The Defense Secretary: Leon Panetta

 

(CBS News) 

Leon Panetta's mother wanted her son to be a concert pianist, but hopefully she wouldn't be disappointed that he's instead gone on to be a congressman, White House chief of staff, director of the Office of Management and Budget, head of the CIA, and now secretary of defense, where he is managing three million employees, fighting multiple wars, pursuing al Qaeda all over the world, and trying to keep Iran from building an atom bomb. Mr. Panetta's mother would probably also be pleased that her son still owns the northern California family farm where he was raised. That's where Mr. Panetta escapes from Washington -- tending the walnut trees that he and his brother planted 65 years ago, and even playing a bit of piano. Scott Pelley reports.

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The following script is from "Defense Secretary Panetta" which aired on Jan. 29, 2012. Scott Pelley is the correspondent. Henry Schuster, producer.

No one would have picked a 73-year-old, affable, former congressman as the one to track down Osama bin Laden. But Leon Panetta has held the toughest jobs in Washington and quietly done what seems impossible. Before bin Laden, Panetta helped balance the federal budget. In a long career he'd been budget director and White House chief of staff, but by 1997 he left Washington and went home to California. It was 12 years later, President-elect Obama made an odd request. Would Panetta lead the CIA? Panetta had never worked in intelligence but his team put a Navy Seal in bin Laden's bedroom. This summer the president made Panetta secretary of defense, in charge of managing three million employees, fighting three wars, and stopping Iran from building an atom bomb.

At home with Leon Panetta
Welcome to the Panetta family ranch. As you'll see, the U.S. secretary of defense is anything but a bureaucratic bore.

This last Tuesday, before the president spoke to the nation, he had a few words for Leon Panetta.

[President Obama: Good job tonight, good job.]

With nearly the entire government assembled for the State of the Union address maybe 10 people in the room knew what that was about. The Navy's Seal Team Six had just rescued two hostages, including an American woman. This time the action was in Somalia.

Scott Pelley: In how many countries are we currently engaged in a shooting war?

Leon Panetta: It's a good question. That's-- you know, it's--

Pelley: You have to stop and count.

Panetta: Gotta stop-- I'll have to stop and think about that, because you know, obviously we're going after al Qaeda, wherever they're at. And clearly, we're confronting al Qaeda in Pakistan. We're confronting the nodes of al Qaeda in Yemen, in Somalia, in North Africa.

When you're secretary of defense it's a small world and a dangerous one. Panetta was covering it when we caught up with him on a trip to Afghanistan, where he has 90,000 troops, Iraq, where the war was ending, and Libya where he'd helped depose Qaddafi. Panetta travels on a flying command post, where he can reach every American warplane, submarine and missile silo. If the president ordered a nuclear war, Panetta would launch it from what they call the doomsday plane.

Pelley: The president would reach you on this aircraft.

Panetta: The president would reach me on this aircraft and very possibly be on this aircraft, to be able to direct what happens in that situation.

We noticed Panetta's Spartan compartment is built for two. Two chairs, two bunks, two phones - for him and the president. But on this trip Panetta wasn't worried about Russia's thousands of nuclear weapons, he was thinking of what he would do if Iran built just one.

Panetta: 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. If we have to do it, we will do it.

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[gkalberer]

Leon Panetta is the Best of the Best of the Best and he defeated Evil.

Leon Panetta and the U.S. Military work better than than U.S. Law enforcement does. Where did Osama bin Laden's money come from and who was shorting the S&P 500 just before Sep 11, 2001.

We need Leon Penatta and U.S. Military intelligence to investigate this. Shorting the Stock Market is very dangerous if it is linked to crime. In Minneapolis, MN the local Police brag about making money shorting stocks and an FBI investigation into events related 9/11 was stopped. Police officers like Sgt Palmer openly lie about stock market facts and conspiracies.

Evil must be defeated we need Leon Penatta and Military Intelligence now more than ever. U.S. Law Enforcement is no more Trustworthy than Pakistan.

[e-mail]

[Black banana]

The size of our military MUST be cut in half in order to put our country back in the black, as we simply cannot afford it's current size. Should we continue to employ U.S citizens all over the world and continue to borrow Chinese money to pay for it? Should we continue to maintain military bases all over the world and continue to borrow Chinese money to pay for them? Any profitable company or Corporation must be taking in more money than it is putting out, and our military is no exception. What part of "we can't afford it" do you not understand? We need to grow millions of profitable jobs inside of our own borders so that our citizens don't have to join the military to begin with. Many of our governors are having to cut back on important social and medical services because our federal government cannot provide help. The reason? - because we are wasting money in other countries!!

