Transition watch - John Kerry as next Secretary of State ? Who replaces Geithner at Treasury ( Would Obama select Erskine Bowles , a Clintonite ) ? If Shapiro leaves the SEC , who might replace her ? If Bernanke leaves , don't tell me Larry Summers is the next Chairman ( Selecting Janet Yellin who signal QE to infinity is still the Fed policy ) ? ? ? Does Eric Holder finally leave DOJ ? Does Chu leave DOE ? Does Big Sis leave DHS ? Why not clean house for the second term and remove the controversial holdovers and start with a clean slate ?

Rats leaving ship..... looks like all of the old hots spots are leaving or being pushed out..... key is who takes up the rein moving forward....

http://occupycorporatism.com/key-players-in-recent-false-flag-operations-submit-resignations-to-obama/

Key Players in Recent False Flag Operations Submit Resignations to Obama

Susanne Posel Nov 10th, 2012 0 Comment

Susanne Posel
Occupy Corporatism
November 10, 2012

One day after President Obama was re-elected, Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State announced that she would be stepping down from her position at the US State Department after Obama’s inauguration in 2013.

Potential replacements for Clinton include:

• Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
• Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the UN
• Tom Donilon, National Security Adviser
• Bill Richardson, former US Ambassador to the UN under President Clinton
• Samantha Power, Special Assistant to Obama and head of the Office of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights as Senior Director of Multilateral Affairs on the Staff of the National Security Council

Victoria Nuland, spokesperson for the US State Department and US Ambassador to the UN stated:“I don’t think the secretary’s plans have changed…You’ve heard her say many times that she intends to see through a transition of a successor and then she will go back to private life and enjoy some rest, and think and write and all those things. . . She seems pretty set in her plans.”

Clinton’s departure is perfectly timed considering that Benghazi-gate is expected to pick up pace once the festivities of Obama’s re-election wears off. Clinton, being Secretary of State, was directly incharge of diplomatic security under her employee capacity at the federal agency. She also oversaw directives of the US State Department. Those working under Clinton in this matter are Eric J. Boswell, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security; Scott P. Bultrowicz, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security and Director of the Diplomatic Security Service; and Tracy H. Mahaffey, Executive Director for Diplomatic Security.

At a lecture at the University of Baltimore School of Law, Attorney General Eric Holder said that he is considering resigning from his position at the Department of Justice. Holder said: “[I have to] really ask myself the question about, do I think there are things that I still want to do? Do I have gas left in the tank? It’s been an interesting and tough four years, so I really just don’t know.”

Holder, most notably-known as the scapegoat for the Fast and Furious debacle, advised Obama to use his executive privilege card concerning the internal documents of the F&F operations that would “have significant, damaging consequences.”

Holder went on to explain that handing over the documents to Congress “would inhibit candor of such Executive Branch deliberations in the future and significantly impair the Executive Branch’s ability to respond independently and effectively to congressional oversight.”

In June Holder was held in contempt by Darrell Issa, chair of the House Oversight Committee when Holder refused to cooperate with the Committee’s requests for documents showing Holder’s involvement in the run running operation.

Rumors are circulating that Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may be replacing Holder should he leave his post. Other contenders for the position are:

• Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts
• Jennifer Granholm, Governor of Michigan
• Lisa Madigan, Illinois Attorney General
• Claire McCaskil, Senator for Missouri
• Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator for Rhode Island
• Amy Klobuchar, Senator for Minnesota

Should Napolitano take Holder’s position, her seat would be open to potentials like Merrick Garland, Judge for the DC Circuit Court of Appeals or Matt Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorsim Center.

Ray LaHood, Secretary of US Transportation is also suspected to be leaving the current administration.

Obama appears to be shifting his cabinet staff as well, as Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the US Treasury could be replaced by Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. Jack Lew, White House Chief of Staff may also be vying for Geithner’s job as Pete Rouse, aide to Obama reveals that the President “has been focused on trying to find a Fortune 500 CEO to recruit, such as Larry Fink of BlackRock, Tony James of the Blackstone Group and David Cote of Honeywell or even Eric Schmidt of Google. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg’s name comes up — Obama clearly likes her, and she served as chief of staff at the department under Larry Summers.”

David Petraeus, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has formally resigned; citing “unacceptable” behavior due to an extra-marital affair. Petraeus called Obama who accepted his resignation. The day before, Petraeus met with Obama wherein it was stated in a letter that he asked to resign for “personal reasons”. Petraeuswrote: “Yesterday afternoon, I went to the White House and asked the President to be allowed, for personal reasons, to resign from my position as D/CIA. After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours. This afternoon, the President graciously accepted my resignation.”

Senator Dianne Feinstein says that this affair should not result in Petraeus’ departure. She also remarked that Petraeus would not be mandated to attend the hearing next week on Benghazi.

