George Brennan, Obama's top advisor on intelligence, today took his name out of the running for an intelligence position in the Obama administration. Brennan blames it on liberal blogs, who have been very vocal about not wanting Brennan to be a part of the Obama administration.
An example of the media criticism --- from Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com:
“To appoint someone as CIA Director or Director of National Intelligence who was one of George Tenet's closest aides when The Dark Side of the last eight years was conceived and implemented, and who, to this day, continues to defend and support policies such as "enhanced interrogation techniques" and rendition (to say nothing of telecom immunity and warrantless eavesdropping), is to cross multiple lines that no Obama supporter should sanction. Truly turning a page on the grotesque abuses of the last eight years requires both symbolism (closing Guantanamo) and substantive policy changes (compelling adherence to the Army Field Manual, ensuring due process rights for all detainees, ending rendition, restoring safeguards on surveillance powers). Appointing John Brennan to a position of high authority would be to affirm and embrace, not repudiate, the darkest aspects of the last eight years.”
And from the Huffington Post:
“Brennan has privately told colleagues that he opposed waterboarding and questioned other interrogation methods that many in the CIA feared could be later deemed illegal.
"It has been immaterial to the critics that I have been a strong opponent of many of the policies of the Bush administration such as the pre-emptive war in Iraq and coercive interrogation tactics, to include waterboarding.
"The fact that I was not involved in the decisionmaking process for any of these controversial policies and actions has been ignored," he wrote, in a letter obtained by The Associated Press. "Indeed, my criticism of these policies within government circles was the reason why I was twice considered for more senior-level positions in the current administration only to be rebuffed by the White House."”
So which is it? I believe that Greenwald is correct, but I expect that we'll learn more in the next few days.