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Panetta, L

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morial panetta:

On April 30, I published an article criticizing former Obama Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and National Urban League President Marc Morial for joining the board of Corinthian Colleges, one of the most irresponsible and predatory for-profit college businesses. (TheLos Angeles Timesran a piece addressing this matter on May 31.)

Corinthian, which operates under the school names Everest, Heald, and Wyotech, is under investigation by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and at least six state Attorneys General. Corinthian has been been accused of falsifying records. Its tuition costs are as high as at top private universities, yet two-thirds of its associates degree students drop out, and three-quarters of its students can’t pay back their loans. The company receives about 90 percent of its revenue from taxpayers, and it spent between $5 and $10 million of that money fighting in Washington against minimal standards to hold schools accountable for abuses.

I had questioned how Panetta, with his distinguished record of service, could endorse a business and an industry with a particularly bad record when it comes to recruiting and educating U.S. troops and veterans.

On Monday, Corinthian reported that Panetta has resigned from its board.  Panetta had served on the same board prior to joining the Obama administration. This time, he quit after just eleven weeks of service. In a letter to Corinthian CEO Jack Massimino,  Panetta explained, “I was struggling with a large number of commitments, requests and obligations on my time. Unfortunately, they have demanded a much greater time commitment than I had anticipated and made organizing my life more difficult.”

Unfortunately but not surprisingly, Panetta’s departure statement excluded any suggestion that he might be on the wrong side of this issue, but instead echoed industry talking points:

I believe in and support the educational role of Corinthian in delivering educational opportunities to those that otherwise would never have a chance to succeed. It is also obvious that the role of Corinthian is going to be continuously challenged legally and administratively because of what appears to be a slanted and misinformed attitude toward this form of educational opportunity.

I guess the slanting and misinforming is coming from people like Mr. Panetta’s former boss, Barack Obama, who has warned military service members that some for-profit colleges “aren’t interested in helping you.... They are interested in getting the money... trying to swindle and hoodwink you.”

Whatever, though — Panetta quit Corinthian almost as soon as he joined. Whatever his reason, it’s good that he no longer stands as a validator for this troubled company, especially when it comes to signaling our troops and vets.

Perhaps it is relevant that Panetta’s son, Jim, has announced plans to run for his father’s old House seat when the incumbent retires. Jim Panetta, a deputy district attorney, is a decorated Naval officer and a strong advocate for veterans.

Panetta’s resignation comes just weeks after AdmiralMike Mullen, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not appear after being announced as the keynote speaker at the annual convention of the for-profit college trade association APSCU. I had called on Mullen to cancel that appearance, in light of his long-standing commitment to veterans education, although the reasons for his non-appearance weren’t disclosed.

Panetta and Morial each received Corinthian stock options at the end of June, 20822 shares each, which were to fully vest at the November 2013 shareholder meeting. Corinthian shares are trading at about $2.50 now, so that haul would be worth about $47,000.  That would be a huge sum for one of the thousands of former Corinthian students who are deep in debt, but it may not have been enough for Panetta to outweigh the reputational burdens of associating with such a troubled institution.

So what about Marc Morial?

Last year, Morial’s Urban League accepted $1 million in aid from Corinthian.

The Urban League’s mission is “ to enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.”  Corinthian’s record shows that it accomplishes just the opposite — it takes students’ money and often leaves them deep in debt without giving them real training for a better career.

Fortunately, low-income communities have other strong advocates standing up against the abuses of for-profit colleges. Morial, a former mayor of New Orleans and an inspiring national spokesperson on issues of the day, like the Trayvon Martin case, should stand with these leaders. He should quit the Corinthian board now. If he doesn’t, Urban League board members like former U.S. cabinet secretaries Alexis Herman and Rodney Slater should consider the issue.

This article also appears on Republic Report.

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2015 Lecture Series Sponsors

The Panetta Institute would like to salute our sponsors of the 2015 Lecture Series for their extraordinary public service in supporting this important event:

Sue M. Antle

Arnof Family Foundation

AT&T California

Bank of America NT&SA

Laurie and David Benjamin

The Boeing Company

Ed and Rosa Boutonnet

California American Water

Cannery Row Company

City of Monterey

Roger W. Coleman

Comcast Hometown Network

Comcast NBCUniversal

Debra and George W. Couch III

Sherry E. DeBoer

The Dennis and Gloria O’Brien Foundation

Dominican University of California

Gail and Jim Griggs

Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Associates, Inc.

Mann Packing Company

Monterey County Office of Education

Monterey Marriott

Mike and Mary Orradre

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Louise and Ed Trout

Anthony B. Varni

Lexus Monterey Peninsula/Victory Toyota and Scion

The Welton Foundation

Kathy and Tom Wiggans

Co-Sponsors:

William Anton

Cathy and Gary Brock

FleishmanHillard

Kevin and Stephanie Hulsey

The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation

Myles and Rhonda Williams

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ms Chris Haubert, Chief of Staff and Programs

As chief of staff and programs for the Panetta Institute, Chris Haubert oversees the staff, programs and daily operations of the public policy center. A Santa Cruz native, Ms. Haubert graduated with a degree in English literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz before spending nearly a decade at local NBC television affiliate KSBW.

