Former Obama CIA Chief Leon Panetta Condemns Pager Attack Against Hezbollah as ‘Terrorism’

Former CIA Director Leon Panetta on Sunday condemned last week’s sophisticated attack on communications devices used by members of the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah across its home base of Lebanon as “terrorism.”

“I don’t think there’s any question that it’s a form of terrorism,” said Panetta, who also served as secretary of defense under former US President Barack Obama.

While speaking to CBS News, Panetta expressed fear that terrorism is “going right into the supply chain.”

“And when you have terror going into the supply chain, it makes people ask the question: ‘What the hell is next?'” Panetta added. 

Last Tuesday, thousands of Hezbollah members were seriously wounded when the pagers they use to communicate exploded.

The next day, hand-held radios used by Hezbollah detonated in a second round of blasts. The walkie-talkies were said to be part of Hezbollah’s emergency communications systems for use during a conflict with Israel, which borders southern Lebanon.

At least 37 people were killed, and about 3,000 were wounded in the explosions over both days. Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani was among those injured by the pager explosions and reportedly lost an eye.

Experts and several media outlets have said that Israeli intelligence was behind the explosions with a sophisticated, long planned operation, although Israel has neither publicly confirmed nor denied responsibility. Iran and Hezbollah have blamed the Jewish state and vowed revenge.

“This is a tactic that has repercussions. And we really don’t know what those repercussions are going to be,” Panetta said on Sunday. “The forces of war are largely in control right now.”

“I think it’s going to be very important for the nations of the world to have a serious discussion about whether or not this is an area that everybody has to focus on, because if they don’t try to deal with it now, mark my word, it is the battlefield of the future,” he added.

Hezbollah — which for decades has operated as Iran’s chief terrorist proxy, wielding significant political and military influence in Lebanon — has battered Israel with barrages of rockets, missiles, and drones since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across Israel’s southern region. More than 60,000 Israelis have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the Hezbollah bombardment.

Last Monday, Israel’s security cabinet expanded its war goals to include returning the displaced Israelis from the north.

Panetta has been notably critical of Israel’s defensive military operations in Hamas-ruled Gaza over the past year. The former CIA chief, for example, took a swipe at Israel after an errant airstrike killed World Central Kitchen aid workers in the Palestinian enclave, saying it was “not surprising” that the aid workers were mistakenly killed because “the Israelis usually fire and then ask questions.”

Israel says it has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, noting its efforts to evacuate areas before it targets them and to warn residents of impending military operations with leaflets, text messages, and other forms of communication.

Panetta’s condemnation of last week’s pager attack was met with widespread criticism. 

“This is the thinking within the Obama/Biden/Harris universe — it empowers the real terrorists and places America and its allies at real risk,” former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman wrote on X/Twitter.

“What an absolute doofus,” terrorism expert Max Abrahms added.

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