* Paneta, a Democrat, served as Defense Secretary in the Obama administration
* He said in an interview with Erin Burnett that the withdrawal of American troops left the United States in a 'very dangerous and difficult situation'
* He was asked if he believed it was right for the Biden administration to stick with the August 31 deadline for removing American troops from the war-torn country
* 'We're going to have to go back in to get ISIS. We're probably going to have to go back in when Al Qaeda resurrects itself, as they will, with this Taliban,' he said
Leon Panetta said on Thursday that the Unites States military will have to return to Afghanistan to tackle terror threats posed by Taliban and ISIS-K after a suicide attack killed 13 U.S. troops and at least 90 Afghans.
Paneta, a Democrat who served as Defense Secretary in the Obama administration, said in an interview with Erin Burnett for her CNN show OutFront that the withdrawal of American troops left the United States in a 'very dangerous and difficult situation.'
He was asked if he believed it was right for the Biden administration to stick with the August 31 deadline for removing American troops from the war-torn country.
Read more ....
Update #1: Leon Panetta says US troops will need to return to combat in Afghanistan (NYPost)
Update #2: ‘We’ll have to go back to Afghanistan’ to get ISIS & Al-Qaeda, Obama’s security chief Panetta says after US deaths in Kabul (RT)
WNU Editor: I do not see how the U.S. military can return to Afghanistan after this "evacuation" has been completed. Not one country that borders Afghanistan wants a U.S. presence when this is all over. So how can the U.S. military be deployed to Afghanistan?
ISIS is a threat as it always did. I'm not sure if it can make big one in the middle term because it has to regroup and retrain and a big action need a long preparation. Also how can we face this kind of war with China on top of it.
ReplyDeleteAirborne, airborne have you heard?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteA leader in America. Unbelievable.
Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it.
I think this is wishful thinking (cheering even) for
ReplyDeleteIt by this deepstate neocon Panetta.
Or it could be CYA for the Administration's reentry.
DeleteIn answer to the editor's question, with the proper combination of bribes and coercion or threats thereof the positions of the governments of the neighboring countries can change very fast.
ReplyDeletePanetta is a politicians, who is perhaps less sleazy than the rest of them. He spent 2 years in intel from 64 to 66. He served in California. He has 18 month as OMB director. So he spent 1 1/2 cycles there, which is typical. Place probably runs itself. He was Chief of Staff for 3 years for Clinton. In 2009 he was CIA director for 1 year and almost 5 months and Sec Def for 1 1/2 years.
ReplyDeleteMy expectation from organizations that I have been in is 2 or 3 years in a position.
"During his time in Congress, Panetta concentrated mostly on budget issues, civil rights, education, healthcare, agriculture, immigration, and environmental protection, particularly preventing oil drilling off the California coast."
I don't think Panetta has the knowledge or gravitas to be spouting off on Afghanistan. We would go into Afghanistan to do what? Expend massive amounts of munitions and money to kill each and every jihadi? Panetta does not know the center of Gravity to defeat the Taliban and does not know the definition of Center of Gravity.
He dopes know how to suck up money while paying lip service to the poor. Caring for the poor is quite lucrative: Panetta Institute for Public Policy
I do not know all the labels or shorthand (names) you can apply to Panetta. But one of them is not neocon. Just because two different people want the same things such as the fall of the Taliban does not make them identical or even very similar. The philosophies and methods might differ to such a great extent that it is ludicrous to call them the same thing.
ReplyDelete"Neoconservatism is a political movement born in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and counterculture of the 1960s, particularly the Vietnam protests. Some also began to question their liberal beliefs regarding domestic policies such as the Great Society. Neoconservatives typically advocate the promotion of democracy and interventionism in international affairs, including peace through strength, and are known for espousing disdain for communism and political radicalism.[1][2]
Prominent neoconservatives in the George W. Bush administration included Paul Wolfowitz, Elliott Abrams, Richard Perle and Paul Bremer. While not identifying as neoconservatives, senior officials Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld listened closely to neoconservative advisers regarding foreign policy, especially the defense of Israel and the promotion of American influence in the Middle East. "
- Wikipedia
7:42 PM
ReplyDeletePainting Panetta as a neocon might be a a stretch. But right now - if you look at Panetta's world view and say for instance that of Liz Cheney's, I don't think you'd find much daylight between them.
Leon is 83 years old. He's going off to Valhalla any day now.
ReplyDeleteAnd you will be exempt
DeleteIn some places and times elders were admired for wisdom acquired over yrs
Not young twigs who drink Schmitz in dive bars
Where's your military record Freddy?
DeleteMaybe the neocon needs updating or maybe we need a new term I thought a neocon was "a former lib, who who broke ranks and joins the conservatives as a hawk". I do not remember Panetta as defecting.
ReplyDeleteAre you right about Liz Cheney? I do not know most of her positions. For the record I consider Liz Cheney disgraceful. She grew up in the DC metro area and is a carpetbagger. He statements in the last year have blown up all her credibility.
I would rather call Leon a chickenhawk.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickenhawk_%28politics%29
https://www.americanwarlibrary.com/vietnam/vwatl.htm
I do not think Panetta's parents had pull to keep him out of Vietnam. I do not know know, if any strings were pulled. Maybe he made his own luck. I do not know the number of intel people in the army at 1964 or what the demands were for intel personnel. Why wasn't he assigned to MACV, Korea or Germany. Seems like California was a sweet gig and he got a shiny medal too.
Drinking in dive bars can be fun. I had the opportunity to dine in the dive where the bar scene of Top Gun was filmed.
ReplyDeleteAdvanced aged does not mean you have acquired wisdom.
How many of Panetta's grandson or great grandsons is he offering up for service.
ReplyDeleteNope, not happening.
ReplyDelete