Saturday, September 27, 2008

Kissinger Lying for McCain?

Right after the debate last night Katie Couric said she called Henry Kissinger to clear the air on what he thinks about talks with Iran -- McCain said Kissinger didn't believe in talks with Iran's president. Katie said that Kissinger agreed that the next president needs to meet with the obnoxious (my word choice) world leaders, without preconditions. That was yesterday.
Here's what he says now:
CNN: Immediately following Friday night's debate, the McCain campaign released a statement from Kissinger, backing the Republican nominee's sentiment on Iran.

"Sen. McCain is right. I would not recommend the next president of the United States engage in talks with Iran at the presidential level," Kissinger said in the statement.

"My views on this issue are entirely compatible with the views of my friend Sen. John McCain. We do not agree on everything, but we do agree that any negotiations with Iran must be geared to reality."
Here's a story from three weeks ago of his stance:
UPI: Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger says the United States should begin direct negotiations with Iran over its nuclear enrichment program.
Kissinger, speaking Monday at George Washington University along with four other former U.S. State Department secretaries, said the next president should initiate high-level discussions with Iran "without conditions," ABC News reported.

The opinion of the former secretary of state for Republican presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford differs sharply with that of the current GOP administration, which has maintained a strict policy of not negotiating directly with governments deemed to sponsor international terrorism. The Bush administration has demanded that Iran dismantle its nuclear program as a precondition for any direct talks.
Whatever. It doesn't matter what Henry Kissinger thinks, especially if he's going to lie to protect McCain. What matters is the U.S. has to improve its standing in the world for many reasons but most importantly, for national security. Obama has a broader view of international relations and McCain views it like a soldier.

Did anyone see 20 20's Portrait of a President? McCain has a great story. 20 20 told it really well. They did a great job with Obama's story, too. I was touched by both.

The Fact Check organization says Kissinger is lying: 
Obama said McCain adviser Henry Kissinger backs talks with Iran “without preconditions,” but McCain disputed that. In fact, Kissinger did recently call for “high level” talks with Iran starting at the secretary of state level and said, “I do not believe that we can make conditions.” After the debate the McCain campaign issued a statement quoting Kissinger as saying he didn’t favor presidential talks with Iran.