Woodward: Kissinger Re-Fighting Vietnam via Bush

In his “60 Minutes” interview, Bob Woodward said Henry Kissinger “is almost like a member of the [Bush] family,” and that in his frequent meetings with Bush and Cheney, Kissinger’s dogmatic ‘stay the course’ advice on Iraq amounts to “fighting the Vietnam war again.”

Watch it

“60 Minutes” transcript via Crooks and Liars:

Wallace: Cheney stunned Woodward by revealing that a frequent advisor to the Bush white house is former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who served Presidents Nixon and Ford during the Vietnam War.

>> Woodward: He’s back. In fact, Henry Kissinger is almost like a member of the family. If he’s in town, he can call up, and if the president’s free, he’ll see him.

>> Wallace: Woodward recorded his on-the-record interview with Cheney, and here’s what the vice president said about Henry Kissinger’s clout.

>> Dick Cheney: Of the outside people that I talk to in this job, I probably talk to Henry Kissinger more than just about anybody else. He just comes by, and I guess at least once a month I sit down with him.

>> Wallace: And the same with the president?

>> Woodward: Yes. Absolutely.

>> Wallace: President Bush is, I understand…

>> Woodward: A big fan of his. Now, what’s Kissinger’s advice? In Iraq, he declared very simply: Victory is the only meaningful exit strategy. This is so fascinating. Kissinger’s fighting the Vietnam War again, because in his view, the problem in Vietnam was we lost our will. That we didn’t stick to it.

>> Wallace: So Henry Kissinger is telling George W. Bush, “Stick to it. Stay the course.”

>> Woodward: That’s right. It’s right out of the Kissinger playbook.
Link