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| In Book, Panetta Recounts Frustration With Obama | |
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| WASHINGTON — After resigning as secretary of defense last year, Leon E. Panetta watched with growing dismay at what he perceived as a president losing his way. Instead of asserting American leadership on the world stage, Mr. Panetta concluded, President Obama was vacillating and overly cautious. | WASHINGTON — After resigning as secretary of defense last year, Leon E. Panetta watched with growing dismay at what he perceived as a president losing his way. Instead of asserting American leadership on the world stage, Mr. Panetta concluded, President Obama was vacillating and overly cautious. |
| “He was concerned about the frustration and exhaustion of the country having fought two wars,” Mr. Panetta observed in an interview on Monday. The president, he said, nursed “the hope that perhaps others in the world could step up to the plate and take on these issues.” As a result, he added, “there was a kind of a mixed message that went out with regard to the role of the United States.” | “He was concerned about the frustration and exhaustion of the country having fought two wars,” Mr. Panetta observed in an interview on Monday. The president, he said, nursed “the hope that perhaps others in the world could step up to the plate and take on these issues.” As a result, he added, “there was a kind of a mixed message that went out with regard to the role of the United States.” |
| Typically frank, occasionally feisty and finally free of the constraints of clearing opinions with the White House, Mr. Panetta is re-emerging with a blunt account of his time in the Obama administration. In a new memoir to be published on Tuesday, Mr. Panetta draws a largely respectful portrait of a president who made important progress and follows a “well-reasoned vision for the country” but too often “avoids the battle, complains, and misses opportunities.” | Typically frank, occasionally feisty and finally free of the constraints of clearing opinions with the White House, Mr. Panetta is re-emerging with a blunt account of his time in the Obama administration. In a new memoir to be published on Tuesday, Mr. Panetta draws a largely respectful portrait of a president who made important progress and follows a “well-reasoned vision for the country” but too often “avoids the battle, complains, and misses opportunities.” |
| The latest in a series of insider accounts of the Obama administration, “Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace,” issued by Penguin Press, is not as scathing as the one by Mr. Panetta’s predecessor, Robert M. Gates, but more openly critical than those of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton or former Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. | The latest in a series of insider accounts of the Obama administration, “Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace,” issued by Penguin Press, is not as scathing as the one by Mr. Panetta’s predecessor, Robert M. Gates, but more openly critical than those of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton or former Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. |
| Mr. Panetta, who was C.I.A. director before taking over the Pentagon, recounted decisions that he disagreed with, including the withdrawal of all troops from Iraq in 2011, the failure to intervene in Syria’s civil war by arming rebels and the abrupt reversal of Mr. Obama’s decision to strike Syria in retaliation for using chemical weapons on civilians. Mr. Obama “vacillated” over the Syria strike and “by failing to respond, it sent the wrong message to the world,” he wrote. | Mr. Panetta, who was C.I.A. director before taking over the Pentagon, recounted decisions that he disagreed with, including the withdrawal of all troops from Iraq in 2011, the failure to intervene in Syria’s civil war by arming rebels and the abrupt reversal of Mr. Obama’s decision to strike Syria in retaliation for using chemical weapons on civilians. Mr. Obama “vacillated” over the Syria strike and “by failing to respond, it sent the wrong message to the world,” he wrote. |
| Had the president followed different courses, Mr. Panetta said in the interview, the United States would be in a stronger position as it now tries to counter the rise of the extremist Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. He added that he believed the president has turned a corner and “is going a long way in terms of repairing some of the damage I think took place as a result of the credibility issue that was raised on Syria.” | Had the president followed different courses, Mr. Panetta said in the interview, the United States would be in a stronger position as it now tries to counter the rise of the extremist Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. He added that he believed the president has turned a corner and “is going a long way in terms of repairing some of the damage I think took place as a result of the credibility issue that was raised on Syria.” |
| But he criticized the president for not going to Congress to seek approval for attacks on the Islamic State and for ruling out in advance the deployment of American ground troops. “I don’t think it’s good enough now to fall back on what was provided soon after 9/11,” Mr. Panetta said, referring to the 2001 congressional vote authorizing force against Al Qaeda and affiliates. | But he criticized the president for not going to Congress to seek approval for attacks on the Islamic State and for ruling out in advance the deployment of American ground troops. “I don’t think it’s good enough now to fall back on what was provided soon after 9/11,” Mr. Panetta said, referring to the 2001 congressional vote authorizing force against Al Qaeda and affiliates. |
| For Mr. Panetta, the moment that crystallized his frustration with Mr. Obama came when the president made little effort to stop deep automatic budget cuts mandated by the sequester. | For Mr. Panetta, the moment that crystallized his frustration with Mr. Obama came when the president made little effort to stop deep automatic budget cuts mandated by the sequester. |
| “Indeed, that episode highlighted what I regard as his most conspicuous weakness, a frustrating reticence to engage his opponents and rally support for his cause,” Mr. Panetta wrote. “That is not a failing of ideas or of intellect,” he added. “He does, however, sometimes lack fire. Too often, in my view, the president relies on the logic of a law professor rather than the passion of a leader.” | |
