New CIA chief John Brennan visits Romania, meets president Traian Basescu, PM Victor Ponta

The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ) John Brennan (in picture, left) met on Tuesday (June 18) the Romanian president Traian Basescu (in picture, right) and the Prime Minister Victor Ponta, during his official visit to the country. During the meeting, the Romanian Prime Minister and the CIA chief talked about the cooperation between the two countries, in the strategic partnership between Romania and the United States. The meeting took place at Victoria Palace in Bucharest. In the same day, John Brennan also met the Romanian President Traian Basescu, at Cotroceni Palace. During the meeting, the two officials debated several topics, related to security issues caused by the Arab Spring (term describing revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests in the Arab World), the situation in the Middle East and the security situation in Afghanistan, according to the Presidency website. The Romanian President and the CIA chief also discussed the U.S. missile defense location in Romania. The CIA director John Brennan expressed his gratitude for Romania’s intelligence community contributions, referring to the support given to the U.S. in the fight against terrorism and in combating the risks and threats against global security. John Brennan has been the director of the Central Intelligence Agency since March 8, 2013. From this position he manages intelligence collection, analysis, covert action, counterintelligence, and liaison relationships with foreign intelligence services. Before becoming CIA’s director, John Brennan served at the White House for four years as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counter-terrorism. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: presidency.ro)