Leon Panetta Quotes

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Leon Panetta

Profession : Public Servant

Birth : June 28, 1938

Iran's continued drive to develop nuclear capabilities, including troubling enrichment activities and past work on weaponization documented by the IAEA, and its continued support to groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist organizations make clear that the regime in Tehran is a very grave threat to all of us.

Leon Panetta

Iran is isolating itself from the rest of the world.

Leon Panetta

Rather than undermining the Palestinian Authority, it is in Israel's interests to strengthen it by... continuing to transfer Palestinian tax revenues and pursuing other avenues of cooperation.

Leon Panetta

When you're smaller and leaner, you're not going to have that large a presence throughout the world.

Leon Panetta

Well, the United States is a Pacific power. And we have always had a presence in the Pacific.

Leon Panetta

When you cut a half-a-trillion dollars from the defense budget, it affects almost every area in the defense budget.

Leon Panetta

Al Qaeda still remains a threat.

Leon Panetta

I think soon after I became director of the CIA - President Obama pulled me into the Oval Office and said: 'Look, I just want you to know that your top priority is to go after Osama bin Laden.'

Leon Panetta

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.

Leon Panetta

China is a major power in the Pacific and I think we are dealing with some common threats in that region: the whole issue of Korea and the stability of Korea, the whole issue of nuclear proliferation, the whole issue of providing free access to our ships that are operating in that area.

Leon Panetta

I'm going to give people the benefit of the doubt.

Leon Panetta

I'm not big on commissions.

Leon Panetta

I don't think I should penalize people who were doing their duty.

Leon Panetta

I think the primary message to the world is that the United States is going to remain the strongest military power in the world.

Leon Panetta

If you're a terrorist, you're a terrorist.

Leon Panetta

My whole life has been dedicated to public service.

Leon Panetta

It doesn't make a lot of sense for us to borrow money from the Chinese to go give to another country for humanitarian aid. We ought to get the Chinese to take care of the people.

Leon Panetta

I suddenly realized at the CIA that I had to make life-and-death decisions about people.

Leon Panetta

Unfortunately these days, there is a hell of a lot that keeps me awake.

Leon Panetta

I mean, the Taliban, my view is that they have been weakened.

Leon Panetta