10 quotes: Panetta's hits on Obama
Panetta has done numerous interviews and taken plenty of shots at Obama.
By Kendall Breitman
Leon Panetta, the former defense secretary and CIA director under President Barack Obama, has become a fixture of this week's news cycle — offering assorted criticisms of the president's foreign policy. To promote his book, "Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace," which was released on Tuesday, Panetta has done numerous interviews — and taken plenty of shots.
1. "For the first four years, and the time I spent there, I thought [Obama] was a strong leader on security issues. But these last two years, I think he kind of lost his way." — in an interview with USA Today's Susan Page on Oct. 6.
2. "Those on our side viewed the White House as so eager to rid itself of Iraq that it was willing to withdraw rather than lock in arrangements that would preserve our influence and interests." — in "Worthy Fights," which was excerpted in Time Magazine on Oct. 1.
( PHOTOS: Leon Panetta)
3. "I think this president is smart enough to understand the dangers. The real question is, can he translate that into the kind of action that will help protect this country?" — to Fox News' Bill O'Reilly on Oct. 7.
4. "[Obama] approaches things like a law professor in presenting a logic of his position. There is nothing wrong with that. We want to have a president who thinks through the issues. My experience in Washington is that logic alone doesn't work. Once you lay out a position, you are going to roll up your sleeves and you have to fight to get it done. That is key in Washington. In order for presidents to succeed, they cannot just — when they run into problems, step back and give up." — in an interview with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on Oct. 7.
5. "I think it — it offended him that people would not really get serious and work on the issues. I think as a result of that, he just felt, you know, 'How — how can I deal with people that simply won't — don't wanna do the right thing for the country?' Well, the reality is, if you wanna govern in this country, you have to deal with people you don't like." — to CNN's Gloria Borger in an interview Tuesday.
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6. "I think the difference is that Bill Clinton likes politics, likes the engagement in politics. Barack Obama does not like that process of engaging in politics, and I think that hurts his presidency. It hurts him in terms of getting things done." — to O'Reilly.
7. "It sent a mixed message, not only to Assad, not only to the Syrians, but to the world. And that is something you do not want to establish in the world, an issue with regards to the credibility of the United States to stand by what we say we're going to do" — on the failure to confront Assad after he used chemical weapons, in an interview with Katie Couric for Yahoo! News on Tuesday.
8. "We govern by leadership or crisis, and I think that today we are governing by crisis" — to O'Reilly on Oct. 7.
( PHOTOS: Barack Obama over the years)
9. "I take the position that when you're commander in chief that you ought to keep all options on the table … to be able to have the flexibility to do what is necessary in order to defeat the enemy. We're conducting airstrikes. But to make those airstrikes work, to be able to do what you had to do, you don't — you don't just send planes in and drop bombs. You've gotta have targets. You've gotta know what you're goin' after. To do that, you do need people on the ground," — in the Oct. 7 interview with CNN.
10. "I think the president's concern [with arming the Syrian opposition groups], and I understand it, was that he had a fear that if we started providing weapons, we wouldn't know where those weapons would wind up. … My view was, 'You have to begin somewhere.'" — in an interview with "60 Minutes" on Sept. 21.
Leon Panetta,
CIA,
Central Intelligence Agency,