Kissinger on Vietnam

Henry Kissinger’s description of the Vietnam War as “the result of the pursuit of a noble cause, the consequences of which were incorrectly assessed” (Opinion, Dec. 10) is a preposterous and cynical attempt to distort the truth of his own involvement in the war for three years, marked by his failure to assess the bombing of Cambodia and later incursion of allied ground troops into that country.

As President Nixon’s national security advisor, Kissinger masterminded the illegal, bloody Cambodia adventure--a colossal and costly failure to assess the consequences of such a foolhardy move that did not go unnoticed by four of his top-ranking aides who resigned in protest.

Robert McNamara’s long involvement in Vietnam and his failure to assess the consequences have been admitted in a book, press conferences and recently a visit to Vietnam where he apologized for his colossal mistakes.

But not Kissinger. He has made a career of finger-pointing the blame at Nixon and other officials in previous administrations but the finger never points at his chest. He’s not to blame! Not much!

LU HAAS

Pacific Palisades