The Panetta Institute for Public Policy

100 Campus Center, Building 86E

California State University, Monterey Bay

Seaside, California 93955

Phone 831-582-4200

Fax 831-582-4082

Email: info@PanettaInstitute.org

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100 Campus Ctr Building 86E, Seaside, CA 93955

Phone:(831) 582-4200

Co-founder of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy, Leon Panetta returned to the Institute on February 27, 2013, after serving as the 23rd Secretary of Defense.

A Monterey native and Santa Clara University School of Law graduate, Secretary Panetta began his long and distinguished public service career in 1964 as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and upon discharge went to work in Washington as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senate Minority Whip Tom Kuchel of California. In 1969, he was appointed director of the U.S. Office for Civil Rights, where he was responsible for enforcing equal education laws, and later he served as executive assistant to the mayor of New York City. He then returned to Monterey, where he practiced law until his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976.

Serving his Central Coast district in Congress for sixteen years, Secretary Panetta was a key participant in agriculture, healthcare, marine, and federal budget issues, and from 1989 to 1993 he chaired the House Budget Committee. He authored a wide range of legislation, including the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988, Medicare and Medicaid coverage for hospice care for the terminally ill, and numerous measures to protect the California coast, including creation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

In 1993, Secretary Panetta left Congress to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget for the incoming Clinton administration. There, he was instrumental in developing the policies that led to a balanced federal budget and eventual budget surpluses. In 1994, he accepted appointment as the president’s chief of staff, and immediately brought order and focus to White House operations and policy making.

Upon leaving the Clinton administration in 1997, Secretary Panetta joined with his wife Sylvia to establish and co-direct the Panetta Institute for Public Policy, based at California State University, Monterey Bay. Reflecting Secretary Panetta’s own ideals and personal example, the nonpartisan, not-for-profit study center seeks to attract thoughtful men and women to lives of public service and prepare them for the policy challenges of the future. In addition, Secretary Panetta developed programs for the Institute, such as its Leon Panetta Lecture Series, Congressional Internship Program and Leadership Seminar, that help to inform Americans about the critical issues facing our communities, states and nation in the 21st century. Institute programs also aim to inspire a deeper engagement in the democratic process while simultaneously setting a public example of service and commitment.

Returning to public service in the Obama Administration as Director of the CIA, he ran the operation that brought Osama bin Laden to justice, and, as Secretary of Defense, led the effort to develop a new defense strategy, helping bring two wars to an end, and opened up opportunities for everyone to serve in the military. Secretary Panetta chronicles his life in public service in his memoir Worthy Fights, which was published by Penguin Press in the fall of 2014.

Over the years Secretary Panetta has served on numerous boards and commissions. He co-chaired California Forward, the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative and Governor Schwarzenegger’s Council on Base Support and Retention. In 2006, he served on the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan national commission seeking a new course for the war in Iraq.

Secretary Panetta is the recipient of many awards and honors. His most recent awards include: the California Teachers Association’s Friends of Education Award; the Judicial Council of California’s Stanley Mosk Defender of Justice Award; The Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award; the Sons of Italy Foundation’s National Education & Leadership Award; the Peter Benchley Ocean Award for “Excellence in Policy”; and the Intelligence and National Security Alliance’s William Oliver Baker Award.

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JUMPS THE SHARK:

AlterNet [1] / By Cliff Weathers [2]

GOP Senator Attacks Retired Military Brass for Saying Climate Change Threatens Security

May 16, 2014 |

Republican Sen. James Inhofe is once again dismissing a report on climate change, attacking the integrity of the report's authors. While that's not news in itself, the targets of Inhofe's derision are 16 retired three- and four-star generals and admirals. Inhofe claims that retired military officers are just desperate for publicity, and don't understand the defense needs of the nation.

The generals and admirals wrote a federally funded report on climate change, assessing the threats of global weather events on national security. 

Other Republicans, however, have been notably quiet since the report's release. Typically, they form a chorus to shout down any climate-change report, claiming that man-made climate change is fraud perpetuated by the "liberal agenda.” This time, the authors of the report are not scientists and environmentalists, the typical targets of conservative derision. It would be political suicide for any Republican to categorize such a large group of career military officers as liberals, especially in an election year.

The authors of the climate change report focused solely on their area of expertise, national security. They serve as the military advisory board for the CNA Corporation, a non-profit research and analysis organization in Alexandria, VA. They warned that climate change is not only a menace to the environment but presents the U.S. with several new security threats. The advisory board's report said that climate change has already led to conflicts over food and water because of droughts and extreme weather, and it anticipates that the incidence of these conflicts will increase exponentially. The report also predicted that the increase in catastrophic weather events would create more demand for U.S. military troops, and could cause damage to naval ports and military bases.

