Is Leon Panetta the Right Choice for Secretary of Defense

President Obama has selected Leon Panetta to replace Robert Gates as the next Secretary of Defense, but is is this the right choice at this critical juncture? It seems the president chose Panetta to be the next Secretary of Defense because of his experience as a Congressman, Director of Office of Management and Budget, and Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton. This experience would be invaluable as the next Secretary of Defense will have to institute budget reductions throughout the Department of Defense.

Unfortunately, managing the Pentagon budget is only one aspect the Secretary of Defense needs to be involved in. Currently the Pentagon is going through a transformation in military strategy in where the current though process is moving away from conventional military strategy and embracing counterinsurgency and stability operations.

This new focus will determine what weapons systems and the size of the force, as the Defense Department moves forward in the decade to come.

In his stint as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon Panetta's record is hardly stellar. The current situation in the Middle East is a prime example of where the intelligence community failed to foresee or plan for the various contingencies now confronted by the U.S.

The president could have selected a number of more qualified candidates with more knowledge of defense and national security issues then make another political appointment like he made with his current national security advisor Thomas Donilon.

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