The Taliban’s adoption of murder tactics is a sign of their weakness, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said while visiting service members and Gold Star families on Fort Campbell, Ky.
There have been a number of so-called “green on blue” incidents, in which members of the Afghan army and police killed NATO International Security Assistance Force troops, since the accidental burning of Qurans at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan.
These incidents are being taken seriously, but the United States and NATO will not change its strategy in response, Panetta told 101st Airborne Division soldiers. Story
Success in Iraq and the drawdown in Afghanistan does not mean the U.S. military should be dismantled, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said here today.
Panetta spoke to more than 1,200 people at the McConnell Center on the campus of the University of Louisville. He spoke of the need for public service and how that has played in the successes and challenges confronting the Defense Department.
“We have begun to drawdown our forces and transition to Afghan-led security responsibility, and we have seen the level of violence go down,” the secretary said. “Our goal is that by the end of 2014, the Afghans will have the responsibility to govern and secure themselves.” Story
When Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta was asked following a speech here tonight what keeps him awake at night, he didn’t hesitate: a major cyberattack.
“We are literally getting hundreds or thousands of attacks every day that try to exploit information in various [U.S.] agencies or departments,” Panetta told an audience at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. There are plenty of targets beyond government, too, he added.
“There are, obviously, growing technology and growing expertise in the use of cyber warfare,” he said. “The danger is, I think, [that] the capabilities are available in cyber to virtually cripple this nation: to bring down the power grid, to impact on our governmental systems, to impact on Wall Street and our financial system and to literally paralyze this country.” Story
