Leon Panetta
Leon Panetta
Leon Edward Panettais an American statesman, lawyer, and professor. He served in the Obama administration as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2009 to 2011, and as Secretary of Defense from 2011 to 2013. A Democrat, Panetta was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993, served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1993 to 1994, and as President Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997. He is...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth28 June 1938
CityMonterey, CA
CountryUnited States of America
I think the bottom line is, this is one of the few BRAC rounds in history where California comes out doing very well.
As a result of the kind of partisan trench warfare that's going on in Washington, the special interests on both sides basically drive the agendas based on those issues that increase their membership, and that's what's going on here.
He obviously has to go through Congress to get things done. But he can't be seen as tied to its failings. He has to use the bully pulpit effectively and confront Congress effectively.
It's more a signal to the outside world. It's their way of saying they're paying attention.
You know, one thing I've learned over 40 years is that when you have jobs in Washington, you do it day by day and that's what I'm doing as secretary of defense.
It is tough enough for the Secret Service to do its job without this. If I were still chief of staff, I would order the damned site (to) pull it down.
None of this is being paid for. At some point, all of that borrowing comes back to haunt you.
He was always graceful in the way he handled his guests, ... He always talked about substance. He never made snide remarks.
The United States, and the president's made this clear, does not want Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. That's a red line for us. And it's a red line obviously for the Israelis so we share a common goal here.
Well, you know, any defense force worth its salt has to be able to deal with uncertainty, has to be able to deal with events that we may not have planned for.
Unfortunately these days, there is a hell of a lot that keeps me awake.
The potential for the next Pearl Harbor could very well be a cyber-attack,
The one thing that I remember from all of my intelligence briefings and my dealings with the Russians is that when you deal with the Russians, you have to deal with them from strength, not from weakness.
Frankly, my fundamental beliefs have not changed.