CIA chief reaches out in Dearborn – Detroit Free Press
In a historic visit to Dearborn, CIA Director Leon Panetta reached out to metro Detroiters with roots in the Middle East at a Ramadan dinner aimed at engaging Arab Americans.
“The reason I’m here in Dearborn is very simple: Your country needs you,” Panetta told a crowd of about 150 Arab Americans and Chaldeans today at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center. “It needs your ingenuity, it needs your wisdom, it needs the skills of your communities to help protect the way of life that all of us hold dear.”
Panetta’s speech was believed to be the first time a CIA head has held a public Ramadan dinner, said CIA official George Little. And it comes at a time when the CIA finds itself involved in conflicts across the Muslim world.
