4/27/2011Panetta to head Pentagon, Petraeus to replace him as CIA chief
Washington, _Central _Intelligence Agency (_CIA) director Leon Panetta will take over at the Pentagon, and General David Petraeus will be nominated to head the _CIA, officials confirmed on Wednesday. Petraeus, who took over last June as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, was expected to leave that post before the end of this year, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made it clear he planned to leave his post this year.
President _O was expected to also announce that Lieutentant General John Allen would replace Petraeus as _Afghanistan commander, and that veteran diplomat Ryan Crocker, the former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, will be the next U.S. ambassador in _Afghanistan.
The changes were expected to be announced on Thursday at the _White _House and go into effect in the summer. Officials confirmed the changes on condition of anonymity because the announcements had not been formally made.
