WASHINGTON — On his first day as Pentagon chief, Leon Panetta said his top priorities are preserving U.S. military power despite budget cuts, defeating al-Qaeda, stabilizing Afghanistan and forging a “real and lasting partnership” with Iraq.
Panetta huddled Friday with the Joint Chiefs of Staff shortly after taking the oath as the nation’s 23rd secretary of defense, signaling that he intends to follow the example of his predecessor, Robert Gates, in building ties with the military brass.
He said he would, like Gates, put a premium on advocating for the needs of troops and their families.
“Rest assured that . . . I will fight for you,” he said in a Fourth of July video message to U.S. troops worldwide.
He sounded the same theme at his swearing-in, which was closed to reporters. According to a Pentagon spokesman, Marine Col. David Lapan, Panetta said during the brief oath-taking ceremony in his new office, “There is no higher responsibility for a secretary of defense than to protect those who are protecting America.”
The former eight-term congressman and one-time White House budget chief is likely to begin visiting troops in the field this summer. Gates flew to Iraq the day after he was sworn in, to show his support for the troops.
Panetta came to the Pentagon after 2 1/2 years as CIA chief, a tenure highlighted by the May 2 raid that killed Osama bin Laden. At age 73, Panetta is the oldest incoming defense secretary in history and the first Democrat to run the far-flung Defense Department since William Perry completed his tenure in January 1997.
With Panetta replacing Gates, the pieces of President Barack Obama’s rejiggered national-security team began falling into place. Panetta’s replacement at the CIA, Army Gen. David Petraeus, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday, as was Ryan Crocker, the veteran diplomat who takes over as U.S. ambassador in Kabul this month.
