147 Quotes by Leon Panetta

The political and substantive reality is that the agenda has to change. I don't think they have any choice.

The United States, and the president's made this clear, does not want Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. That's a red line for us. And it's a red line obviously for the Israelis so we share a common goal here.

The president is out there today trying to talk about health care, and the reality is nobody cares about what he's saying on health care because this news is consuming everything. No president could tolerate that or should tolerate it.

The last thing I want to do is to make the mistakes of the past.

I want to reassert again the position of the United States that with regards to Iran, we will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, period. We will not allow them to develop a nuclear weapon, and we will exert all options in the effort to ensure that that does not happen...The United States stands firmly with Israel, and we have a rock solid commitment to the security of Israel and to the security of its citizens.

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.

When you cut a half-a-trillion dollars from the defense budget, it affects almost every area in the defense budget.

Russians understand strength, and if they feel that their opponents are weak, they will take advantage of it.

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