CIA Director Leon Panetta: "We are a nation at war"

One-time California Democratic Congessman Leon Panetta, who is the new head of the CIA, bravely stood up to partisan politics today to state that we are a nation at war and that the partisan politics can take our eye of the seriousness of the threat facing our country:

"...Panetta spoke at a luncheon in California in his first public appearance since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week accused the CIA of lying to Congress about its use of enhanced interrogation tactics during the Bush administration. 

Panetta, who denied the charge through a written statement, tried to quiet the debate Monday and offer a warning to those who "focus on the past." 

..."We are a nation at war. We have to confront that reality every day, and while it's important to learn the lessons of the past, we must not do it in a way that sacrifices our capability to stay focused on the present, stay focused on the future and stay focused on those who threaten the United States of America." 

Panetta said Al Qaeda remains the "most serious security threat" to the country.

..."What I'm most concerned about is that this stuff doesn't become the kind of political issue that everything else becomes in Washington, D.C., where it becomes so divisive that it begins to interfere with the ability of the intelligence agencies to do our primary job, which is to focus on the threats that face us today and tomorrow," he said..." 

Fox News