Concerning Benghazi-gate, as US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was working for the CIA gathering intelligence for the agency on Islamic militias being utilized by the defacto-government in Libya, the National Transitional Council (NTC). In fact, those who killed Stevens were Salafi extremists working with Ansar al-Sharia (or Partisans of Sharia) who have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

More replacements are in the works as those currently holding a seat in the Obama administration are leaving:

• Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense
• Steven Chu, Energy Secretary
• Ken Salazar, US Interior Secretary
• Lisa Jackson, administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The US Department of Commerce may see a new Secretary with hopefuls Ron Kirk, US Trade Representative or Fred Hochberg, president of Export-Import Bank.

The second-term of Obama’s reign over our Constitutional Republic appears to be clearing out old problems and scapegoats for a new cast of characters and a new set of Zionist agendas that will ultimately result in the continued destruction of our sovereignty as our Commander-in-Communism marches us all toward Global Governance.

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/266971-pentagon-insiders-rumored-as-potential-replacement-for-panetta-

Pentagon insiders seen as most likely successors for Panetta at DOD

By Jeremy Herb and Carlo Muñoz - 11/08/12 05:55 PM ET

  

Speculation over who will replace Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has reached a fevered pitch following President Obama's reelection Tuesday.

After serving a full four years in the Obama administration, Panetta is expected to depart early into Obama's second term in the spring or summer of 2013, defense sources say.

But before he heads back to his home in sunny Monterey, Calif., Panetta will likely help the administration through its difficult sequestration fight and usher in the 2014 defense budget that’s currently stuck in limbo over the automatic cuts.

Obama’s victory triggered an immediate wave of rumors about the potential successors for Panetta, with two names — Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter and former Under Secretary for Policy Michèle Flournoy — rising to the top of the list. Both Carter and Flournoy were considered leading candidates well before Obama was reelected.

Still, it’s presumed Panetta will remain in the Cabinet for a little while after Obama’s second inauguration, industry sources say, in part because of the big defense battle in Washington that still needs to be resolved, sequestration.

Panetta’s spokesman George Little would not speculate about Panetta’s plans during a Pentagon press briefing Thursday. He lamented the “Washington parlor games” surrounding the defense secretary’s future.

“There's always a temptation shortly after an election to engage in what I call ‘Washington parlor games’ and to speculate about personnel changes that may or may not occur in the future,” Little told reporters.

“Secretary Panetta is focused squarely on his job today. He's focused on the missions of the Department of Defense, and he's not focused on his personal future.”

While other top Cabinet officials have made their plans more clear, such as secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has long said she’s not returning for a second term, Panetta has been quieter about his future.

The 74-year-old secretary has served Obama for four years, first as CIA director and then as the successor to Robert Gates in the Pentagon.

Defense analysts say that Panetta is likely to leave early into Obama’s second term — potentially as soon as March 2013 — but that he remains an important player in the fiscal cliff deliberations that will dominate Washington in the coming months.

Republican hawks have appreciated Panetta’s strong words about the damaging effect sequestration would have on the military, even as he’s chided Congress for not acting to stop the cuts. 

Analysts say Panetta is seen as someone who can cut past the politics on the sequester as the administration negotiates with Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Panetta is also expected to present the 2014 defense budget, which at the moment does not take into account the across-the-board sequestration cuts that would take effect Jan. 2.

The 2014 budget is the second that will reflect the Pentagon’s plans to cut $487 billion over the next decade, as well as the new defense strategy that pivots to the Pacific.

When Panetta does leave the Cabinet, Carter and Flournoy will be next in line to replace him, analysts say.

Flournoy, 51, was the Pentagon’s No. 3 as under secretary of defense for policy from 2009 until February 2012. She left the department to spend more time with her family, but she’s stayed involved as a surrogate on national security and foreign policy for Obama’s reelection campaign.

Her selection would also be historic for Obama, as she would be the first female defense secretary.

Flournoy, who co-founded the Center for a New American Security think tank in 2007, told The Hill in October that she was happy taking a break from public service. She declined to speculate about any potential future in the Obama administration.

But she also added that she was not yet done with public service.

The other leading candidate is Carter, the current No. 2 official at the Pentagon. 

Carter was nominated by the White House to replace outgoing deputy defense chief Bill Lynn last August. Prior to his nomination, Carter headed up the Pentagon's powerful programs and acquisitions directorate, responsible for procuring and managing the department's multibillion-dollar weapons arsenal. 

The former Harvard professor and head of DOD's international affairs bureau in the Clinton White House, Carter served as the Pentagon's weapons chief for three years. 

Carter also played a large role in then-Defense Secretary Gates's so-called "efficiencies initiative," which scaled back and terminated outright a number of top-dollar weapons programs across the services. 

However, recent history might not be on Carter’s side to succeed Panetta.

Since former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's departure in 2006, no deputy defense chief has assumed the top spot. Each time, the White House has opted to go outside the Pentagon’s chain of command to pick a new secretary. 

Gates was the President of Texas A&M when he was picked by the Bush White House to replace Rumsfeld. Panetta was serving as CIA director when he got the call from the Obama administration in 2011 to replace Gates. 

As far as outside shots to succeed Panetta, there’s been speculation that former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig could all get a look. 

