Iraq Military Victory No Longer Possible, says Henry Kissinger
FORMER US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who helped engineer the US withdrawal from Vietnam, said Sunday the problems in Iraq are more complex than in the Vietnam War, and military victory was no longer possible.He also said he sympathised with the troubles facing US President George W. Bush.
“A military victory in the sense of total control over the whole territory, imposed on the entire population, is not possible,” Dr Kissinger said in Tokyo, where he received an honorary degree from Waseda University.
The faceless, ubiquitous nature of Iraq’s insurgency, as well as the religious divide between Shiite and Sunni rivals, makes negotiating peace extremely difficult, he said.
But Dr Kissinger, who has also advised Mr Bush on Iraq, warned that a sudden pullout of troops or loss of influence could unleash chaos.
Dr Kissinger said the best way forward was to reconcile the differences between Iraq’s warring sects with help from other countries.
He applauded efforts to host a conference bringing together the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Iraq’s neighbours, including Washington’s longtime rival in the region, Iran.
His comments came as unexpectedly harsh criticism from Saudi Arabia raised serious questions about the Bush administration’s Middle East policy.
Speaking to a summit meeting of Arab leaders in Riyadh last week, Saudi King Abdullah referred to the US presence in Iraq as an “illegitimate foreign occupation”.
US officials were dumbfounded by the portrayal of the costly US military operation that President Bush defends as a mission conducted at the request of the Iraq government to help stabilise the country.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rang the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Adel al-Jubeir, for an explanation of the king’s remarks.
But Dr Rice did not take the matter up directly with her Saudi counterpart, Prince Saud al-Faisal, in an apparent bid to avoid aggravating the rift.
Analysts saw Abdullah’s tough public stance as part of a move by the Saudi monarch to take the lead of a new pan-Arab movement to counter the rising influence of Shiite Iran.
In Iraq Sunday, a roadside bomb and three car bombs killed 14 people and wounded dozens as Iraq’s relentless insurgency and sectarian violence continued, officials said.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press
Wow. Incredible. I was finally able to log in after two weeks of trying. Thank you Willy Ritch!
Here’s the latest must-see video titled Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqi2GTxB7SE
So Old Henry sympathizes with the troubles facing Bush. I’ll bet he sympathizes with Jeffry Dahmer and Ted Bundy, too.
“US officials were dumbfounded by the portrayal of the costly US military operation that President Bush defends as a mission conducted at the request of the Iraq government to help stabilise the country”
Oh is that the [reason de jour]. It keeps changing. Hello, things were a lot more stable before Bush started this mess.
Henry, you son of a bitch, I can’t believe you have the balls to show your face in public.
The Democrat plans to end the war in 2008 are on a collision course with Bush’s plans. Based on the fact that we are building permanent US military bases in Iraq and we are building the world’s biggest embassy in Baghdad, it is my opinion that Bush never plans on leaving Iraq. A permanent US military presence and a quasi-colony was the plan all along.
If the Democrats don’t back down, Bush’s only option to save his colony would be to sign the war funding BUT SIGN IT WITH A SIGNING STATEMENT. Such a signing statement might say the commander in chief retains the option to use troops in an emergency bases. When the 2008 deadline rolls around, Bush could “reluctantly” keep the troops in Iraq as some “emergency” has come up. If Bush pulls this signing statement stunt, the Dems will take it to the Supreme Court and challenge Bush on illegal and constitutional issues. One way or another, we are in for a bumpy ride.
Cheer up, Nietzsche, He doesn’t have the ball so show up in the half dozen european countries waiting to try him for war crimes. Crimps his style a little. Amazing how people like Kissinger and Negroponte keep rising from the ashes.
First,Zbigniew Brzezinski and now Henry?
These words true now as when they were said.
“At the beginning of the Iraq-Iran war, one of the great tragedies of our time, [Henry] Kissinger said, “I hope they kill each other.” What he meant is our real policy: that they kill each other.”
Kissinger joins a long line of “brilliant” pundits who, once again, got it wrong. Question–why does the press bother to print what these losers say these days? Why does Charlie Rose continue to have the neocons and other losers on his–PUBLIC TV–show? Doesn’t being dead wrong on two wars count against one’s credibility? Or does the media just not have anyone with a brain to interview?
