Leon Panetta's Greatest Allies: House Republicans

Who'd of thunk that the former Clinton aide would find himself in a position where the only people on his side are House Republicans?

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R., Mich.), the ranking Republican member of the House Intelligence Committee, tells NRO that the Obama administration’s national-security apparatus is in “free fall” and showing “no adult leadership.”

After the CIA’s release of documents on enhanced-interrogation techniques, Hoekstra is concerned about how the Department of Justice and Attorney General Eric Holder will respond. But he does express confidence in CIA director Leon Panetta, an Obama appointee.

“I do know that Leon feels passionately about his workforce,” says Hoekstra. It was reported earlier this week that a frustrated Panetta confronted the White House in private about the administration’s handling of the document release. Hoekstra says he “tends to believe that the screaming matches and threatening to quit are probably accurate of Leon’s feelings. I find it ironic that his best friends are Republicans on the Hill.”

Panetta, he adds, “is not getting a lot of support from the president. Eric Holder has declared war on his personnel. Dennis Blair [the director of national intelligence] is trying to take away the authority of his people.” At the same time, says an incredulous Hoekstra, Panetta “came to Capitol Hill last week and the Democrats leaked information before he was even off the Hill, to try and bolster their argument that the CIA lies, all the time. I give Leon a tremendous amount of credit for the work he’s doing.”

“Few Republicans supported Leon when he was nominated,” Hoekstra says. “The more I watch Leon work, the happier I am that I made the decision to support him. I didn’t know then if he was the right guy or not, but I thought the president had the right to pick the person. I hope he stays there.”

With the Obama administration and Democrats eager to review the CIA’s interrogation activities, what can the CIA expect from Republican House members? “I think the CIA can expect from me the same thing that they’ve seen over the past eight years,” says Hoekstra. “When they are in the right, we will be strong supporters of the CIA. When they operate outside of the framework we’ve given them, we will be harsh critics and hold them accountable. We’re not protectors, defenders, or attackers. We believe in evaluating things on a case-by-case basis.”

As any investigation moves forward, Hoekstra hopes for a fair and open process. “If Eric Holder is going to review parties outside the CIA regarding who should be held accountable for enhanced-interrogation techniques, then Congress and the Bush administration should be evaluated, too,” says Hoekstra. “The Gang of Four, the Gang of Eight, they were briefed on these things and gave their tacit approval and funding for six or seven years.”

One more thing, says Hoekstra: “Eric: If you’re going to carry out these investigations, go to the right places, and don’t make the CIA the fall guy for doing their job.”

Between the White House and Eric Holder, Panetta's organization is being stripped of its power to be an effective intelligence gathering force for the protection of America. I'm not sure why Panetta hasn't quit yet, though I think that could still happen in the near future.

As a good Democrat he understands the damage his resignation would do to Obama and his party, but at some point Panetta either has to support his agency's ability to do the job they're chartered to do, or get out and make his opposition to administration policies known.