WASHINGTON - Senate of the United States (U.S.), Tuesday (21/06/2011), unanimously decided to authorize the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Leon Panetta, who will finish the task, as the new defense minister, replace Robert Gates, who will retire.Panetta, who has held various senior positions in Washington for decades, has been nominated President Barack Obama to lead the Pentagon. Panetta is expected to begin his new position on July 1.
100 votes in favor versus 0 which followed a rare debate about the anxieties about the challenges he will face pressure to lower defense budgets and oversee the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Troop withdrawal to begin next month, and Obama is expected to deliver a blueprint for withdrawal in a speech on Wednesday.
Panetta was a Democrat who was a former budget director during President Bill Clinton and help make decisions that result in budget surpluses in the late 1990s. Earlier this month, Panetta told Congress that he would ensure fiscal discipline in the U.S. military. He said the days of the defense budget "infinite" has ended.
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