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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.

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
Believe
Civilians
Really
Defence
Always
Secretary
Military
Ought
Control
Jobs
Reason
Civilian

More quotes by Leon Panetta

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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.
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.
Leon Panetta
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Red lines are kind of political arguments that are used to try to put people in a corner.
Leon Panetta
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These days, it takes only seconds - seconds - for a picture, a photo, to suddenly become an international headline.
Leon Panetta
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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.
Leon Panetta
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There's no question that the main location of al Qaeda is in tribal areas of Pakistan.
Leon Panetta
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I think a quality that a national security adviser must have is the ability to set up procedures.
Leon Panetta
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The terrorism from 9/11 has metastasized. It's metastasized in Iraq and Syria, in Nigeria, in Somalia, in Yemen and in other places in North Africa. We need a very comprehensive strategy to deal with that threat.
Leon Panetta
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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
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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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Sexual assault has no place in the military. It is a violation of everything that the US military stands for.
Leon Panetta
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You don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on.
Leon Panetta
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Clearly, Russia has lied to the world about what's going on in Ukraine. They have clearly violated the cease-fire agreements.
Leon Panetta
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Al Qaeda still remains a threat.
Leon Panetta
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I know that young people sometimes, caught up in the moment, make some very foolish decisions.
Leon Panetta
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I'm not big on commissions.
Leon Panetta
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Go forward, knowing that you are greater than the challenges of your time.
Leon Panetta
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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
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The United States will do whatever we have to do to protect our forces.
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.
Leon Panetta