Obama's selection of Leon Panetta to head the CIA is welcome news. Panetta was a respected California congressman who headed the Office of Management and Budget under President Clinton. Atrios found this important op ed written by Panetta last March:

More recently, President Bush vetoed a law that would require the CIA and all the intelligence services to abide by the same rules on torture as contained in the U.S. Army Field Manual.

But all forms of torture have long been prohibited by American law and international treaties respected by Republican and Democratic presidents alike.

Our forefathers prohibited "cruel and unusual punishment" because that was how tyrants and despots ruled in the 1700s. They wanted an America that was better than that. Torture is illegal, immoral, dangerous and counterproductive. And yet, the president is using fear to trump the law.

Last January, Panetta wrote this for the Washington Monthly:

We cannot simply suspend [American ideals of human rights] in the name of national security. Those who support torture may believe that we can abuse captives in certain select circumstances and still be true to our values. But that is a false compromise. We either believe in the dignity of the individual, the rule of law, and the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, or we don’t. There is no middle ground.

We cannot and we must not use torture under any circumstances. We are better than that.

These are not the words of a politician; Panetta's opposition to torture is rooted in his Catholic faith. 

Moreover, Panetta is a budget hawk and tried to trim CIA spending when he ran OMB. I don't see why he would tolerate the CIA wasting billions bribing corrupt officials around the world, led by Iraq and Pakistan. The CIA would accomplish much more if it slimmed down to a core focus on collecting good intelligence. For starters, Panetta should rehire Valerie Plame to stop the spread of WMD's.

Update 1: Digby finds Panetta less persuasive on warrantless wiretapping because he favored a compromise:

The same rationale is used to justify eavesdropping on U.S. citizens without a warrant. The president has made clear that the failure of the Congress to pass this authority could jeopardize our security. Instead of trying to negotiate a compromise with Congress that would meet both our intelligence and privacy concerns, it is easier to threaten with fear.

But as Digby notes, the CIA director is not in charge of overseas wiretapping, which is handled by the NSA.

Update 2: David Corn notes Panetta's foreign policy realism:

As a member of the Iraq Study Group, Panetta joined with other Establishment poohbahs to criticize George W. Bush's prosecution of the Iraq war. And in a newspaper op-ed, he noted that the Iraq war "could give al-Qaeda a base for terrorism throughout this critical region."

Corn concludes,

A CIA director who has denounced torture, advocated intelligence cuts, and backed greater congressional control of covert operations--that would be....different.

Update 3: Oops! No one told DiFi, who will replace JRock as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Back in the day, she and Panetta were fellow moderates, so they should have no problem working together.