Introduction

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Obama announced on Thursday that Leon Panetta, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, would replace Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is retiring, and that Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Afghanistan, would lead the C.I.A.

Many observers see the president's decision as further evidence of a shift in how the United State military fights its wars, even as the C.I.A. takes on a growing paramilitary role in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Does this leadership change indicate a push to have the military take on a greater role in intelligence gathering and analysis? What does history tell us about blurring the lines between soldiers and spies?