- Henry Kissinger, the man George W. Bush wanted to investigate
the September 11 attacks, will meet John Howard to discuss Australia's
involvement in a possible war on Iraq during a low-key visit to Sydney
next week.
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- Dr Kissinger, 79, a former US secretary of state, has
approached a cluster of high-ranking politicians for private discussions
during his visit to Sydney on Monday and Tuesday, including Mr Howard and
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.
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- While Dr Kissinger will not visit in an official capacity,
the opportunity for a one-on-one discussion was seized by the Prime Minister.
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- When Mr Howard announced the deployment of defence personnel
to Iraq last week, he said he had not spoken personally with Mr Bush since
November.
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- Although retired from public life, Dr Kissinger was asked
by President Bush to investigate the facts behind the US failure to thwart
the September 11 attacks "wherever they lead." However, Dr Kissinger
declined to take up the role after the Democrats insisted that he first
stand down from the chairmanship of his international consultancy firm,
Kissinger Associates.
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- Dr Kissinger has been critical of the Bush administration's
handling of Iraq and has warned that any pre-emptive strike would set a
"dangerous precedent".
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- As National Security Adviser to Richard Nixon and Secretary
of State to both Nixon and Gerald Ford, Dr Kissinger oversaw crucial foreign
policy decisions including the engagement and ultimate withdrawal of American
troops from Vietnam and the secret bombing of Cambodia that preceded the
rise of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge.
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- http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5845177%255E2,00.html
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