“Climate change can act as a threat multiplier for instability in some of the most volatile regions of the world, and it presents significant national security challenges for the United States,” says the report, adding that conflicts will likely be felt “even in stable regions.”

The report says that climate events like flooding, prolonged drought and rising sea levels could result in population dislocation, waves of refugees and food insecurity. These would serve as “catalysts for instability and conflict,” in more vulnerable regions, aggravating existing stressors such as poverty, political instability and social tensions. Such conditions can enable terrorist activity and other forms of violence, according to the report. 

The report concluded that the U.S. military should shift course, and adopt strategies to manage catastrophes and conflicts both domestically and internationally.

The report's forward was written byformer Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. They warned that “we no longer have the option to wait and see” and pleaded for a “bipartisan call to action.”

Responding to the report, Secretary of State John Kerry told the New York Times [3] that American foreign policy will need to adjust to respond to the climate events predicted. Kerry said, “The intelligence community takes it seriously, and it's translated into action.”

“Tribes are killing each other over water today. Think of what happens if you have massive dislocation, or the drying up of the waters of the Nile, of the major rivers in China and India,” Kerry said.

Pentagon officials also said they would use the report's findings to shape military policy; however, it is already moving in that direction. Last month, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel hosted 10 defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at a meeting in Hawaii where they discussed how their militaries can work together to effectively tackle non-traditional security challenges, including climate change and natural disasters. And in March, the Department of Defense announced it had drawn a direct link between the effects of global warming and terrorism.

“The department certainly agrees that climate change is having an impact on national security, whether by increasing global instability, by opening the Arctic or by increasing sea level and storm surge near our coastal installations,” said John Conger, the deputy under secretary of defense for installations and environment. “We are actively integrating climate considerations across the full spectrum of our activities to ensure a ready and resilient force.”

One of the report's authors, retired Rear Admiral David Titley, theformer oceanographer of the Navy, told the Huffington Post he hopes the message will be received differently by climate-change deniers as it comes from retired and respected U.S. military brass.

“This report is signed, not by environmentalists or climate scientists, but by 16 admirals and generals who collectively have over 500 years of service to our country,” said Titley, who is now a meteorology professor at Penn State University.

There is some speculation that the report could spawn a National Intelligence Estimate regarding climate change. NIEs are authored by the U.S.' 16 intelligence organizations and various military organizations and are used to evaluate security threats here and abroad, typically suggesting actions to be taken.

In 2007, then Sen. Hagel, a Republican, called for legislation requiring federal intelligence agencies to collaborate on a National Intelligence Estimate to evaluate the security challenges presented by climate change. He was joined by Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin. Although Hagel and Durbin's bill died in committee, a NIE was later released in 2008. No NIE on climate change has been released since. 

Any mention of climate change by scientists, the media and the Obama administration is met with piranha-like attacks by Republicans that often climax in an abundance of media appearances to denounce the messengers. But with the exception of Inhofe, they've been notably hesitant to attack former top military officers.

Inhofe, of Oklahoma, is a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He calls himself "a vocal skeptic of the established science that greenhouse-gas emissions contribute to global warming." He claims to believe the science of climate change is a "hoax."

"There is no one in more pursuit of publicity than a retired military officer," said Inhofe of the CNA Corporation study. "I look back wistfully at the days of the Cold War. Now you have people who are mentally imbalanced, with the ability to deploy a nuclear weapon. For anyone to say that any type of global warming is anywhere close to the threat that we have with crazy people running around with nuclear weapons, it shows how desperate they are to get the public to buy this."

Climate change, which was once considered an issue that would only pose problems many years from now, has moved firmly into the present. Although scientists caution against linking any single atypical climate event to climate change, they note that together these aberrant and severe weather events are consistent with global warming.

In March, the United Nations released a report stating that climate change is already cutting into the global food supply and fueling wars and natural disasters. The report stated that political instability and riots in Asia and Africa in 2008 were a direct result of food-price shocks brought on by regional weather events. The UN report warned that governments are unprepared to protect those most at risk.

Syria's civil war is believed to have been spurred by the droughts which have distressed the country since 2006. Three-quarters of the nation's crops have failed and nearly all of its livestock have died of thirst or hunger. Syria’s farmers abandoned their farms, fleeing to the cities in search of jobs and critically insufficient food supplies, creating regional social unrest. UN observers estimated that between 2 and 3 million of Syria’s 10 million rural inhabitants were reduced to extreme poverty, and this is the core cause of recent national instability.

See more stories tagged with:

climate change [5],

terrorism [6],

national security [7]

Source URL: http://www.alternet.org/inhofe-attacks-retired-generals-and-admirals-over-climate-change