![The Last U.S. Troop Brigade In Iraq Departs Country After Over Eight Years Of War The Last U.S. Troop Brigade In Iraq Departs Country After Over Eight Years Of War](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ap111217020192.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta says the United States should not have completely pulled troops out of Iraq in 2011.
In an interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes, Panetta, who was defense secretary under President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2013 after being director of the CIA from 2009 to 2011, said he disagreed with the U.S. strategy of withdrawing soldiers from Iraq.
“I really thought that it was important for us to maintain a presence in Iraq,” Panetta said.
Panetta also said the U.S. should have provided weapons to Syrians who opposed Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, a view opposed to that of President Obama and many high-level security officials.
“I think the President’s concern, and I understand it, was that he had a fear that if we started providing weapons, we wouldn’t know where those weapons would wind up,” Panetta said. “My view was, you have to begin somewhere.”
The episode of 60 Minutes featuring Panetta will be broadcast Sunday, 7:30 p.m. ET.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
- How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador
- What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
- How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
- Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
- How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
- What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
- The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024
Contact us at letters@time.com