SELECTION OF KISSINGER TO HEAD 9/11 COMMISSION A HUGE MISTAKE
Master of Secrecy and Deceit Must be Removed
Prelude to a Cover-Up
Judicial Watch to Investigate Through Freedom of Information Act Requests How and Why Kissinger Was Selected
(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse, said today that it condemns the selection by the Bush administration of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to head the commission chartered to investigate the September 11th terrorist attacks. Kissinger is uniquely “unqualified” to lead an investigation that should be committed to ferreting out how the careerist, secretive, self-serving mentality and actions of the America’s national security establishment contributed to the vulnerabilities the terrorists have successfully exploited since they began their serial bombing campaign against United States interests and facilities in the mid-1990’s.
Kissinger’s record from the Nixon and Ford administrations reveals a compromised, self-aggrandizing bureaucrat who, like so many other Washington DC “players,” has successfully parlayed his political appointments into a very lucrative “consulting” business. Kissinger’s known business relationships raise conflicts of interest directly related to the people, industries, and countries related to the scope of the commission’s inquiry. Though Kissinger pledged that he will sever ties with clients who may cause a conflict of interest, his assurances are not enough in light of his past behavior.
“Kissinger is precisely the person to guarantee a cover-up and the perpetuation of secrecy, half-truths and the status quo. President Bush publicly resisted any effort to investigate the government failures that contributed to the September 11th attacks. Although Congress launched 9 inquiries into the Pearl Harbor attacks, somehow the Bush administration thought it could get a “pass” on public accountability. The appointment of Kissinger to head the September 11th commission is the next closest thing to not having an investigation at all. The American people deserve the truth, not Nixonian cover-ups and double-talk,” stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman.
Judicial Watch’s book, Fatal Neglect: The U.S. Government’s Continuing Failure to Protect American Citizens from Terrorists, reveals the disturbing truth and provides answers to the terror challenge facing the American people.
