Showing posts with label Pnetta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pnetta. Show all posts

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Panetta Takes Reins as Pentagon Chief

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta vowed July 1 to keep the U.S. military the "best" in the world despite mounting budget pressures, after being sworn in as the new Pentagon chief.
"As your leader, I will ensure that our nation continues to have the best-trained, best-equipped, and strongest military in the world - a force prepared to confront the challenges that face us," Panetta wrote in his first message to troops after taking the oath of office at the Defense Department. "Even as the United States addresses fiscal challenges at home, there will be no hollow force on my watch."
Panetta succeeds Robert Gates, who won praise from Republicans and Democrats during his 4½ years on the job.
Panetta assumes office amid growing calls to rein in government spending, with an increasing number of lawmakers saying the massive defense budget can no longer be excluded from cutbacks.
Acknowledging "tough budget choices" on the horizon, Panetta said: "We must preserve the excellence and superiority of our military while looking for ways to identify savings."
The proposed defense budget for 2012 is about $671 billion, including $118 billion for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With a gradual transfer to Afghan forces due to begin this year, Panetta said the U.S. "must remain committed to working closely with our Afghan and international partners to ensure that it never again becomes a safe haven for al-Qaida and its militant allies."
On Iraq, he said the U.S. will need "to reinforce that responsibility, for the future security of Iraq must belong to the Iraqis themselves."
Panetta, however, made no mention of NATO-led air operations in Libya launched in March.
Some lawmakers have accused President Barack Obama of overstepping his legal authority in the Libya conflict, which has proved unpopular with Americans. But the Obama administration has argued the U.S. is playing a limited, supporting role in the operation.
At his swearing-in ceremony, Panetta also pledged to "protect" U.S. troops, according to military spokesman Marine Col. Dave Lapan.
Panetta was quoted as saying there was "no higher responsibility for a secretary of defense than to protect those who are protecting America."
Panetta, 73, is the oldest incoming U.S. secretary of defense and the first Democrat to hold the job since William Perry in 1997. He stepped down as head of the CIA to take the Pentagon job