Leon Panetta

Finally, something went right for the Democrats in Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

Over the weekend, the Washington Post’s editorial page editor Fred Hiatt argued that Syria may be “the most surprising of President Obama’s foreign-policy legacies: not just that he presided over a humanitarian and cultural disaster of epochal proportions, but that he soothed the American people…

President Obama's former defense secretary and former head of the CIA, Leon Panetta, said this morning on CNN that we've entered into "a much more dangerous chapter" of the war on terror:

Back in 2012, I suggested that the Senate use Leon Panetta's confirmation hearing for CIA director to clear up one of Washington's more interesting media mysteries—who leaked Daniel Patrick Moynihan's authorship of controversial memo that used the phrase "benign neglect" in reference to the black…

Yesterday, the Washington Post had a lengthy report on how former CIA director Leon Panetta was sending out copies of his book nearly a month before it cleared the CIA's internal revue process to ensure that no sensitive national security information was being revealed. According to the Post,…

President Obama's former defense secretary, Leon Panetta, called for a White House shake-up this morning on CBS:

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the latest on the airstrikes against ISIS and the efforts to discredit Leon Panetta after he criticized the White House on foreign policy in his new book.

A former spokesman for President Barack Obama, Bill Burton, went on CNN last night to unload on the president's former defense secretary and former CIA director, Leon Panetta. Burton is upset about some of the things Panetta wrote in his memoir, which hit shelves yesterday, and called the long-time…

President Obama's former defense secretary and CIA chief, Leon Panetta, told MSNBC today that he knew the Benghazi attack was a "terrorist attack" right away:

In an interview with Susan Page of USA Today, Leon Panetta says:

Barack Obama's former defense secretary, Leon Panetta, says the president has a "responsibility" to act in Syria.

Washington D.C. is big on tradition, and one of those traditions involves official portraits of top government officials.  The Defense Department just awarded a $31,200 contract (frame included) to Portraits, Inc. for an official portrait of former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta:

What is Harry Reid talking about?

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol hosted by Michael Graham:

America’s military presence in the Persian Gulf serves as deterrence to Iran, reassures our increasingly nervous Arab partners, maintains peace, offers stability to our ally Israel, and has many other benefits. But nevertheless, the Pentagon earlier this week quietly announced the reduction in the…

The White House left Ambassador Chris Stevens, Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, and Sean Smith on their own on September 11 in Benghazi. That is the upshot of today’s Capitol Hill hearing featuring Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey.

Neither the secretary of defense nor the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke to the secretary of state during the 8-hour attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012. At a Thursday hearing in the Senate, Republican Ted Cruz asked both Leon Panetta and Martin…

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, admitted in a Senate hearing Thursday that no military assets, individual soldiers or aircraft, sent in response to the September 11, 2012, attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Watch…

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testified this morning on Capitol Hill that President Barack Obama was absent the night four Americans were murdered in Benghazi on September 11, 2012:

General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the State Department never requested "support" in Benghazi:

Two officials from the Obama administration are on the hot seat today on Capitol Hill: John Brennan, who is the president'a chief counterterrorism advisor and who has been nominated to lead the CIA, and Leon Panetta, the retiring defense secretary. For Brennan, the issue is whether he should be…

The U.S. military announced today that instead of keeping mulitple aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, only one would be kept there. The reason offered? Uncertainty surrounding budget cuts.

For over two decades, I have been arguing against the idea of placing American women in combat or in support positions associated with direct ground combat. I base my position on three factors. First, there are substantial physical differences between men and women that place the latter at a…

President Obama has released a statement supporting Secretary of Defense Panetta's decision on women in combat units! "Today, by moving to open more military positions—including ground combat units—to women, our armed forces have taken another historic step toward harnessing the talents and skills…

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the U.S. military would lift its long-standing ban on women in combat. The national media, as can be expected, is popping the champagne corks in celebration.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Ryan Smith, a retired Marine infantryman who fought in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, urges caution about the Pentagon's new directive to allow woment to fight as combat infantry. Smith describes his experience in 2003:

Just a couple minutes ago, presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett, who is personally close to President Barack Obama, tweeted, that "If there's one thing we should all agree on, it's protecting women from violence."

Leon Panetta said he's stepping down as secretary of defense to return to his "walnut farm." There, Panetta said, he will deal "with a different set of nuts."

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta kept his pet dog by his side when he discussed details taking out Osama bin Laden at his CIA office.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta seemed not to have extensive knowledge of the Petraeus affair when talking to the press earlier today on board a flight to Australia. 

