Leon Panetta began his term as defense secretary on July 1, 2011. In the less than two weeks since, he’s already visited Iraq and Afghanistan and set a new tone – and agenda – for the Pentagon. Though he was friendly with his predecessor, Robert Gates, Panetta has not been shy about publicly changing the goals for America’s two wars. Elisabeth Bumiller, Pentagon correspondent for The New York Times, wrote about the start of this the Panetta era at the Pentagon.
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