Excerpt:
One of the first things Barack Obama did after taking the oath of office (which he actually did on Sunday, January 20, as prescribed by the Constitution) was to submit a list of candidates for cabinet-level posts. One of these was Secretary of Defense, and his nominee was Chuck Hagel. I've had a lot to say about Hagel's views about issues related to Israel, all bad.
But this post isn't about Hagel. It is about another cabinet-level appointment, that of John O. Brennan, Obama's counter-terrorism adviser (actually "Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Assistant to the President") as head of the CIA.
What do we know about Brennan? He held several important posts in the CIA, including station chief in Saudi Arabia from 1996-9. His academic background includes the study of Arabic and Arab culture; he received a BA in political science from Fordham University, including a year abroad at the American University in Cairo, and an M.A. in Government specializing in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. He speaks Arabic 'fluently'.