Epstein Secrets

ional-security briefings to his ranch, in Stonewall, Texas, by government aircraft. It worked; Johnson, who was alienated from his party because of Vietnam, mostly kept quiet during Nixon's 1972 reelection campaign, against George McGovern. Ronald Reagan treated the recently disgraced Nixon with defere

00 billion in military cuts set to take effect next year unless a new budget passes would be, in Levin's words, "a train wreck." (Defense Secretary Panetta has preferred the more apocalyptic "doomsday mechanism.") But while McCain has proposed protecting the defense budget by reducing federal spending

lpel, slicing and dicing Pentagon programs to save an estimated $490 billion over the next decade. As CIA director before his move to the Pentagon, Panetta oversaw the raid that killed bin Laden, handing Obama his signature foreign-policy achievement, and he jealously guarded his agency's turf against

ee top Obama Cabinet positions are held by Clinton veterans: Secretary of State Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. It's only a slight exaggeration to say that the many staffing changes since 2010 have resulted in the Obama camp running the campaign while the C

ter=p&gettields=wnnis&=sort=date:D:S:dl&partialfields=- wnnis:NOAVSYND&Ir=-Iangja> 's poring over the map of Khe Sanh in search of bombing=targets in Vietnam; the marked difference is the anguish of LBJ, and by th= telling, the serene confidence of Obama that this is a war of necessity a=d a just campaig

so raises more alarm about his second-term choice=. John Kerry, Chuck Hagel and John Brennan all lack the independent standing of Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Panetta and former =eneral Petraeus. They aren't likely to challenge Mr. Obama with views he d=esn't want to hear. U.S. military actio= other than drone war

confirmed that last year the President personally killed a plan supported by his main sec=rity advisers to arm the Syrian rebels. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chief= General Martin Dempsey didn't elaborate on the President's reasons for ki=ling the proposal. But the two senior off

ries in the region felt reassured and applauded quietly. Today, U.S. security ties with key Asian nations — India, Australia, Japan, Korea and even Vietnam — are better than ever. 2. China's massive foreign exchange reserves give it huge clout. China owns roughly $2 trillion in U.S. Treasury and mortga

lopment work would be done and that he expected the bomb to be ready to take on the deepest bunkers soon. "We're still trying to develop them," Mr. Panetta said. President Barack Obama has made clear that he believes U.S. and international sanctions can curb Iran's nuclear program if they are given mo

erground in Iran. But U.S. defense officials say they believe the MOP could already do damage sufficient to set back the program. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal Thursday, acknowledged the bomb's shortcomings against some of Iran's deepest bunkers. He said more

last year. Coronet SpA, an Italian maker of synthetic leather with production in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, plans a new factory in Vietnam to take advantage of lower labor costs and to be closer to its customers in the shoe and handbag businesses, many of which have already moved there

Algeria, for which Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb has taken responsibility, there will be pressure to do more. The outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, has already raised the possibility that the American response to the incident might include military action. For now, at least, the rebels seem con

over Iran. This comes at a time when U.S. relations with China have been tense. Indeed, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta used a recent visit to Vietnam to underscore how the United States intends to back its allies in the Asia-Pacific region and help them enforce their rights in the South China Sea

o take a tough line against the U.S. over Iran. This comes at a time when U.S. relations with China have been tense. Indeed, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta used a recent visit to Vietnam to underscore how the United States intends to back its allies in the Asia-Pacific region and help them enforce thei

he Vietnam War, when the Pentagon tested unmanned aerial vehicles for what the military called ISR: intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. "Vietnam was decisive to the development of drones as the perfect tools to perform dangerous missions without the risk of losing a pilot," says aviation his

hat killed bin Laden, and U.S. officials boast of eliminating two more of Al Qaeda's top operatives in Pakistan in recent months. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has called drones "the only game in town," and President Obama recently dismissed concerns about civilian casualties, insisting that he is not orde

r. Mr. Hewko died on May 28. Since his death, his sons have learned that their father worked with the CIA and played a role in secret missions in Vietnam and Korea. Those military contacts allowed his sons to win the OK for Thesday's flyover of a P-3 Orion during the military cer- emony. An assistan

ministrat ion's approach :0 ttsrrorism almost sug- gesti: "he's wishing that this boentry would be at- tackle again, in order to make his point." Panetta told The New Yorker for an article in its June 22 issue that Cheney "smons some blood in the water' on the issue of na- tionaisecurity. Cheney h

utocrats who have overseen GDP growth rates of 10 percent annually over the past three decades? It is in places like China, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam where good dictators have produced economic miracles. These in turn have led to the creation of wide-ranging personal freedoms, even as these leade

spring, when Obama announced a $400 billion reduction in defense spending, Gates got just 24 hours' notice. Gates, who'll be succeeded by CIA chief Leon Panetta, wins bipartisan accolades for restoring morale at the Pentagon and, more important, repairing relations with Congress, which had grown distrustfu

t. More recently, China sternly warned the overseas arm of India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. against prospecting for hydrocarbons off the coast of Vietnam. None of these tensions is likely to abate anytime soon, especially because India remains acutely dependent on external energy sources. Despite th

g India, U.S. President Barack Obama said, "India is not just a rising power; India has already risen." And just a few weeks ago, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called India a "linchpin" in the U.S. "pivot" to Asia, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the U.S.-India tie as a "critical bilater

piece of his reelection strategy. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031955 --- PAGE BREAK --- 16 Advisors: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon. On the issues: Afghanistan/Pakistan: "We have put al Qaeda on a path to defeat," Obama announced last June

atigue has set in. Recent US history has been characterized by cycles of enthusiasm about foreign engagement. In the mid-1970's, following the war in Vietnam, America, guided by President Jimmy Carter's moralizing impulse, opted for "regionalization" of its engagements. But, given that the Soviet threat st