President-elect Barack Obama is planning to dissolve a White House security panel created after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks and restructure counter-terrorism policy under experienced intelligence professional John Brennan. The White House Homeland Security Council will remain operation for a short time until Obama completes a review of its mission, two officials close to the incoming administration told the Associated Press on Thursday. Ultimately, the panel could be placed inside the White House National Security Council, with all counter-terrorism policy overseen by a single advisor reporting directly to the president. For that position, Obama has selected Brennan, a career Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official who was the first director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center, the intelligence agency's office for terrorism strategy and analysis. Brennan had been considered Obama's leading candidate for CIA director, but he withdrew his name from consideration after critics said he was too close to the Bush administration's controversial interrogation policies. Instead, Obama has selected former Clinton administration budget chief and White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to head the CIA. Brennan's appointment is expected to be announced as soon as Friday. Currently leading intelligence issues for Obama's transition team, Brennan held several senior positions at the CIA until his 2005 retirement, including serving as President Bill Clinton's daily intelligence briefer and chief of staff to former CIA Director George Tenet.