David Petraeus, the former general who succeeded Panetta as CIA director, is also occasionally mentioned, though most say that is an unlikely move.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/napolitano-floated-for-attorney-general/article/2512979#.UJv__0bCz8B

The second term game of Obama cabinet musical chairs kicked into high gear Thursday when Attorney General Eric Holder suggested that he might leave soon. He would join Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretary Tim Geither and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on the exit list.

Names immediately surfaced of those who might replace Holder including Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who has steered her department through controversial issues and come out generally unscathed.

Senate sources said that she would be a good pick for Obama since she has years of experience in the area and is generally well regarded in Congress.

According to a post-election report from the international law firm SNR Denton, other potential attorney general candidates include Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/report-google-and-facebook-competing-for-an-obama-cabinet-slot/article/2512982#.UJwE3UbCz8A

As President Obama plans to reshuffle his cabinet, the job of running the Treasury Department could fall to Google’s old CEO, Eric Schmidt, or Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg.

White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew is the favorite to replace Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, but Obama aide Pete Rouse is looking for “a Fortune 500 CEO” to work under the president who embraced Occupy Wall Street.

“Much of Rouse’s attention has been focused on trying to find a Fortune 500 CEO to recruit, such as Larry Fink of BlackRock, Tony James of the Blackstone Group and David Cote of Honeywell or even Eric Schmidt of Google,” Politico reports today. “Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg’s name comes up — Obama clearly likes her, and she served as chief of staff at the department under Larry Summers.”

Schmidt, whom Obama installed on his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, was reportedly at the Obama campaign headquarters when the president visited his staff on election day. And Google employees combined to form the third-highest source of campaign donations to the president.

http://www.businessinsider.com/could-john-kerry-be-secretary-of-state-2012-11

Russia would like to see US Senator John Kerry replace Hillary Clinton once the US Secretary of State steps down at the start of President Barack Obama's second term, a news report said on Thursday.

US officials said on Wednesday that Mrs Clinton intended to keep her promise to leave the White House administration after the presidential ballot, despite her boss having firmly secured a new four years in office.

Speculation has been rife that Washington's top foreign policy assignment may go to either the Senate Foreign Affairs committee chairman Kerry or Washington's UN ambassador Susan Rice.

An unnamed source in the Russian foreign ministry told the Kommersant business daily that Moscow would "much prefer" to see Mr Kerry take the post.

The source said Ms Rice was viewed as "too ambitious and aggressive" in Russian diplomatic circles. The UN ambassador had fought fiercely with Moscow over its refusal to back firmer action in the Syria crisis in the past year.

"It would be more difficult for Moscow to work with Washington" if Ms Rice became Secretary of State, the unnamed Russian official said.

The source added that Moscow's only fear was that Mr Obama may choose against naming Mr Kerry because this could see the Democratic Party lose an important Senate seat.

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-geithner-treasury-secretary-obama-election-20121107,0,5975965.story

New faces likely for key U.S. economic posts, starting at Treasury

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Speculation swirls about the replacement for Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, who has said he would not serve in a second Obama term. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images / November 7, 2012)

By Jim Puzzanghera

November 7, 2012, 9:17 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama's second term is likely to have some different faces in key economic positions, starting with a new Treasury secretary to replace departing Timothy F. Geithner.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro also reportedly is considering stepping down, a year before her five-year term ends in early 2014. And Federal Reserve ChairmanBen S. Bernanke might not want to re-up for another four-year term as head of the central bank.

Geithner has stated clearly that he would not stay if Obama was reelected. In fact, he was close to stepping down after the bitter 2011 negotiations with Congress over increasing the nation's debt ceiling, but Obama persuaded him to stay through the end of his first term.

"I’ve had a lot of excitement in my job, more than my share," Geithner said in September when asked about whether the improving economic recovery would encourage him to remain at his post. "But I think the president ... should have a chance, and will have a chance, to have somebody excellent and capable come in and help him with those challenges."

It's rare for Cabinet secretaries to serve more than four years. And Geithner took the job in 2009 after dealing with the financial crisis through 2008 as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

It's unclear when Geithner would depart. White House and Treasury officials declined to comment Wednesday.

Obama's first term technically doesn't end until Jan. 20. And it's highly unlikely Geithner would leave before then because he would be a key player in the Obama administration's negotiations with Congress over avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff of large tax increases and government spending cuts coming at the first of the year.

Analysts have been speculating for months on possible Geithner replacements.

The names most frequently mentioned are White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew and former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles.

Bowles co-chaired the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, dubbed the Simpson-Bowles commission after him and his Republican co-chair Alan Simpson, which proposed a widely praised comprehensive deficit reduction plan last year.

Speculation also has swirled that Schapiro will step down soon, with a report in September saying she was considering resigning. Democratic Commissioner Elisse Walter has been mentioned as a possible replacement.

And there are several names being floated for the job of Fed chairman should Bernanke not want to go through another potentially tough confirmation fight. The New York Times reported last month that Bernanke had told friends he would not seek another term even if Obama won. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had vowed that if he had won, he would not reappoint Bernanke.

Former Obama economic advisor Lawrence Summers, who stepped down at the end of 2011, is a possible replacement, as well as Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellin and Alan Krueger, who head Obama's Council of Economic Advisors.