As usual, I ike to go to the source for more information. There is no doubt that Kissinger is a criminal and has supported many evil plots.
As kathyodat said, “It’s amazing how people like Kissinger and Negroponte keep rising from the ashes.”
He are a few qoutes to refreshen our memories of this evil man:
1) “Today Americans would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order; tomorrow they will be grateful. This is especially true if they were told there was an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead with world leaders to deliver them from this evil. The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well being granted to them by their world government.”
– Henry Kissinger speaking at Evian, France, May 21, 1992 Bilderburgers meeting. Unbeknownst to Kissinger, his speech was taped by a Swiss delegate to the meeting.
2) “I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves.”
– Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State under Richard Nixon, about Chile prior to the CIA overthrow of the democratically elected government of socialist President Salvadore Allende in 1973
3) “Why should we flagellate ourselves for what the Cambodians did to each other?”
– Henry Kissinger - who (with Richard Nixon) was responsible for the massive bombing of Cambodia in 1973, which killed three-quarters of a million peasants and disrupted Cambodian society, setting the stage for Pol Pot to come to power and ultimately kill another one-and-a-half million people
4) “Covert action should not be confused with missionary work.”
– Henry Kissinger, commenting on the US sellout of the Kurds in Iraq in 1975
5) “The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.”
–Henry Kissinger
if kissinger says iraq if FUBAR, then it REALLY IS FUBARTASTIC.
ezeflyer your film is shown in its entirety 1.19.14 at http://www.videosift.com/video/Peace-Propaganda-the-Promised-Land
ezeflyer - I noticed you weren’t around. Welcome back.
Nietzsche -Right on. But for claification, I don’t think he has any balls. Maybe it’s just chutzpa?
Hybridona - We all gotta love ya!
Lose in Iraq.
Lose in Afghanistan.
Lose in …
As I recall the last Russian Tzar lost one too many pointless wars. Whatever happened to `ol Nic and his family? Whatever happened to Mother Russia? Deja Vu?
“US officials were dumbfounded by the portrayal of the costly US military operation that President Bush defends as a mission conducted at the request of the Iraq government to help stabilise the country.”
Oh hahaha, now the rationale is that Iraq asked the US to invade and occupy! But wait, Saddam was in charge before the invasion, so who made this request?
No one did, of course, but if Kissinger thinks Bush’s pet scheme is a lost cause, you can bet it is. Naturally, progressives and liberals already knew that. Neocons may not have woken up yet.
Still, Henry couches his words very carefully. The “chaos” he refers to if we withdraw is probably a reference to the oil we would not control. I can’t imagine that Kissinger gives a crap about the lives of the Iraqi people, who were arguably much better off before the invasion than they are now.
Like in Vietnam, the U.S. invades and installs a puppet government, then gets a “request” for assistance from the puppet government. Maybe Kissinger is hoping for “peace with honor”, like in Vietnam. Henry K. is very careful about which countries he visits these days. He is a wanted man in several (Spain,Chile,etc). kissinger is a war criminal with much blood on his hands.
As if it wasn’t chaos already.
Someone tell Hillary, of the Bush-Clinton dynasty- money party–the latest representitive-recepient.
Just what we need.
Sorry, the wrong school. He should have got the honorary doctorate from the Schools of the Americas!
Dudes, I wouldn’t celebrate the admission that “victory” isn’t possible too much. That could be part of the plan, or there could be a Plan B that involves years dictatorship, years of paramilitary “low intensity” conflict, back up by no fly zones, and somewhat removed US presense.
The price of oil might seem a bit high, but it’s not so high that it’s urgent to get that oil out of the ground right now. Holding on to it as a future resource might could be an appealing prospect for our “leaders” and their partners in the middle east.
Thanks orphan and Rebel Farmer. It’s good to be back.
If the accrued cost of the Iraq fiasco is going to be around 2.5 TRILLION…..
Wouldn’t have been cheaper to BUY Iraq’s OIL with no loss of lives or additional cost of rebuilding the broken US Military machine and Iraq’s infrastructure etc….
