New Pentagon Chief Facing Mountain of Problems

WASHINGTON — In moving from the CIA to the Pentagon, Leon Panetta is entering a new world.

After 2½ years as head of the spy agency, he is being sworn in Friday as secretary of defense. He'll take over an organization whose size, scope and spending power dwarf the CIA.

And although Panetta is well versed in national security, the magnitude of challenges that await him at the Pentagon — from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to battles inside the defense bureaucracy and conflicts with Congress — is hard to overstate.

Further complicating things for Panetta is the fast-approaching 2012 presidential election season, when the White House will be focused on campaigning.

At 73, Panetta is older than any of his predecessors when they began their tenure as Pentagon chief.