Leon Panetta Quotes

A collection of quotes by Leon Panetta.

Leon Panetta is an American politician and public servant who had a distinguished career in government. Born on June 28, 1938, in Monterey, California, Panetta graduated from Santa Clara University Law School in 1963 before launching a successful political career. He served as a U.S. Congressman from California's 16th district from 1977 to 1993, during which he became known as a skilled legislator and negotiator.

In 1993, Panetta was appointed by President Bill Clinton to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He played a vital role in shaping and implementing Clinton's economic policies, including overseeing the creation of a budget surplus. Later, in 1994, he was appointed as Clinton's White House Chief of Staff, ensuring the smooth functioning of the administration's operations.

In the early 2000s, Panetta briefly returned to private life but was called upon by President Barack Obama to serve as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2009 to 2011. As CIA Director, he focused on leveraging intelligence capabilities in the fight against terrorism.

In 2011, Panetta took on the role of United States Secretary of Defense, succeeding Robert Gates. During his tenure, Panetta oversaw significant military operations, including the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan. He remained in this position until 2013 before retiring from government service.

Leon Panetta's long and accomplished career spanned various high-profile roles in government, showcasing his expertise in fiscal policy, intelligence, and national security.

You know, as director of the CIA, I got an awful lot of inte

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


After every major conflict - World War I, World War II, Kore

After every major conflict - World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the fall of the Soviet Union - what happened was that we ultimately hollowed out the force, largely by doing deep across-the-board cuts.

Leon Panetta

War

Today, I think the attitude is that governing is not necessa

Today, I think the attitude is that governing is not necessarily good politics, and the result is that it's much more partisan and much more divided.

Leon Panetta

Attitude

Winning in Afghanistan is having a country that is stable en

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

Success

Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence

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

Intelligence