BETHLEHEM, Pa. — For most of his late political career, Leon Panetta worked to neutralize foreign threats to America as the CIA director and secretary of defense during the Obama administration.
But while the United States faces its share of geopolitical dangers today, Panetta told a capacity crowd at Lehigh University's Zoellner Arts Center on Tuesday that the country's greatest threat may be staring back at it from the mirror.
"You want to know the biggest national security threat? It’s having a dysfunctional Washington," Panetta said.
Panetta led a charm offensive throughout the hour-long conversation, part of the university's "Compelling Perspectives" series. The former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton drew chuckles when he opened his remarks with, "Good to be with you, Mr. President," to the event's moderator, university President Joseph Helble.
While laced with some levity, he offered a grim assessment of America's state of affairs. Neither major political party is willing to budge on national debt, which is becoming a destabilizing force on the national economy, he said. Foreign adversaries like Russia, China, North Korea and Hamas have sensed American weakness and are pushing boundaries to see what they can get away with. And rather than solve problems like funding the government, some politicians have put political expediency ahead of national interest.
"Our democracy is fragile. When we’re fragile and we’re not doing what we’re supposed to be doing, do you know who is watching that? [Russian President] Putin watches that. [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping] watches that. Terrorists watch that. [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un watches that. The 'great leader' in Iran watches that," Panetta said.
Throughout the night, Panetta banged the drum for America to maintain its leadership position in global affairs. While isolationist policies are increasingly returning to the national debate, Panetta contended the nation is stronger if it lives up to its promises and assists allies like Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine. America is unique in its ability to build coalitions and protect its interests on the world stage. While allies don't always live up to its expectations, such as many NATO nations failing to invest their financial obligations in defense, it's better than the alternative.
But it becomes harder to fulfill those obligations when the U.S. lurches from crisis to crisis rather than exhibiting real leadership, he said. Often, that requires politicians to put the nation ahead of their personal or political interests.
"We elect people to leadership positions in the Congress not to go back to Washington to pound their shoe on the table, but to go to Washington to govern. That means to deal with the problems we face."Leon Panetta, former US congressman and former US defense secretary
As an example, Panetta pointed to steps elected leaders took in the early 1990s. At the time, the national debt had soared to $600 billion, and course correction required sacrifices. Then, like now, Democrats didn't want to touch entitlement programs like Social Security, and Republicans fought against raising taxes. But ultimately, Democrats found $250 billion in savings and President George H. W. Bush broke his pledge not to raise taxes to bring in additional revenue.
"Was it easy to vote for? No! There were probably members who lost their seats because of that package. But was it the right thing to do for this country," said Panetta, who served 16 years in the House and oversaw the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton administration.
Today, Congress has become too entrenched in politics and isn't doing the work needed to build compromise. Back in the 1980s, House Speaker Tip O'Neill and Minority Leader Bob Michel were frequently far apart on the issues, but they developed a strong friendship based on open dialogue and their desire to work toward solutions. This current Congress has members who don't want to resolve the border crisis because it makes for good campaign fodder, Panetta said.
"We elect people to leadership positions in the Congress not to go back to Washington to pound their shoe on the table, but to go to Washington to govern. That means to deal with the problems we face," Panetta said.
Helble steered the conversation for much of the night, addressing topics drawn from questions the university collected ahead of the event. But the last 10 minutes were dedicated to an audience Q&A, where one student challenged Panetta on America's record as a world leader. The student pointed to Operation Condor, where the CIA provided materials and training to South American countries during the Cold War. Tens of thousands of people died in state-sponsored terrorism as a result.
Panetta acknowledged the U.S. has often failed in its leadership role. Abuses like Operation Condor often come about when people in Washington fail to spend time away from the capitol and lose sight of America's real interests, he said. But those failures, he said, are not an excuse to abandon those responsibilities.
Instead, it's up to Americans to step up and be the change the country needs. Panetta said that if he had his druthers, he would require young Americans to perform some level of national service.
"You've got to get off your rear end. You've got to be willing to go get involved. You've got to be able to put together a voice that can be heard," he said.
Panetta was the second speaker in the "Compelling Perspectives" series at Lehigh. Theresa May, the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 2016 to 2019, became the first speaker in October. Helble said the series will continue in Lehigh's fall semester.
