Alzheimer's? Nah, he was always like that

Kissinger: U.S. Should Stay in Iraq for Now

Henry the K, December:

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said Wednesday that Republicans and Democrats should forge bipartisan support for President Bush to bring stability to Iraq instead of arguing over the war.

"The fundamental fact is we cannot afford to leave that area under conditions that leave chaos," Kissinger told hundreds of business people at an annual meeting of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.

Henry the K, August:

(T)he United States should remove any troops that are not necessary to the American goal of stabilizing Iraq -- "But we cannot begin with an exit without having first defined what the objective is."

I guess these two statements aren't actually inconsistent: if you stubbornly refuse to define the objective, you never have to leave. If our presence ensures that chaos will ensue (or, more correctly, continue) when we exit, our presence will continue ad infinitum. Both viewpoints support endless war. And that, more than all other goals, is the real mission in Iraq.