![](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/11\/leon-panetta.jpg\" "\\"leon-panetta\\"")
Former CIA director promotes \u2018healthy skepticism\u2019 on nuke talks<\/p>\nFormer CIA director promotes \u2018healthy skepticism\u2019 on nuke talks<\/p>\n
Leon Panetta \/ AP
BY: Adam Kredo
November 1, 2013 4:05 pm
Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta cautioned the Obama administration about engaging in endless negotiations with Iran, stating that \u201cwe may very well have to use military force\u201d to stop Tehran\u2019s pursuit of nuclear arms.<\/p>\n
Panetta, who also served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) until 2011, warned that Iranian nuclear negotiators may not be able to even deliver on a deal and that, in the end, military force may be the only tactic to stop Tehran\u2019s nuclear pursuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must remain strong, we must remain consistent that they [Iran] must never, never be able to develop a nuclear weapon, and that we may very well have to use military force to back up our policy,\u201d Panetta said to applause Thursday evening during an address at the Anti-Defamation League\u2019s (ADL) centennial meeting in New York City.<\/p>\n
While it is worth negotiating with Iran for a time, these talks should not drag on forever, Panetta said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we clearly should negotiate to determine whether they\u2019re serious about dealing with their nuclear capability,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we have to maintain a healthy skepticism.\u201d
Iran\u2019s supreme leader holds \u201cthe key\u201d to a nuclear deal, not the country\u2019s negotiating team, Panetta said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the supreme leader that is the key,\u201d he said. \u201cThe supreme leader. And they are not likely to agree to give up\u201d their right to enrich uranium, the key component in a nuclear arm.
Panetta also praised Western economic sanctions on Iran, a new round of which has been opposed by the Obama administration and Democrats on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have implemented unprecedented sanctions and pressure on Iran, uniting the world against their nuclear ambition and making clear that they must not close the straits of Hurmuz,\u201d a key global shipping lane, \u201cand not develop a nuclear weapon,\u201d Panetta said.<\/p>\n
A new round of nuclear negotiations are scheduled to be held on Nov. 11.<\/p>\n
Panetta went on to say that his greatest \u201cfear\u201d is that \u201cthere is a growing move to isolationism in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
America must stay engaged and present in the world, Panetta said.
\u201cThe fact is that this remains a very dangerous world,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re fighting a war. We continue to confront terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Al Qaeda clusters now exist in \u201cYemen and Somalia and Syria, in Mali and throughout North Africa,\u201d Panetta said.<\/p>\n
America also faces threats from North Korea, China, and Russia, he said.
Cyber security threats are also growing, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCyber could be the Pearl Harbor of the future,\u201d Panetta said. \u201cWe cannot retreat from the responsibility the U.S. has in the world today.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Former CIA director promotes ‘healthy skepticism’ on nuke talks Leon Panetta \/ APBY: Adam Kredo November 1, 2013 4:05 pmFormer Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta cautioned the Obama administration about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[175],"class_list":{"0":"post-15134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-iran-a-world","7":"tag-updated"},"yoast_head":"\n