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| Panetta, in His Last Lap as Defense Secretary, Navigates a Crisis | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| LONDON — Leon E. Panetta’s final weeklong trip to the old capitals of Europe initially had the feel of a valedictory lap, one that would nurture the trans-Atlantic alliance and give him the chance to dine in the Italy of his heritage. His staff had to insist it was not a junket. | LONDON — Leon E. Panetta’s final weeklong trip to the old capitals of Europe initially had the feel of a valedictory lap, one that would nurture the trans-Atlantic alliance and give him the chance to dine in the Italy of his heritage. His staff had to insist it was not a junket. |
| But by the time Mr. Panetta, the defense secretary, arrived in Rome on Wednesday, news had broken about the hostage-taking in Algeria as Pentagon officials, frustrated and alarmed, scrambled to get basic information out of Algiers. | But by the time Mr. Panetta, the defense secretary, arrived in Rome on Wednesday, news had broken about the hostage-taking in Algeria as Pentagon officials, frustrated and alarmed, scrambled to get basic information out of Algiers. |
| Mr. Panetta learned of the seizure of the Algerian gas facility after a meeting on Wednesday afternoon with Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy. He declared it a “terrorist act,” cut short a dinner that night with the Italian defense minister and was up until midnight in his hotel room in briefings. | Mr. Panetta learned of the seizure of the Algerian gas facility after a meeting on Wednesday afternoon with Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy. He declared it a “terrorist act,” cut short a dinner that night with the Italian defense minister and was up until midnight in his hotel room in briefings. |
| By Thursday, he was overseeing plans to deploy American military cargo planes to ferry French troops and equipment to Mali, where the government of neighboring Algeria said France’s armed intervention was the cause of the abductions. | By Thursday, he was overseeing plans to deploy American military cargo planes to ferry French troops and equipment to Mali, where the government of neighboring Algeria said France’s armed intervention was the cause of the abductions. |
| On Friday, he trundled into a hastily scheduled meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain as snow fell outside 10 Downing Street. “Let’s start with Algeria,” Mr. Cameron said. | On Friday, he trundled into a hastily scheduled meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain as snow fell outside 10 Downing Street. “Let’s start with Algeria,” Mr. Cameron said. |
| Earlier, Mr. Panetta inserted language into a set-piece speech on the United States’ relationship with Europe, telling students at King’s College London that “terrorists should be on notice that they will find no sanctuary, no refuge, not in Algeria, not in North Africa, not anywhere.” | Earlier, Mr. Panetta inserted language into a set-piece speech on the United States’ relationship with Europe, telling students at King’s College London that “terrorists should be on notice that they will find no sanctuary, no refuge, not in Algeria, not in North Africa, not anywhere.” |
| But the reality is that pursuing those terrorists and any others is now to be the job of the next defense secretary. Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee for the post, is encamped down the corridor from Mr. Panetta’s Pentagon office, preparing for his Jan. 31 confirmation hearings. If Mr. Hagel, 66, is confirmed, Mr. Panetta is likely to exit in mid-February, leaving a NATO meeting later that month in Brussels to his successor. | But the reality is that pursuing those terrorists and any others is now to be the job of the next defense secretary. Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee for the post, is encamped down the corridor from Mr. Panetta’s Pentagon office, preparing for his Jan. 31 confirmation hearings. If Mr. Hagel, 66, is confirmed, Mr. Panetta is likely to exit in mid-February, leaving a NATO meeting later that month in Brussels to his successor. |
| “The time has come for me to go home,” Mr. Panetta told the students in London. | “The time has come for me to go home,” Mr. Panetta told the students in London. |
| Mr. Panetta’s aides say that after nearly a half-century in public service, starting as a first lieutenant in the Army in 1964, Mr. Panetta, 74, is more than ready to retire to his walnut farm in Carmel Valley, Calif. There, he will help his wife, Sylvia, run the Panetta Institute, a public policy organization they founded nearby that works to draw students into public service. | Mr. Panetta’s aides say that after nearly a half-century in public service, starting as a first lieutenant in the Army in 1964, Mr. Panetta, 74, is more than ready to retire to his walnut farm in Carmel Valley, Calif. There, he will help his wife, Sylvia, run the Panetta Institute, a public policy organization they founded nearby that works to draw students into public service. |
| He is also likely to make money: in 2008, the year before he became director of the C.I.A., government disclosure forms show that he made more than $1 million speaking, consulting and serving on corporate boards. | He is also likely to make money: in 2008, the year before he became director of the C.I.A., government disclosure forms show that he made more than $1 million speaking, consulting and serving on corporate boards. |
| Despite a mostly sunny disposition and a perch near the top of the Obama administration, Mr. Panetta has lived something of a lonely-guy life in Washington. | Despite a mostly sunny disposition and a perch near the top of the Obama administration, Mr. Panetta has lived something of a lonely-guy life in Washington. |
