Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta conducts a press conference with reporters aboard a U.S. Air Force E-4B National Airborne Operations Center aircraft on his way to visit with defense leaders and U.S. troops stationed in the Asia-Pacific region, Oct. 21, 2011. Secretary Panetta discussed the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, NATO operations in Libya, and the importance of U.S. alliances with Indonesia, Japan and South Korea.