Quote

The last thing I want to do is to make the mistakes of the past.

Leon Panetta

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

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
Lasts
Last
Past
Thing
Make
Mistakes
Mistake

More quotes by Leon Panetta

Image
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
Image
I mean, the Taliban, my view is that they have been weakened.
Leon Panetta
Image
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
Image
In this century, the 21st century, the U.S. recognizes our prosperity and our security depends even more on the Asia-Pacific region.
Leon Panetta
Image
When you're smaller and leaner, you're not going to have that large a presence throughout the world.
Leon Panetta
Image
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.
Leon Panetta
Image
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.
Leon Panetta
Image
Al Qaeda still remains a threat.
Leon Panetta
Image
Go forward, knowing that you are greater than the challenges of your time.
Leon Panetta
Image
You know, as director of the CIA, I got an awful lot of intelligence about all the horrible things that could go on across the world.
Leon Panetta
Image
These days, it takes only seconds - seconds - for a picture, a photo, to suddenly become an international headline.
Leon Panetta
Image
One demonstration of extremists, any more than a Ku Klux Klan demonstration in the United States, is not necessarily reflective of what the rest of the country feels.
Leon Panetta
Image
I suddenly realized at the CIA that I had to make life-and-death decisions about people.
Leon Panetta
Image
Winning in Afghanistan is having a country that is stable enough to ensure that there is no safe haven for Al Qaida or for a militant Taliban that welcomes Al Qaida. That's really the measure of success for the United States.
Leon Panetta
Image
Clearly, Russia has lied to the world about what's going on in Ukraine. They have clearly violated the cease-fire agreements.
Leon Panetta
Image
I think a quality that a national security adviser must have is the ability to set up procedures.
Leon Panetta
Image
Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take risks and that we know that we have the support of the government and we have the support of the American people in what we're doing.
Leon Panetta
Image
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
Image
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.
Leon Panetta
Image
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.
Leon Panetta