Kerry Applauds Obama's National Security Picks

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) praised President Obama for his choices to lead the Department of Defense and the CIA.

Obama will announce this afternoon that he will replace outgoing Defense Secetary Robert Gates with current CIA Director Leon Panetta, and will give Panetta’s job to Gen. David Petraeus, currently serving as Commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Kerry called Panetta and Petraeus “first-rate public servants whose reputations and records transcend party, and I expect broad approval and swift confirmations.”

Kerry also lauded the job done by Gates, who will retire later this year after nearly five years at the helm of the Pentagon.

“Bob Gates has done a tremendous job in so many different assignments in the government, particularly in this latest tour of duty under two presidents where he oversaw everything from the surge and the drawdown in Iraq to the review, surge, and now the start of the transition in Afghanistan. Bob’s arrival at the Pentagon in particular helped end the turf battles and inter-agency divide of the Rumsfeld era, and he seamlessly integrated the Pentagon’s goals into America’s broader foreign policy agenda.”

White House officials indicated yesterday that the President would like to have his new team in place by the end of this summer.