Leon Panetta needs to rethink what he is doing to put it mildly. [View all]

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Leon Panetta was Secretary of Defense as late as 2013. The people he put in place at the DOD and the CIA are probably still in place. Policies that he supported are also probably being enacted and his influence can still be felt in those institutions.

For him to come out NOW and criticize President Obama is not right nor helpful. If he had a principled disagreement with the President, he should have spoken up then. If he did and it was not heeded, his actions now smack of someone who wants to push his agenda in public now. The fact that another path was taken than he deems correct now indicates other voices were also heard.

If he did support policies that were and are being enacted then this is a very late conversion to a different view. He is and has been very close to the Clintons. Whether they are or not, his actions smack of a political move to bolster a possible Hillary candidacy by creating more room from President Obama's actions in order to help her continue to separate herself from his policies.

In addition, he was and he may still be privy to top secret information. He may not be giving specifics, but his statements have to be informed by some of what he has heard. His interpretation of it is colored by his beliefs.

Panetta is not the end all and be all of defense policy, security policy, or any other policy. He is being by the media treated as the one true source of the truth. This is dangerous and does not present any other opinions or courses of action.

The situation in the Middle East is a Gordian hot mess. Anything we do will have unforeseen consequences that may backfire on us. Trying to get rid of ISIS is fraught with danger in many ways. This factor does not obviate the need to take some action but those who act as if there is an easy solution are fooling themselves and others.

Panetta and others are in a different position than most. They have a special position by virtue of the offices they held. They need to think carefully about the ramifications of their statements. Their pronouncements made as fact are misleading and do not present a balanced view.