A reader writes in: 

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

The presidential candidates should listen to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta when he reminds us that there is still a war being fought in Afghanistan. And we should remember what Panetta’s predecessor, Robert Gates, had to say about Afghanistan in 2010, too.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters today that "statements" are not enough to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

The recent congressional ire over the Obama administration's suspiciously convenient national security leaks reminded me of an unusual bit of political trivia: Defense Secretary -- and prior to that, CIA head -- Leon Panetta is the prime suspect in one of the most notorious political leaks of all…

During a trip to Afghanistan last week, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta chastised Pakistan for its ongoing support for the Haqqani Network – an insurgency organization that is closely tied to al Qaeda. The Haqqani Network has long been a proxy of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate…

When he was director of central intelligence, Leon Panetta earned a reputation as an energetic advocate for his agency. When he replaced Robert Gates at the Pentagon, it was reasonable to hope that Panetta would continue to play the role of a senior statesman. And to some extent he has—explaining…

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta confirmed on Friday that al Qaeda has a "presence in Syria."

Politico: "Payroll tax cut, unemployment benefits: Congress nears deal"

Yuval Levin & Ramesh Ponnuru: "Romney vs. Obamacare"

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced a new timeline for American combat operations in Afghanistan—or did he? He said, “Hopefully, by mid- to the latter part of 2013, we’ll be able to make, you know, to make a transition from a combat role to a training advice, and assist role…” Pressed once,…

Earlier today, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the “The United States and NATO will seek to end their combat mission in Afghanistan next year and shift to a role of providing support and training to Afghan security forces,” the Washington Post reported. In other words, America will…

Obama administration bigwigs are falling all over themselves to denounce, condemn, lament, and apologize for the unfortunate behavior of a few Marines in Afghanistan last year. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta condemned the action as not just deplorable but “utterly deplorable.” Secretary of State…

The Hill: "Poll: Romney slipping in South Carolina, holds just two-point lead over Gingrich"

The Senate passed the Kirk-Menendez amendment last week—which would sanction the Central Bank of Iran and other financial institutions—by a startling 100-0 vote. The Obama administration opposed the legislation and is currently working to weaken the sanctions as the bill as now in conference. Josh…

In his capacity as chairman of the Emergency Committee of Israel, Bill Kristol released the following statement today in response to Ambassador Howard Gutman’s remarks at a conference in Europe and Leon Panetta’s comments in Washington:

Fox News: "Panetta Warns of Smallest Air Force Ever if Deep Defense Cuts Made"

One of the core strategic beliefs of the Obama administration has been that their Bush predecessors overreacted to the attacks of 9/11 and became obsessively focused on the greater Middle East at the expense of East Asia or the “Asia-Pacific,” where the rise of China and India presages a new…

At a House Armed Services Committee yesterday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey warned against making further reductions to future defense spending, telling lawmakers that further cuts will “truly devastate our national defense.”

There is a certain irony, as well as much truth, in Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s drumbeat of warnings about the consequences of further cuts to U.S. military budgets of the sort threatened under the current deficit reduction law.

President Obama's defense secretary, Leon Panetta, sent an email message on Friday to all U.S. military personnel and all other employees of the Department of Defense about the debt ceiling.

"Panetta Confirmed as Defense Secretary"

At his confirmation hearing on June 9, Secretary of Defense nominee Leon Panetta faced questions from Democrats and Republicans alike about President Obama’s intention, hastily announced in April, to cut $400 billion from national security spending over the next 12 years. Unfortunately, Panetta…

In anticipation of today’s Senate confirmation hearing for Defense secretary nominee Leon Panetta, a list of ten questions on the future of U.S. defense spending priorities was jointly released by the American Enterprise Institute, the Foreign Policy Initiative, and the Heritage Foundation earlier…

Even before the successful raid against Osama bin Laden was announced, news that America’s most admired general, David Petraeus, would take the helm at the CIA while CIA director Leon Panetta would become secretary of defense had induced much discussion about the intertwining of the CIA and…

Thirty-four Republican senators will send a letter to Barack Obama, calling on the president "to finally end the DOJ’s unwarranted investigations of CIA interrogators, whose work led to one of the most defining moments of the Global War on Terror."

In an interview with President Obama on Sunday night’s 60 Minutes, Steve Kroft asked:

In the wake of Osama bin Laden's death at the hands of a covert U.S. assault force, there has been plenty of specualtion in the U.S. press about Pakistan's involvement in sheltering the terror chief, followed by denials from Pakistan. But in an interview with Time magazine, CIA director Leon…

The Washington Post reports that Ryan Crocker, former ambassador to Iraq, will likely be nominated to be the next ambassador to Afghanistan :

Well, it is pretty clear that more than two years after ordering Gitmo closed, the Obama administration still hasn't come up with a better solution for holding high-value detainees. How do we know? Because Obama’s CIA director, Leon Panetta, says that the U.S. would likely send Osama bin Laden or…

It's one thing that news organizations misread the situation in Egypt today, issuing conflicting reports throughout the day. (Hosni Mubarak will resign, no he won't, yes he will -- that's how today's events were reported, until finally Mubarak made his announcement.) But it's a little disheartening…

The kingdom of Jordan is widely acknowledged for its internal contradictions. It accepts peace with Israel, and its intelligence service has been praised for its work against al Qaeda. But as disclosed by CIA director Leon Panetta and described in the Washington Post this week, a Jordanian…