Quotes By Leon Panetta

I suddenly realized at the CIA that I had to make life-and-death decisions about people.

Throughout the 40 years I've been in Washington, I've always worked hard, particularly with regards to the budget issues.

You don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on.

We either believe in the dignity of the individual, the rule of law, and the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, or we don't. There is no middle ground.

There's no question that the main location of Al Qaida is in tribal areas of Pakistan.

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.

The Taliban is resilient.

Companies should be able to share specific threat information with the government without the prospect of lawsuits hanging over their head.

I don't think there's any question that America is safer as a result of the bin Laden operation.

My whole life has been dedicated to public service.

I don't engage in hypotheticals.

If the Iraqis fail to implement the reforms, if they fail to get a handle on the violence, there's nothing the United States can do, militarily or otherwise, that can solve those problems. They have to assume the primary responsibility to govern themselves.

The United States is going to defend itself under any circumstances.

When you're smaller and leaner, you're not going to have that large a presence throughout the world.

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.

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.

The fundamental premise is that neither the United States or the international community is going to allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.

Go forward, knowing that you are greater than the challenges of your time.

I'm not big on commissions.

Red lines are kind of political arguments that are used to try to put people in a corner.

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.

Well, the United States is a Pacific power. And we have always had a presence in the Pacific.

If you're a terrorist, you're a terrorist.

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.

In this century, the 21st century, the U.S. recognizes our prosperity and our security depends even more on the Asia-Pacific region.

The United States has to have the capability to deal with more than one enemy at one time and be able to confront them and win.

Frankly, my fundamental beliefs have not changed.

I mean, the Taliban, my view is that they have been weakened.

The United States was attacked on 9/11/12, and we know who attacked us.

I think soon after I became director of the CIA - President Obama pulled me into the Oval Office and said: 'Look, I just want you to know that your top priority is to go after Osama bin Laden.'