Obama names intelligence team

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Source: CCTV.com | 01-10-2009 08:59

US President-elect Barack Obama has named his intelligence team, promising to protect his country while adhering to its core human values. Retired Admiral Dennis Blair is his choice as the chief of the National Intelligence Director and Leon Panetta as the head the Central Intelligence Agency.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama (C) is joined by his  appointees for CIA Director Leon Panetta (R) and National  Intelligence Director Dennis Blair during a news conference  at his transition office in Washington January 9, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young

Obama praises the two men's integrity, management skills and willingness to tell him the truth.

US President-elect Barack Obama said, " Together, they will form a team that is uniquely qualified to continue the good work that is being done, while making the changes we need to stay ahead of nimble threats and sustain the trust of the American people."

Blair is a former head of the US Pacific Command. He won high marks for countering terrorism in southeast Asia after the September 11th attacks in 2001.

70-year-old Panetta sat in the House of Representatives for California from 1976 to 1993, and started to serve as the chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton in 1994.

But his nomination is drawing criticism from the intelligence community and Congress for a lack of direct intelligence experience.