Panetta Calling Israel's Pager Attacks Against Hezbollah "a Form of Terrorism" is an Act of Staggering Hypocrisy

Former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta claimed that Israel's pager attacks against Hezbollah terrorists is "a form of terrorism". In an interview on CBS News Sunday Morning, Panetta claimed:

The ability to be able to place an explosive in technology that is very prevalent these days and turn it into a war of terror, really, a war of terror — this is something new. I don’t think there’s any question that it’s a form of terrorism. This is going right into the supply chain, 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?

This is a staggering display of hypocrisy from Panetta who oversaw drone attacks against al Qaeda during his time in the Obama Administration. When Panetta left government service in 2013, he defended the use of drone attacks in this way:

I think it depends on the nature of the threat that we’re confronting. We are in a war. We’re in a war on terrorism and we’ve been in that war since 9/11. The whole purpose of our operations were aimed at those who attacked this country and killed 3,000 innocent people in New York as well as 200 people here at the Pentagon.

I think we had a responsibility to use whatever technology we could to be able to go after those who not only conducted that attack but were planning to continue to attack this country.

It’s been an important part of our operations against Al-Qaeda, not just in Pakistan, but also in Yemen, in Somalia and I think it ought to continue to be a tool we ought to use where necessary. 

And also where we can use it in conjunction with other countries that are pursuing the same goal.

Utilizing Panetta's logic, like the U.S., Israel is also in a war on terrorism on two fronts - one against Hamas and one against Hezbollah. The latter organization has been firing rockets into northern Israel since last October. 

Under the circumstances, surely Israel has a responsibility to use whatever technology it can against those who would attack it and those who continue to attack it. 

So how does Panetta possibly conclude that Israel is engaging in terrorism? 

And don't tell me this has to do with beepers. I suspect if Israel were using drones against Hezbollah, Panetta would surely make the same complaint. 

How is Hezbollah different than al Qaeda? Could it be that Panetta does not agree with our designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization? 

Or, like AOC, does he simply hold Jews to a different standard?