[samXXkiley]

coucou,
nice interview, however evasive, it reflects a assurance but also the fear of a country despite its power, it also reflects an unfair American nuclear policy
the question is, what would push the United States, to order a nuclear war?
Leon Panetta, being Secretary of Defense does not prevent you to learn piano
"au revoir"

[apple232323]

lies! all lies! 40 years working in government? this man is an inside as it gets. obama and his administration are a bunch of criminals. i hope nobody buys this propaganda garbage.

1) osama bin laden has been dead for years. He is a former CIA asset.

2) the war on terror is a lie, all based on 9/11, which we know was an inside job.

3) iran is NOT a threat to us. the neo cons are creating another false threat to create regime change and install a puppet dictator that takes orders from the white house.

In short, just about everything our government tells us is a lie. They cannot be trusted. They are trying to take away our civil liberties and free speech.

There is NO difference between a democrat and a republican. They all work for the same team. The ONLY candidate that is not an insider and that speaks the truth is RON PAUL.
Everybody please go to youtube and watch the documentary: The Obama Deception, America: Freedom to Fascism and Invisible Empire. Wake up! We are being lied to every day!

[roberttxdem]

Calm down, put your foil hat back on and take your pills. It will all be better tomorrow.

[apple232323]

lies! all lies! 40 years working in government? this man is an inside as it gets. obama and his administration are a bunch of criminals. i hope nobody buys this propaganda garbage.

1) osama bin laden has been dead for years. He is a former CIA asset.

2) the war on terror is a lie, all based on 9/11, which we know was an inside job.

3) iran is NOT a threat to us. the neo cons are creating another false threat to create regime change and install a puppet dictator that takes orders from the white house.

In short, just about everything our government tells us is a lie. They cannot be trusted. They are trying to take away our civil liberties and free speech.

There is NO difference between a democrat and a republican. They all work for the same team. The ONLY candidate that is not an insider and that speaks the truth is RON PAUL.
Everybody please go to youtube and watch the documentary: The Obama Deception, America: Freedom to Fascism and Invisible Empire. Wake up! We are being lied to every day!

[Ironeggz]

After Panetta's statements about Iran and Pakistan, the State Department must have their skirts pulled up over their heads and screaming *** ! I'm hopeful Panetta cleared his comments with BO or he might not have a job!

[hdc77494]

The secretary of defense, who orders soldiers into harms way, couldn't recall how many shooting wars we are in? Isn't it his JOB to know? How clueless is this administration?

[karek40]

Idiot he knows and doesn't want the world to know.

[djfpga]

He's the laughing, jolly, kindly, caring, grandfatherly cold-blooded killer. I liked his blood momento of Osama bin Laden.

[signseeker1717]

Since taking out Bin Laden and 22 of the top 30 al Qaeda leaders has saved countless American lives, and Panetta also has a son who was in Afghanistan, I imagine that brick brings him a certain amount of satisfaction.

[Black banana]

Three million employees - WOW! Think about how much of a money drain that is on our economy when many folks cannot even afford to heat their homes. I laughed out loud when I heard that the military budget was going to be cut by 500 billion dollars over 10 years. That's only 50 billion dollars a year when the true cost is over 1.2 trillion dollars per year. That's only a 5% reduction in military spending at a time whwn we continue to borrow money from China at a rate of approximately 1.2 trillion every 10 months. How long do you think our country can continue to afford a military that is 10 times larger than the next ten counties combined? This country is on a slippery slope, and that slope keeps getting steeper. Wake up folks and smell the coffee.

[signseeker1717]

The military defends the country AND provides employment. Drastic, short term cuts are unworkable.

Think how much of a "money drain" it would be if even HALF of those three million of those employees were laid off tomorrow and flooded the job market, and all the related military contracts associated with those employees were cancelled.

Maybe 10 times larger is too large, but just try selling the "folks" on a military that is 10 times WEAKER than at present.

Would that make the slope less slippery or the coffee smell stronger?

[fedup12]

David 393 and Jgg0001

ha ha ha....

No i remember the mission after 9.11 was to get the guys that did it.

WE DID THAT. Although we did try to go after Jamaica for awhile.

Bin Laden and tens of (hundreds) thousands of terrorists dead.

Yep I got closure.

You can live in your cowardly little world from now on. Be sure and pipe rush and sarah into your head each night to tell you how scared you are.