Free Republic

Iran is a year or less from “N-Day,” but the United States will stop it – no matter what, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told CBS Monday night. His comments were far stronger than those of President Barack Obama, who has said that Iran must not reach nuclear capability but has not categorically stated that his administration will prevent it. Concerning the “military option,” Panetta told interviewer Scott Pelley, “There are no options off the table.” Asked if the Ahmadinejad regime can produce a nuclear weapon by the end of 2012, Panetta answered, “It would probably be about a year before...

BAGHDAD (AP) — After nearly nine years, 4,500 American dead and 100,000 Iraqi dead, U.S. officials formally shut down the war in Iraq — a conflict that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said was worth the American sacrifice because it set Iraq on a path to democracy. Panetta stepped off his military plane in Baghdad Thursday as the leader of America's war in Iraq, but departed as one of many U.S. and global officials who hope to work with the struggling nation as it tries to find its new place in the Middle East and the broader world. Bombings and gun...

The former House speaker doesn't like Panetta pressuring Israel to 'get to the damn table' for peace negotiations Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich continues to rail against the Obama administration for its Israel policy, saying it is "actively and materially harming Israel" after a speech by the administration's Pentagon Chief Leon Panetta. In a post on his campaign website yesterday, Gingrich attacked the three pillars of U.S. policy toward the Middle East that Panetta laid out in his speech at the Brookings Institution on Friday, suggesting the policies are actually hurting, rather than helping. Gingrich's position is no surprise, as...

Charlie:: “You coulda been another Billy Conn, and that skunk we got you for a manager, he brought you along too fast.” Terry: “It wasn’t him, Charley, it was you. Remember that night in the Garden you came down to my dressing room and you said, `Kid, this ain’t your night. We’re going for the price on Wilson.’….I coulda taken Wilson apart! So what happens? He gets the title shot outdoors on the ballpark and what do I get? A one-way ticket to Palooka-ville! You was my brother, Charley, you shoulda looked out for me a little bit. You shoulda...

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta spoke sternly on Friday to America’s closest ally in the Middle East, telling Israel that it is partly responsible for its increasing isolation and that it now must take “bold action” — diplomatic, not military — to mend ties with its Arab neighbors and settle previously intractable territorial disputes with the Palestinians. “I believe security is dependent on a strong military, but it is also dependent on strong diplomacy,” Mr. Panetta said.

... Obama has turned out to be the war president, choosing to empower his Islamist friends at the expense of American interests -- policy that promises to enslave millions of people in Egypt and other countries where the Islamic contagion is sweeping through the region. Mr. Panetta, how can this be good for America and the world? I realize that you do not care what impact your views and directives have on Israel because your administration is in a punishing mood with regard to Israel, where every new home and business there being scrutinized and stopped because you have decided...