In the interview with USA Today, Panetta also criticized Obama for a deciding not the arm the moderate Syrian rebels in the early stages of the conflict in Syria.
“I think we’re looking at kind of a 30-year war” that could extend to threats in Libya, Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen, Panetta told the newspaper.
Panetta, a respected policymaker who served under Obama, blamed the challenges on decisions the president made over the past three years.
- Among those decisions, he cited Obama’s failure to push the Iraqi government hard enough to allow a residual U.S. force to stay in the country after troops withdrew in 2011, saying that created a security “vacuum.”
- The former defense secretary also pointed to Obama’s rejection of advice in 2012 from Panetta and then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton to begin arming Syrian rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad.
“I do think we would be in a better position to kind of know whether or not there is some moderate element in the rebel forces that are confronting Assad,” Panetta said.
And Panetta said Obama lost credibility when he warned Assad not to use chemical weapons against his own people and then failed to act when the Syrian leader crossed that “red line” last year.
Panetta says Obama now has an opportunity to “repair the damage” by showing leadership after having “lost his way” in the fight against the extremist group that has seized chunks of territory in Iraq and Syria.
The former Pentagon chief was speaking ahead of the release of his new book, “Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace,” set for Tuesday by Penguin Press.
USA Today said that Panetta is explicitly critical Obama in his book, writing that his “most conspicuous weakness” was “a frustrating reticence to engage his opponents and rally support for his cause.”
The president too often “relies on the logic of a law professor rather than the passion of a leader,” the former defense chief added, saying that approach means Obama “avoids the battle, complains and misses opportunities.”
At times, Obama “gets so discouraged by the process” that he sometimes stops fighting, Panetta told USA Today.
But Panetta also expressed hope Obama would change course during his last two years in office and recover from his mistakes.
“My hope is that the president, recognizing that we are at a kind of critical point in his administration, will take the bit in his teeth and will say, ‘We have got to solve these problems,’” Panetta said.
(With AFP)
english.alarabiya.net
6/10/14
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Related:
U.S. too late on Syria, ex-Pentagon chief warns. --(Hillary Clinton had urged Obama in 2012 to arm moderate Syrian rebels)
Obama: US Intelligence Underestimated Militants in Syria (VOA News)
US Joint Chiefs of Staff Head Says Ground War Required to Battle ISIS/ISIL. ("We need a large ground force to counter ISIL")
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Assad removal proviso for Turkish boots in Syria: PM...
ReplyDeleteTurkey is prepared to send ground forces to help eradicate ISIL in Syria if it gets international assurances for its borders and the removal of the Syrian regime, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday.
In an exclusive interview with CNN International's Christiane Amanpour, the prime minister said that without the removal of Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Syrian regime's ongoing offensives posed as big a threat as that caused by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also referred to as ISIL or ISIS.
"We are ready to do everything as long as there is a clear strategy that after ISIS we can be sure that our borders will be protected,” he said. "We don't want the (Assad) regime on our border any more, pushing people against -- towards Turkey."
"If ISIS goes, another radical organization may come in as long as Assad stays in his seat," he added.
Davutoglu emphasized the need for a comprehensive international strategy to defeat the terrorist elements threatening the entire region and displacing millions of people, especially in the last few months.
"So our approach should be ... not just to punish -- to satisfy our public opinion -- to punish one terrorist organization, but to eliminate all terrorist threats in the future, and also to eliminate all brutal crimes against humanity committed by the regime," he said.
Turkey has been pushing for the establishment of a no-fly zone and safe haven in Syria near the Turkish border as a priority which it sees necessary if the international U.S.-led coalition wants to join forces with Ankara against ISIL.................http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/400506--assad-removal-proviso-for-turkish-boots-in-syria-pm
7/10/14
Former Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta may have violated his secrecy agreement with the department over his recently published memoir, a new report claims.
ReplyDeleteSpecifically, Panetta may have crossed the line with the CIA when he allowed his publisher to begin editing and making copies of his book before he received final approval from the agency, a former US official told The Washington Post.
“It was contentious,” the former US official said, adding that the dispute exceeded previous conflicts between senior CIA officials.................http://rt.com/usa/198336-panetta-book-secrecy-agreement/
23/10/14