Obama’s top candidate for director of the Central Intelligence Agency has withdrawn from consideration amid protests. John Brennan served as one of former CIA director George Tenet’s closest aides and has publicly supported the CIA’s policies of so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” and extraordinary rendition. Brennan’s possible nomination was opposed by many human rights activists, psychologists and bloggers. In a letter to Obama, Brennan said he did not want those concerns to be a “distraction” for the incoming administration. Former CIA analyst Melvin Goodman appeared on Democracy Now! on November 17 to criticize the possible selection of Brennan.

Melvin Goodman: “John Brennan has defended the warrantless eavesdropping. John Brennan has basically defended all of the violations that were committed at the CIA in the run-up to the war and in the postwar period. So the signal this sends to CIA employees who tried to get it right — and there were a few who tried to get it right — is the worst kind of signal. And if this is Obama’s judgment about a national security team, it’s very reminiscent of what Bill Clinton did in 1993, when he appointed people such as Jim Woolsey and Les Aspin and Warren Christopher and Tony Lake to the national security positions, and all of them had to be removed before the first term was over. So this is very disquieting, what we’re learning now.”

John Brennan will continue to work on Obama’s transition team and will likely play a role in choosing the next CIA chief.