The Kissinger legacy.
Is Henry Kissinger now working only for his reputation, or is he conflicted in his new role? Recently, President Bush named Kissinger to be the chairman of the commission charged to investigate intelligence breakdowns before 9/11. (*) It is an oft-repeated argument, such as by William Safire, that Dr. Kissinger can be trusted, now, because at his age he could only be concerned with his historical reputation. (†) With his legacy at stake, we can be assured that this accused war criminal will do nothing but mine for nuggets of truth.
To that end, Kissinger has announced that he will drop all clients of his firm, Kissinger Associates—which does business with Gulf oil concerns—that may present any conflict of interest with the business of the commission. (‡) Of course, he is not aware that any of them would conflict. Furthermore, he is not at liberty to disclose the client list of his firm. Therefore we must take him at his word. In any case, Kissinger will remain at the helm of Kissinger Associates, which without question will remain open for business as usual.
It would appear, at any rate, that Dr. Kissinger is not solely concerned with his historical reputation as it concerns the commission’s business. He also has his own business to run.
See the Agonist for additional analysis, sterling as always. (§)
Update: 3 December 2002. The New York Times editorial page calls for Kissinger to sever all ties with Kissinger Associates for the duration of the commission’s work. (**) The New Republic charges into the fray as well. (††) Finally, in Slate, Timothy Noah makes the unintentionally self-deflating point that because Kissinger wants revenge against Rumsfeld, he can be trusted to do a good job. (‡‡) Noah forgets that the objective of the commission is directly opposed to casting blame and gaining revenge. It is supposed to be an independent commission that will discover what went wrong. Henry Kissinger is not the man to head this supposedly independent commission.
Update: 10 December 2002. John Prados critiques the choice of Kissinger in the American Prospect. (§§) Additionally, the Congressional Research Service has issued an opinion that Kissinger must disclose his client list. (***)