| Aides say that if he does not have an evening event, he returns to an attic walk-up apartment, heats a can of soup or has chicken picked up from Popeye’s, and watches sports or old movies. (Mr. Panetta could have lived in a larger house on a compound near the State Department, but aides say he did not want to pay the several thousand dollars a month in rent.) | Aides say that if he does not have an evening event, he returns to an attic walk-up apartment, heats a can of soup or has chicken picked up from Popeye’s, and watches sports or old movies. (Mr. Panetta could have lived in a larger house on a compound near the State Department, but aides say he did not want to pay the several thousand dollars a month in rent.) |
| Since becoming C.I.A. director in 2009 and then starting as defense secretary in July 2011, Mr. Panetta has commuted nearly every weekend to his home in California. | Since becoming C.I.A. director in 2009 and then starting as defense secretary in July 2011, Mr. Panetta has commuted nearly every weekend to his home in California. |
| Aides say he would have preferred to retire after his time at the spy agency and to have had the C.I.A.-run raid that killed Osama bin Laden be the final act of a long career. But the White House persuaded him to take over the Pentagon after Robert M. Gates retired as defense secretary in June 2011. | Aides say he would have preferred to retire after his time at the spy agency and to have had the C.I.A.-run raid that killed Osama bin Laden be the final act of a long career. But the White House persuaded him to take over the Pentagon after Robert M. Gates retired as defense secretary in June 2011. |
| In the past 18 months, Mr. Panetta has largely presided over policies set in place before he arrived: the end of the war in Iraq, the drawdown in Afghanistan and the cutting of the defense budget by nearly $500 billion, possibly more, over the next 10 years. He has quietly attended funerals at Arlington National Cemetery for troops killed in war, and on this trip he intends to write about 10 notes by hand to families of the dead. | In the past 18 months, Mr. Panetta has largely presided over policies set in place before he arrived: the end of the war in Iraq, the drawdown in Afghanistan and the cutting of the defense budget by nearly $500 billion, possibly more, over the next 10 years. He has quietly attended funerals at Arlington National Cemetery for troops killed in war, and on this trip he intends to write about 10 notes by hand to families of the dead. |
| But at the C.I.A., he oversaw a vast expansion of a drone program that killed militants in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. | But at the C.I.A., he oversaw a vast expansion of a drone program that killed militants in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. |
| Gregarious and profane, Mr. Panetta has become more disciplined in public since his first freewheeling trip as defense secretary to Iraq and Afghanistan in the summer of 2011, when his aides were cleaning up misstatements at nearly every stop. But he returned to his old unleashed ways on Thursday during a talk to soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team at the United States Army Garrison Vicenza in northern Italy. | Gregarious and profane, Mr. Panetta has become more disciplined in public since his first freewheeling trip as defense secretary to Iraq and Afghanistan in the summer of 2011, when his aides were cleaning up misstatements at nearly every stop. But he returned to his old unleashed ways on Thursday during a talk to soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team at the United States Army Garrison Vicenza in northern Italy. |
| “Who the hell needs armor-piercing bullets except you guys in battle?” he said during an off-the-cuff discourse into gun control. | “Who the hell needs armor-piercing bullets except you guys in battle?” he said during an off-the-cuff discourse into gun control. |
| Mr. Panetta had saltier words for members of Congress — he served in the House from 1977 to 1993 — who have not reached a budget deal. | Mr. Panetta had saltier words for members of Congress — he served in the House from 1977 to 1993 — who have not reached a budget deal. |
| “People just got to suck it up, and take on some of the risks, and take on some of the challenges,” Mr. Panetta told the troops. “You take the worst risk of all, which is that somebody may shoot you, and you may die. It’s a hell of a risk. All we’re asking our elected leaders is to take a small part of the risk that maybe” they will anger some constituents, he said, “but the fact is, that they’ll be doing what is right for the country.” | “People just got to suck it up, and take on some of the risks, and take on some of the challenges,” Mr. Panetta told the troops. “You take the worst risk of all, which is that somebody may shoot you, and you may die. It’s a hell of a risk. All we’re asking our elected leaders is to take a small part of the risk that maybe” they will anger some constituents, he said, “but the fact is, that they’ll be doing what is right for the country.” |
| Mr. Panetta met Saturday with the British defense secretary, Philip Hammond. The crisis will continue, even as he prepares to head home to California. | |
| “As I retire from my own career in public service, I recognize that there’s a generational shift under way,” he told the students in London. | |
| He called the trans-Atlantic alliance of the United States and Europe “the rock upon which we will build our future security and our prosperity,” then concluded, “The baton now passes to a new generation.” | He called the trans-Atlantic alliance of the United States and Europe “the rock upon which we will build our future security and our prosperity,” then concluded, “The baton now passes to a new generation.” |