Since BUSH NEVER apparently studied Opportunity Cost Theory in his MBA…
Maybe he got his MBA out of a “corn flakes packet” along with his national guard service record….
Bush would never have appreciated the cost of the alternative that was forgone in order to pursue his STUPID little war. Bush never realized the benefits he could have received by by following his Father’s example…
by staying the HELL OUT OF MESS-O-POTAMIA….
Well it is cheaper for the Oil companies since they are looting the public purse to enrich themselves. Why buy anything?
Socialize the means, privitize the profits.
That recorded message No.1) is for sure Kissinger’s idea of an April Fool’s joke. It is nonsensical.-
Dear kissi - dear henry
April fool’s is up a tree
you are by far a bigger fool than me
Simon - Never thought of it that way! And my degree is in Business Admin. Big oversight on my part. How many barrels of oil can you buy with 2.5 trillion dollars and how long would that last considering current U.S. consumption? Just asking….
Rebel Farmer, I think that’s the wrong question. That money isn’t being spent to buy oil, but to control oil. According to Greg Palast the oil companies want to keep it in the ground (letting it out judiciously), and join OPEC. Saddham had to be taken out because he was flooding the market, driving down oil prices. When Bush was running for President, oil was $1.46/gallon (July 2000). Anyway, I have this sense that this is only a small part of the picture.
Thanks for the remarks Rebel Farmer!!!!
What Saddam Hussein was really threatening to do was start Iraq’s own OIL EXCHANGE trading only in EUROS….
This would have busted Bush’s house of shonky cards
WIDE OPEN…….
Consolidated Federal Debt of $8-9 Trillion….Public and Private Debt of $53-58 Trillion …..and remember no Money Supply figures now get published by the Federal Reserve (estimated to be 11.9% per annum….)
So real inflation NOT nominal inflation is not the advertised…… 3.75%
SO AMERICAS ATM CARD namely CHINA and JAPAN would become net sellers of US Long Term Bond …..US interest rates GO UP equals RECESSION…..
US currency would be worth less than Polynesian Island
TRUMPET SHELLS…….
Sooner or later the soccer Mums will discover the been ripped off by lyer
Thanks for the remarks Rebel Farmer!!!!
What Saddam Hussein was really threatening to do was start Iraq’s own OIL EXCHANGE trading only in EUROS….
This would have busted Bush’s house of shonky cards
WIDE OPEN…….
Consolidated Federal Debt of $8-9 Trillion….Public and Private Debt of $53-58 Trillion …..and remember no Money Supply figures now get published by the Federal Reserve (estimated to be 11.9% per annum….)
So REAL inflation NOT nominal inflation is not the advertised 3.75% but 7-9%
SO AMERICAS ATM CARD namely CHINA and JAPAN would become net sellers of US Long Term Bond …..US interest rates GO UP equals RECESSION…..
US currency would be worth less than Polynesian Island
TRUMPET SHELLS…….
Sooner or later the soccer Mums will discover the been ripped off by “LIER in CHIEF” SHRUB
simonhhh
You got it right
What Saddam Hussein was really threatening to do was start Iraq’s own OIL EXCHANGE trading only in EUROS….
That is why he swung from the gallows, with no protest from the house of Saud / Bush even thou he was fellow Sunni.
The lesson don’t screw with their pocketbook
Ya gotta love AP when “bomb them till they break” Henri talks they listen
kathyodat…
You missed my point….
I’m positing Opportunity Cost Theory or lack of it by the Bush Administration
As opposed to Strategic Policy in regard to Demand /Supply of International Oil Reserves….OPEC POLICY etc
These are two separate but necessarily concomitant issues!!!
Simon, I see what you’re saying - and my degree is in nursing so who am I to talk economics?? Can you suggest a website about this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost
Its interesting to note if watch Bush….
…..a true “Svengali”….
In the way he behaves and bumbles his speech in his regular use of demagoguery…
He’s really a sophomore and hence sophomoric….
If it waddles like duck, sounds like a duck…. it probably is a duck….
I think this another COVER-UP of the administration….His qualifications were potentially BOGUS….or at the very best, paid for by George H. senior….