There is definitely more to this decision than meets the eye. The media are still trying to work it out, but Speaker Pelosi's sudden about face without any additional public explanation from Mr Obama is a clear indication that something has been communicated to the Democratic leadership to which the general public is not (yet?) privy. The simplest inference to draw - and perhaps the correct one, if you apply Occam's razor - is that the position of the Director, Central Intelligence is being degraded in favor of a strengthening of that of the Director, National Intelligence. Panetta will be a good soldier without trying to overstep his bounds, and the DNI will not have to worry about some frisky and ambitious DCI second-guessing him or trying to actually do more than simply manage the CIA. Panetta will be the most senior HR manager in the world.
I like the decision because it shows a Machiavellian side of the soon-to-be inaugurated President that I was afraid did not exist. There have long been too many cooks in the kitchen of US intelligence policy. Once Obama is sure he has control over the intelligence establishment, and is confident in its anaytical output and operational capabilities, we may see a strengthening of the constituent agencies and especially a long-overdue increase in the emphasis on Human Intelligence.
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