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| Kissinger Watch #14 - 1 | |
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| Kissinger resigns as chairman of inquiry into September 11 attacks / The Guardian | |
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| Julian Borger in Washington Saturday December 14, 2002 The Guardian Faced with a choice between his new appointment as the head of an inquiry investigating the September 11 attacks and keeping his business contacts secret, Henry Kissinger last night chose the path of discretion and resigned from the inquiry. The resignation came just over two weeks after Mr Kissinger's appointment as chairman of the September 11 commission, a period that had been filled with controversy over the former secretary of state's business consultancy, Kissinger Associates, and suggestions that he might face a conflict of interests. Mr Kissinger repeatedly refused to divulge his client list and on Thursday attempted to make a deal by which he would inform the White House, an independent arbiter and a group of victims' relatives of his business dealings but not make them public. The White House defended Mr Kissinger's decision but congressional Democrats and some victims' relatives remained sceptical and had called on him to follow the normal rules of disclosure for members of official inquiries, which require panel members to name clients who paid them more than $5,000 in the past two years. "It is clear that, although specific potential conflicts can be resolved in this manner, the controversy would quickly move to the consulting firm I have built and own," Mr Kissinger wrote in his resignation letter to President George Bush, saying that the time it took to wind up Kissinger Associates would delay the start of the inquiry. It was unclear whether he had been asked to close his business. "I have, therefore, concluded that I cannot accept the responsibility you proposed," Mr Kissinger wrote. The president issued a statement in response, expressing regret. "His chairmanship would have provided the insights and analysis the government needs to understand the methods of our enemies and the nature of the threats we face," the statement said. Mr Bush promised to choose a new panel chairman to "uncover every detail and learn every lesson of September 11, even as we act on what we have learned so far to better protect and defend America". So far the president is finding it hard to find volunteers willing to give up their day jobs. His nominee for the inquiry's deputy chairman, the former senator George Mitchell, stepped down on Wednesday, saying that he could not afford to resign from his legal practice. The idea behind the inquiry was to examine the nation's readiness for a terrorist attack on September 11, amid evidence that the CIA and FBI had missed signs that it was being planned. There have been allegations that the role played by the Saudi Arabian government has not been fully investigated, in part because of close ties between the Republican establishment and Saudi business circles. Mr Kissinger's critics wanted him to reveal names of corporations that his consultancy advised to check if any had business dealings with Saudi Arabia or elsewhere in the Middle East. He had said that he would sever relationships with any clients implicated in the investigation, that he had no Saudi Arabian clients and did not represent any Middle Eastern governments. The appointment came as a surprise in Europe, where Mr Kissinger is widely seen as tainted for his role in the Vietnam war, the secret bombing of Cambodia and the overthrow of the Chilean president Salvador Allende and his replacement with General Agusto Pinochet. In the US, however, he retains the image of a popular elder statesman. The resignations of Mr Kissinger and Senator Mitchell left the September 11 commission in disarray last night. Many of the families of victims were pressing for the appointment of a former Republican senator, Warren Rudman, who co-authored a report in early 2001 warning of the dangers of a terrorist attack on the US homeland. | |
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