Obama picks Panetta as head of the CIA

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to lead the CIA, which has been widely criticised for harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects, Democratic officials said.

The surprise pick of Mr Panetta for Central Intelligence Agency director, which has not been announced, would be one of the last major nominations for the incoming Obama administration, which takes over from President George W. Bush on January 20.

Mr Panetta has relatively little experience in national security matters, although he did participate in daily intelligence briefings with President Bill Clinton when he served as Mr Clinton's chief of staff between 1994 and 1997.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, poised to head the Senate intelligence committee, said she had not been notified of the selection of Mr Panetta to be CIA director and indicated that she was not pleased with Mr Obama's choice.

"My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best-served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time," Senator Feinstein said in a statement. The California Democrat would oversee Panetta's confirmation hearing.

Mr Panetta is best known as a budget expert who tamed deficits in the White House and during a prior 16-year stint as a congressman from California.

He was a member of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan commission that was charged with assessing a way to end the Iraq war. Its recommendations for a phased troop withdrawal were largely ignored by the Bush administration, which chose to increase the US military presence there instead.