Nixon Declares Kissinger a Security Risk
Kissinger Resigns

With President Bush's appointment of Dr. Henry Kissinger to chair the commission to investigate the 9-11 attack, critics from both ends of the political spectrum were quick to opine. The breadth of this commentary can be found in two New York Times' columns: one by Maureen Dowd and the other by William Safire.

But the most damning statement regarding Dr. Kissinger's qualifications to head such an important post was made 31 years ago by President Nixon. At the time, John Ehrlichman was briefing the President concerning his most important crisis to date: the Moorer-Radford affair. Conducted in the Oval Office on December 21, 1971, Nixon and his most trusted aides of John Mitchell, Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman discussed this matter of national security in detail.

Ehrlichman informed Nixon that the National Security Council, then headed by Dr. Kissinger, had been penetrated by a spy-ring headed by the Chairman of the Joint Chief's of Staff Admiral Thomas Moorer. In the process, thousands of "Top Secret" documents were stolen, and some had been leaked to columnist Jack Anderson.

Shocked that the NSC was so unsecured, Nixon and company immediately made plans to increase the security within the NSC. During this portion of the taped meeting, Nixon declares that Kissinger is a "not a good security risk" — Attorney General Mitchell quickly concurred. This, perhaps more than any other statement , speaks to Dr. Kissinger's ability to head such a sensitive commission to which he has just been appointed.

***Since the initial publication of this story, Dr. Kissinger has resigned from the post; President Bush named former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean as Kissinger's replacement.

Nixon's & Mitchell's Comments
The Moorer-Radford Affair
He's Ba-a-ack by Maureen Dowd
Well, Hello, Henry by William Safire
Henry Kissinger's Entangling Ties a NY Times Op-Ed piece