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The consequence could be that we would have an escalation that would take place that would not only involve many lives, but I think it could consume the Middle East in a confrontation and a conflict that we would regret.

Leon Panetta

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Leon Panetta
Age: 86
Born: 1938
Born: June 28
Former Director Of The Central Intelligence Agency
Lawyer
Political Scientist
Politician
Monterey
California
Leon Edward Panetta
Think
Regret
Thinking
Conflict
Middle
Escalation
Lives
Consume
Place
Confrontation
Take
Involve
Many
Consequence
Would
East

More quotes by Leon Panetta

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There's no question that the main location of al Qaeda is in tribal areas of Pakistan.
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I don't usually comment on columnists' ideas of what I'm thinking. That's a dangerous game to get into.
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We are a nation at war. This is also a time for hard choices. It's about ensuring that we are able to prevail in the conflicts in which we are now engaged. But it's also about being able to be strong and disciplined in applying our nation's limited resources to defending America.
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I think what both Republicans and Democrats need to do and the leaders on both sides is to recognize that if sequester takes place, it would be disastrous for our national defense and very frankly for a lot of very important domestic programs. They have a responsibility to come together, find the money necessary to de-trigger sequester.
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Well, the United States is a Pacific power. And we have always had a presence in the Pacific.
Leon Panetta
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The reason we've always had a civilian in that job [Secretary of Defence] is because we really believe that it is policymakers who ought to control the military and not have the military control the military.
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In this century, the 21st century, the U.S. recognizes our prosperity and our security depends even more on the Asia-Pacific region.
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I suddenly realized at the CIA that I had to make life-and-death decisions about people.
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These days, it takes only seconds - seconds - for a picture, a photo, to suddenly become an international headline.
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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.
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An aggressor nation or extremist group could gain control of critical switches and derail passenger trains, or trains loaded with lethal chemicals.
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Iran is isolating itself from the rest of the world.
Leon Panetta
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Throughout the 40 years I've been in Washington, I've always worked hard, particularly with regards to the budget issues.
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Rising sea levels, severe draughts, the melting of the polar caps, the more frequent and devastating natural disasters all raise demand for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Leon Panetta
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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.
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The fundamental premise is that neither the United States or the international community is going to allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.
Leon Panetta
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You don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on.
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I'm going to give people the benefit of the doubt.
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The most important thing we can do is prosecute the offenders, deal with those that have broken the law and committed this crime. And if we can do that then we can begin to deal with this issue and send a signal this is not a problem that we are going to ignore in the United States military.
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I want you and the people of Israel to know a few things that have not and will not change. The United States stands firmly with Israel, and we have a rock solid commitment to the security of Israel and to the security of its citizens.
Leon Panetta