Henry Kissinger

BRILLIANT DIPLOMAT

The recent passing of Henry Kissinger (1923-2023) reminds us that America’s arguably most brilliant modern diplomatic mind provoked as much criticism as praise. Genius or villain, Henry Kissinger well understood and eclipsed both support and opposition. In other words, he transcended the traditional American foreign policy debate between multilateral, unilateral and isolationist impulses. Moreover, what Kissinger critics often failed to realize was his keen and intuitive understanding of the world views of both friends and foes. Kissinger had a depth of knowledge and sense of possibility that made the intellectual and moral criticisms of him by both the left and right often appear hollow. Consequently, Kissinger continued ascendant beyond the tragic Richard Nixon in becoming an international institution. Not always right, but always relevant. Henry Kissinger, consultant and author, was the consistent advocate for world order, diplomacy and leadership.

“REAL-POLITIK”

The attitude of the American left toward Kissinger aligned with the partisan reality of academia, the media and the political elite to obsess over Republican mistakes and overlook Democrat sins. But Nixon’s advisor was able to understand that power and morality were complimentary when properly applied. In international relations, as the United States learned during and following World War II, power made morality possible. The world order achieved allowed the development of free and fair trade, navigation and commerce despite the threat of Soviet communism. An imperfect policy of containment that followed from Truman through Bush allowed human civilization to survive and prosper. Values and norms were preserved and strengthened across national, ethnic and religious boundaries. Kissinger epitomized a “real-politik” that, in addition to its merits, also encountered controversy from Indochina to Chile.

WORLD ORDER

For Kissinger, difficult decisions were required to preserve a viable balance in a world where the threat of nuclear Armageddon made old-fashioned great power warfare obsolete and not survivable. Thus, by the time Kissinger came upon the scene with Nixon, the post-World War II world order was on the brink. The gold standard had collapsed, the Soviets were at nuclear parity and worse, the Kennedy-Johnson liberal intellectuals and technocrats had blundered into the unwinnable Vietnam nightmare. The choices were stark. Therefore, if it took rapprochement with Mao’s China, or bombs to force North Vietnam to negotiate, so be it. The Carter administration would prioritize human rights and ended up with economic travails and the Iran crisis. The Reagan administration initially prioritized Soviet confrontation. Meanwhile, Kissinger maintained the statesmanlike posture of détente that ultimately led the Reagan and Bush administrations to win the monumental and bloodless victory ending the Cold War.

AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY          

When he paused to consider questions, Henry Kissinger’s trademark “vell,” spoken with his German-accented deep voice, was instantly recognizable, as one anticipated an always thoughtful if not provocative answer. Of course, his demeanor broadcast that Kissinger escaped to America before World War II with his refugee parents from Nazi Germany. Moreover, as did many fortunate others who managed to escape the Holocaust, he offered invaluable multilingual service in the U. S. Army, as American forces overran and occupied his native country. He went on to study and offer distinguished service at Harvard before reaching the highest levels of American government. Although Kissinger might appear European in manner and outlook, his was a genuine American success story, and he possessed a sincere affection and fidelity for the people, principles and promise of the United States. And his public ease of manner belied a disciplined and demanding work ethic.

CRITICISM AND CONCERN

No American diplomat was ever so widely praised or brutally criticized. Moreover, many accused Kissinger of “war crimes and crime against humanity” in Indochina, Chile and elsewhere. Of course, they did so while excusing all others, including the Soviet Union and its communist satellites, including Cuba. On the other hand, the first naturalized citizen to become Secretary of State accomplished the 1972 opening to China, the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union, the cease-fire in the Yom Kippur War, and the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, for which he won the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize. Kissinger’s recent commentaries expressed a worry that America is in danger of losing its sense of identity. Many share his concern that young Americans are being indoctrinated with a distorted view of their national history and identity, leading to potentially negative consequences.

THE WORLD’S “INDISPENSIBLE MAN”

In conclusion, the enigmatic Kissinger legacy perhaps reminds us that the world today needs and would greatly benefit from a constructive and robust multilateral but confident America rather than the currently divisive competition between an “America last” Cancel Culture socialist left and a nationalistic “American First” Trumpian populist right. In their divergent interests, both sides draw inaccurate comparisons and conclusions between the Kissinger initiatives of the 1970s and today’s challenges with China, Iran and Russia, be the perspectives appeasing or bellicose. Kissinger was neither an advocate for appeasement, like some of his successors now directing foreign policy in Washington, or recklessness, like others who wish to return to Washington. As the American media once described him, the unlikely Henry Kissinger arguably became “the world’s indispensable man,” who well represented equilibrium and world order.