Former Defense Secretary Panetta Rips Obama

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright October 13, 2014
All Rights Reserved.                                     

                   Ripping 52-year-old President Barack Obama, former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta accused the president of rushing to end the Iraq War that led to the Islamic State of Iraq [ISIS].  Panetta’s new book, “Worthy Fights,” implies that pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq opened the door to ISIS seizing over 30% of Iraq and Syria.  Panetta conveniently forgets about years of discussions with former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that wanted U.S. forces out of Iraq at the earliest possible time.  Not only had al-Maliki kicked sand in the U.S. face, showing no gratitude for over 4,880 U.S. deaths and spending over $1 trillion U.S. tax dollars, he flat out refused to grant the U.S. military any immunity agreement to protect against future law suits.  Panetta knows that former President George W. Bush’s eight-year war caused much of Iraq’s chaos, creating the power vacuum that opened the floodgates of Islamic terrorism.

           Panetta’s vendetta with Obama stems from the fact that Obama wouldn’t give the former defense secretary more decision-making authority with the Pentagon to continue the Iraq War.  Panetta’s views parallel those of former Vice President Dick Cheney who believes the U.S. should have given Iraq a blank check or open-ended commitment.   Most economists blame the Iraq and Afghan Wars for bleeding the U.S. economy into the worst recession since the Great Depression.  Obama tried to deliver his campaign promise of ending the Iraq War at the earliest possible time.  Panetta and Cheney promised that the countless billions spent on the Iraq military would eventually make it self-sufficient.  Military successes by ISIS revealed the Iraq military in shambles, largely from infiltration by Sunni militants.  ISIS gained much of its strength from Iraqi military defections, stealing millions of dollars of military hardware from deserting Iraqi military units.

           Panetta’s harshest criticism of Obama was the red line issue about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons.  Whether or not al-Assad killed some 1,400 Syrian rebels with Sarin, VX or mustard gas, Obama faced a dilemma joining the Oatar and Saudi-backed insurgency against al-Assad’s small Alawite Shiite minority.  “I think the credibility of a commander-in-chief is whether or not when you say something, you stand by it,” said Panetta after Obama asked Congress to put Syiran military intervention to a vote.  Obama didn’t oppose in principle the idea of bombing Syria for al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons, he wanted Congress to have some say.  While it’s true that Obama had the authority to authorize strikes, it’s also true he was elected to end Mideast wars, not start new ones.  Panetta ignores the central failure of the Bush administration in toppling Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein:  The power vacuum that flooded Iraq with terrorism.

            Obama punted bombing Syria back to hawks in Congress.  With all the bitter partisanship in Congress largely over Obamacare, Obama knew conservatives in Congress would not give  authorization for anything.  Obama’s decision to put the decision before Congress irked former Secretary of State and future Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton who backed conservatives on the Senate Armed Services Committee, like Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who wanted to bomb Syria.  Obama walked a tightrope agreeing with conservatives on Capitol Hill and ignoring the ugly reality of creating another power vacuum in Syria.  While Russian President Vladimir Putin faces abundant criticism for his actions in Ukriane, his approach to Syria showed more common sense.  While backing al-Assad was self-serving for Putin, it also acknowledged that any alternative regime would be more destabilizing to the region.

            Panetta’s critique of Obama hopes to put distance between other Democratic presidential candidates, especially Hillary who faces tough-sledding on foreign policy running on Obama’s record.  By criticizing Obama, Panetta hopes to distance the party from an unpopular president.  Obama’s approach to the Iraq War and Afghanistan didn’t have an impractical, “ivory tower” approach.  “Too often in my view the president relies on the logic of a law professor rather than the passion of a leader,” Panetta wrote in his 512-page memoir.  Bush had a lot of passion behind his decision to topple Saddam Hussein, despite warnings from many senior advisors from former President H.W. Bush’s Cabinet, including former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who worried about the power vacuum that indeed opened up the floodgates of Islamic terrorism in Iraq.   Law professor logic is preferable over personal animus or past vendettas, no matter how well justified.

About the Author 

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.