Kissinger’s History Puts a Cloud Over 9/11 Inquiry

Re “Kissinger to Lead 9/11 Inquiry,” Nov. 28: Henry Kissinger in charge of the commission investigating intelligence failures leading to the 9/11 disaster? Isn’t this the same man who was called before Congress on several occasions as a “China expert” but who used every opportunity to push the interests of the corporations his consulting business represented there?

Oh well, let bygones be bygones. We can certainly expect a perfect report this time around from Kissinger; after all, we’ve been told many times, by him, that he has never made a mistake and probably never will.

Henry J. Silverman

Los Angeles

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Kissinger is the perfect choice to lead an inquest into the terrorist events of Sept. 11, 2001. When he is finished with his probe, perhaps we could have him investigate the Vietnam War, Watergate, the invasion of East Timor and the Allende assassination.

Marty Trujillo

Westminster

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When Kissinger was asked about the CIA-arranged assassination of Gen. Rene Schneider, the Chilean army’s chief of staff, he replied, “You have to remember what it was like in those days.” (Chile had elected Salvador Allende as president, which was not popular with corporate America.)

Later, former National Security Advisor John Poindexter was a defendant in the Iran-Contra scandal, in which he played a lead role. Talk about poachers turned gamekeepers!

Unfortunately, there is no shortage of CIA members trained in assassination and paramilitary violence, so the White House can put all these men to work. Maybe Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft could recruit some of them to take care of “lefties” in our own country. Did someone observe that there was a worldwide growth of anti-American feeling? I wonder why.

Mike Strong

Corona del Mar

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Your Nov. 29 editorial (“Kissinger Wrong for the Job”) acknowledges Kissinger as being a “skilled diplomat.”

If you have read any of his books, you will gain a picture of his capacity for research. I foresee Kissinger and his highly skilled team taking on this challenge as an intellectual pursuit.

The editorial is not wrong in expressing concern over Kissinger’s ability to make an independent inquiry; he has been placed on notice. Now he should be permitted to do his job unhindered.

Marshall Kline

Los Angeles

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It’s difficult to tell whether Sen. John McCain’s comment that Kissinger’s “depth of experience and broad knowledge of both intelligence and government will undoubtedly help to achieve the commission’s objectives” was meant to lend credence to a Kissinger-led 9/11 investigation, or as irony.

Sounds like the latter to me, and the appointment of Kissinger looks to me like a Bush administration in-your-face taunt to America.

Laurel Hall

La Habra

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The appointment of Kissinger as head of the 9/11 inquiry shows the people who operate Bush’s strings have a sense of humor, however dark and tortured it may be.

Larry Maxcy

Yucca Valley