plans to step down later this year. If he receives Senate confirmation to the top Pentagon post, Panetta would be the first Democrat to hold the top US defence job since William Perry in 1997. The television networks 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.
Meanwhile Ryan Crocker will replace Ambassador Karl Eikenberry in Kabul, the reports said. The White House on Wednesday declined comment about the reports.
