Kissinger to head Sept 11 probe
Robert,
Folks who insist that Sept. 11th 2001 was a sneaky and cowardly attack may soon find out facts not known earlier.
Kissinger, a former Harvard professor and Secretary of State and consultant to presidents has been commissioned by Bush to find out everything possible why the authorities failed to prevent 9/11.
You asked me to tell the victims' relatives. No way! A guy of the stature of Kissinger is going to do it.
Richnorth
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WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush appointed former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to lead an investigation into why the government failed to foil the Sept 11 attacks, telling the veteran diplomat to 'follow all the facts wherever they lead'.
Signing a Bill he once opposed, Mr Bush told survivors and victims' family members on Wednesday that 'we must uncover every detail and learn every lesson' from the terrorist strikes.
The Bill creates a 10-member independent panel for an 18-month inquiry into the attacks on Washington and New York that killed more than 3,000. It will have a broad mandate to examine issues such as aviation security and border problems, along with intelligence.
Mr Kissinger, 79, echoed Mr Bush in pledging to 'go where the facts lead us'. He said he would accept no restrictions.
Later, Democratic congressional leaders named former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to be vice-chairman of the panel.
After leaving the Senate in 1995, Mr Mitchell led the negotiations that produced the landmark Good Friday peace pact of 1998 for Northern Ireland.
The commission will build upon the work of congressional investigators who reported this year that clues to the hijackers' plot were ignored or misunderstood.
Lawmakers have criticised the Central Intelligence Agency for not tracking two Al-Qaeda operatives it learnt of in early 2000. Those operatives were two of the five hijackers on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon.
Congressional investigators also noted poor communication between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and CIA on terrorism matters, and questioned the State Department on visa programmes that allowed all 19 hijackers to enter the country unchallenged. -- AP
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About Henry Kissinger
Taught government at Harvard University before serving as consultant to National Security Council and State Department under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.
President Nixon's assistant for national security affairs from 1969-1975 and secretary of state from 1973-1977. Also served under President Gerald Ford.
Played key roles in numerous other major US policy decisions, including the bombing of Cambodia, the signing of arms control agreements and Mr Nixon's historic visit to China to meet Mr Mao Zedong in 1972.
Was intimately involved in Vietnam War, but he negotiated an end to the conflict. He and North Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. -- AFP |
