We’re looking at a 30 year war—Panetta

"I think we're looking at kind of a 30-year war. It's going to take a long time to be able to go after these elements. It can't be [that] we're going to go in one day and pull back the next day." That's according to Leon Panetta, former defense secretary for Barack Obama. Panetta also criticized Obama for taking off the table the option of boots on the ground. "If we don't, at least in my view -- if they establish a base of operations in that part of the world, it's only a matter of time before they will then use it as a basis on which to attack this country," Panetta added. He also argued in his new book that it was a mistake to leave Iraq in the first place. He should send the commander in chief an autographed copy of that book.

From Patriot Post Daily Digest, Oct. 7

In his book “Worthy Fights” he writes, the White House was “so eager to rid itself of Iraq that it was willing to withdraw rather than lock in arrangements that would preserve our influence and interests.” And finally, “To this day, I believe that a small U.S. troop presence in Iraq could have effectively advised the Iraqi military on how to deal with al-Qaeda’s resurgence and the sectarian violence that has engulfed the country.” His account directly contradicts Barack Obama’s latest story – that total U.S. withdrawal “wasn’t a decision made by me.” Actually, yes, it was, and it was a terrible and costly one.