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. Leon Panetta More Quotes by Leon Panetta More Quotes From Leon Panetta I want to reassert again the position of the United States that with regards to Iran, we will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, period. We will not allow them to develop a nuclear weapon, and we will exert all options in the effort to ensure that that does not happen...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 rocks israel commitment The president is out there today trying to talk about health care, and the reality is nobody cares about what he's saying on health care because this news is consuming everything. No president could tolerate that or should tolerate it. Leon Panetta president trying reality The political and substantive reality is that the agenda has to change. I don't think they have any choice. Leon Panetta choices reality thinking 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 middle-east regret thinking I don't engage in hypotheticals. Leon Panetta You don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on. Leon Panetta harm knowing way If we don't do something to simplify the tax system, we're going to end up with a national police force of internal revenue agents. Leon Panetta agents force police 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 issues military law I think my best advice would be to separate Donald Trump, the president of the United States from whatever investigation is being conducted by the FBI. I mean, there is something to be said, frankly, about the need for the appointment of an independent prosecutor because the American people are entitled to have a full review of what happened as a result of what the Russians did during our election. Leon Panetta independent mean thinking I think it's extremely important that the president Donald Trump himself indicate that he too wants to discover the full truth behind what the Russians did to elections 2016. Leon Panetta important president thinking We have throughout our history been tested when it comes to the institutions of our democracy. And thank God our forefathers were smart enough to establish a government of checks and balances to make sure that power cannot be centralized in any one branch of government. And those institutions have proven themselves. Leon Panetta smart balance democracy People elected Donald Trump because he acts decisively. He fired James Comey. He didn't fire the entire FBI. If there's something there, the FBI is going to continue to investigate it. Leon Panetta fbi people I think a quality that a national security adviser must have is the ability to set up procedures. Leon Panetta procedures quality thinking My experience is that the director of the FBI is particularly important to just how aggressive an investigation will be into an issue. And once you remove James Comey, it creates a vacuum at the top. And the fundamental issue will be whether or not there is support at the highest levels within the FBI to continue to conduct that investigation. That's going to be the question mark. Leon Panetta aggressive support important I have tremendous confidence in the ability of government institutions and the American people to do what is right to make sure that our democracy stays on the right track. Leon Panetta track democracy people 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 yemen iraq needs Caution is an important quality in a leader, but it has to be caution followed by decision. Caution followed by ambivalence can be a weakness. Leon Panetta important leader decision My impression is that Putin feels that he can basically manipulate the West to do what he ultimately wants to achieve, and that he feels he's gotten away with it so far, and that all he has to do is basically play the same game. Leon Panetta games want play Russians understand strength, and if they feel that their opponents are weak, they will take advantage of it. Leon Panetta opponents advantage weak 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 briefing weakness remember
