Leon Panetta

No, we will not, because, under the Executive Order issued by the President, that kind of extraordinary rendition, where we send someone for the purposes of torture or for actions by another country that violate our human values, that has…

We need to seek out important intelligence in many different ways in order to determine what the impact is going to be in terms of the security of this world.

I will also help turn the page to a new chapter in the Agency's history.

the best way to ensure that those kinds of mistakes are not made is to rely on the process, our democratic process.

I think they made some wrong decisions; I think they made mistakes.

I think that was wrong.

I think this country is at its weakest when we send mixed messages abroad as to what our policy is.

I think that the intention of the Congress in establishing the DNI was to create an operation that would coordinate all intelligence activities...

I think when people misbehave and reveal those kinds of leak information that could impact and jeopardize lives, that's a serious matter.

I think he believes deeply that we don't have to choose between our ideals and our safety and that we can abide by the law in doing what has to be done to protect the safety of this country.

My experience in government, Senator, is that the worst thing you can have is a group of yes-people around you.

I am a creature of the Congress and proud of it.

If we don't act together to try to protect this country, then that is the surest way to lose our security for the future.

President Obama has made clear that a selection of Leon Panetta was intended as a clean break with the past, a break from secret detentions and coercive interrogation, a break from outsourcing its work to a small army of contractors, and a…

I strongly believe that the CIA needs a Director who will take the reins of the Agency and provide the supervision and oversight that this agency, which operates in a clandestine world of its own, must have.

Keeping this committee fully and currently informed is not optional--it's the law, and it is my solemn obligation to fulfill that requirement.

The purpose of the meeting was to make sure that he, Gore, knew what the hell was going on.

You wait for regular order, you are going to be waiting a long time.

Leon Panetta is somebody who is very well respected on Capitol Hill. He's got experience at all levels in government. He's considered to be bipartisan.

Ultimately, you can find consensus here. This country cannot be at war and be as divided as we are today. You have got to unify this country.

We have made a terrible commitment in Iraq in terms of the blood and our treasure. And I think that we owe it to them to try to take one last chance at making Iraq work.

We have made a terrible commitment in Iraq, in terms of our blood and our treasure.

I think the reason we were able to get such a large consensus (to support a sanctuary) was that I made it clear the sanctuary wasn't going to represent a whole new bureaucracy imposing regulations on fishermen.