Leon Panetta: Afghanistan Has Become a ‘Safe Haven for Terrorism’

EXCERPT:

PANETTA: "Well, another mission that came out of 9/11 was that we were going to make sure that Afghanistan would never again be taken over by the Taliban and become a safe haven for terrorism. Unfortunately, that has happened. The Taliban is now in charge of Afghanistan. There’s no question that they’re providing a safe haven for terrorists. The Haqqanis, who are involved with the Taliban, are terrorists themselves. And the fact that Zawahiri, one of the top leaders of al Qaeda, could simply walk into Kabul, get an apartment in the middle of the capital, not have anybody raise any questions, sends a real signal that the Taliban is going to continue to provide a safe haven for terrorism.”