| Mr. Obama grew more reticent, in Mr. Panetta’s view, because his legitimacy has been challenged more than any of his predecessors by accusations like the unsubstantiated claim that he was not born in the United States. “Those challenges have encouraged the president’s caution and defensiveness, which in turn has emboldened further challenges,” Mr. Panetta wrote. | Mr. Obama grew more reticent, in Mr. Panetta’s view, because his legitimacy has been challenged more than any of his predecessors by accusations like the unsubstantiated claim that he was not born in the United States. “Those challenges have encouraged the president’s caution and defensiveness, which in turn has emboldened further challenges,” Mr. Panetta wrote. |
| The book, and the media blitz that accompanies it, becomes the latest headache for a White House that, like other second-term administrations, finds itself fending off friendly fire from veterans of the first. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. pushed back last week when asked about Mr. Panetta’s book during an appearance at Harvard. | The book, and the media blitz that accompanies it, becomes the latest headache for a White House that, like other second-term administrations, finds itself fending off friendly fire from veterans of the first. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. pushed back last week when asked about Mr. Panetta’s book during an appearance at Harvard. |
| “I’m finding that former administration officials, as soon as they leave, write books, which I think is inappropriate,” Mr. Biden said. When the audience laughed, he interjected: “No, I’m serious. I do think it’s inappropriate. At least give the guy a chance to get out of office.” | “I’m finding that former administration officials, as soon as they leave, write books, which I think is inappropriate,” Mr. Biden said. When the audience laughed, he interjected: “No, I’m serious. I do think it’s inappropriate. At least give the guy a chance to get out of office.” |
| Mr. Panetta, unsurprisingly, disagreed. “I don’t think you put history on hold,” he said in the interview. “I’m one who believes you present history as you see it to the American people and they’re wise enough to make judgments about what’s right and wrong.” | Mr. Panetta, unsurprisingly, disagreed. “I don’t think you put history on hold,” he said in the interview. “I’m one who believes you present history as you see it to the American people and they’re wise enough to make judgments about what’s right and wrong.” |
| Mr. Panetta sent a copy to the White House, although only after it was finished. He also went through separate clearance processes with the C.I.A. and Defense Department over potentially classified information. The C.I.A. engaged in a vigorous tug of war over what would be in the book, and Mr. Panetta said he took out some material, but nothing that changed the narrative. | Mr. Panetta sent a copy to the White House, although only after it was finished. He also went through separate clearance processes with the C.I.A. and Defense Department over potentially classified information. The C.I.A. engaged in a vigorous tug of war over what would be in the book, and Mr. Panetta said he took out some material, but nothing that changed the narrative. |
| The book traces Mr. Panetta’s life growing up the son of Italian immigrants in Northern California to his early days in politics as a moderate Republican in President Richard M. Nixon’s administration who was fired for pressing the desegregation of Southern schools. Mr. Panetta switched parties and was elected to Congress before becoming President Bill Clinton’s budget director and, later, White House chief of staff. | The book traces Mr. Panetta’s life growing up the son of Italian immigrants in Northern California to his early days in politics as a moderate Republican in President Richard M. Nixon’s administration who was fired for pressing the desegregation of Southern schools. Mr. Panetta switched parties and was elected to Congress before becoming President Bill Clinton’s budget director and, later, White House chief of staff. |
| Surprised to be invited back to Washington by Mr. Obama, Mr. Panetta described masterminding the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and approving the drone strike that killed an American jihadist, Anwar al-Awlaki. He said he felt hamstrung by a White House that centralized decision-making and tried to control his contacts with lawmakers and journalists. “In fact, several times when I reached out to Congress or the press without prior White House approval,” he wrote, “I was chastised for it.” | Surprised to be invited back to Washington by Mr. Obama, Mr. Panetta described masterminding the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and approving the drone strike that killed an American jihadist, Anwar al-Awlaki. He said he felt hamstrung by a White House that centralized decision-making and tried to control his contacts with lawmakers and journalists. “In fact, several times when I reached out to Congress or the press without prior White House approval,” he wrote, “I was chastised for it.” |
| He opposed an early version of the prisoner swap for the captured Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl because “I did not believe it was fair to trade five for one.” And he defended the failure of the military to reach Benghazi, Libya, when a diplomatic post came under attack. “We moved as quickly as we could,” he wrote, “but this took place too far away for our forces to reach them in time.” | He opposed an early version of the prisoner swap for the captured Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl because “I did not believe it was fair to trade five for one.” And he defended the failure of the military to reach Benghazi, Libya, when a diplomatic post came under attack. “We moved as quickly as we could,” he wrote, “but this took place too far away for our forces to reach them in time.” |
| Now 76, Mr. Panetta said he hoped to inspire young people with his story but lamented the dysfunction in Washington. He has no further plans for public office. Instead, he said, he is focusing now on his walnut farm. | Now 76, Mr. Panetta said he hoped to inspire young people with his story but lamented the dysfunction in Washington. He has no further plans for public office. Instead, he said, he is focusing now on his walnut farm. |
| “I’m dealing with a different set of nuts,” he said. | “I’m dealing with a different set of nuts,” he said. |