Team Intelligence

As Obama makes the announcements official, some are questioning the Panetta-Blair team.  

Blair is being scrutinized for his part in U.S. involvement in East Timor a decade ago.  A paramilitary group with Indonesian and American backing slaughtered 200,000 East Timorese over a two decade period.  Blair sought to work with the Indonesian military, including training, in an attempt to gain leverage in the situation -- a move many are critical of. 

In 1999 Blair met with military leaders in Indonesia to resume talks about training aid.  Days before the discussions, Indonesian-trained militias slaughtered almost 60 people seeking refuge in a Church.  Blair said he did not find out about the slaughter until after the meeting.  

Blair also faces questioning regarding a conflict of interest investigation when in 2006, working for a Pentagon think tank, he sat on the membership board of two of the defense contractors whom the think tank was reviewing.