[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15254]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     COMMENTS MADE BY LEON PANETTA

  (Mr. COLE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, like many Americans, I cheered when CIA 
Director Leon Panetta recently defended the honor of his agency against 
unsubstantiated charges by the Speaker of the House that the CIA 
routinely lied to Americans and to the Congress of the United States.
  Given those remarks, I was surprised to see his recent remarks about 
Vice President Cheney when he said, It's almost as if he wishes that 
this country would be attacked again in order to make his point.
  Just as Mr. Panetta deserves an apology from the Speaker, Mr. Panetta 
owes one to the Vice President of the United States.
  The Vice President was Vice President when this country was attacked. 
He and the President spent the next 7\1/2\ years making sure it didn't 
happen again. They deserve our thanks and our appreciation, not cheap 
shots and not questions about their motives when they address the 
critical issues before our country.

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