Obama Picks His New Counterterrorism Chief

President Obama announced in a statement Friday that he'll nominate National Security Agency general counsel Matthew Olsen to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, National Journal reports.

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"Matt has a distinguished record of service in our intelligence community and I’m confident he will continue to build on our strong counterterrorism efforts," Obama said in the statement. "Matt will be a critical part of my national security team as we work tirelessly to thwart attacks against our nation and do everything in our power to protect the American people."

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Olsen also served as Director of the Guantanamo review Task Force. He replaces Mark Leiter, who stepped down earlier this month after four-and-a-half years coordinating White House counterror efforts for Presidents Bush and Obama.