Leon Panetta States Quotations

One demonstration of extremists, any more than a Ku Klux Klan demonstration in the United States, is not necessarily reflective of what the rest of the country feels.

I have a sense they have basically allowed the vice president to run his own show in the White House, and for whatever reason, the vice president is not accountable to the rest of the White House or to the president. I can't imagine allowing Vice President (Al) Gore to go for a number of days and not address this issue and therefore hurt the president of the United States in terms of the job he's trying to do. The first priority in the White House is not the vice president. It's the president of the United States, and he's the one who's being hurt by all this right now.

The reality is that the United States military alone cannot be all things to all nations. We will sharpen the application of our resources, better deploy our forces in the world and share our burdens more and more effectively with our partners. And frankly, all our allies need to do the same.

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

The United States has to be a leader in the world, because the problem is: If we are not leading, nobody else will.

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

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

The United States will do whatever we have to do to protect our forces.