CIA Director Leon Panetta appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday for his confirmation hearing to head the Pentagon. Panetta said he expects Iraq to request a prolonged U.S. occupation beyond the withdrawal deadline for later this year.

Leon Panetta: “It’s clear to me that Iraq is considering the possibility of making a request for some kind of (troop) presence to remain there. And it really is dependent on the prime minister and on the government of Iraq to present to us what — you know, what is it that they need and over what period of time in order to make sure that the gains that we’ve made in Iraq are sustained. I have every confidence that, you know, that a request like that, you know, is something that I think will be forthcoming at some point.”

Panetta is also calling for expanding covert U.S. operations abroad. In written responses to Senate questions, Panetta backed a command scheme that would place military operations under the control of the CIA. That would allow the U.S. government to evade public scrutiny on attacks committed abroad and even deny ordering them in the first place.