This Saturday marks the 100th birthday of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. The German-Jewish politician is revered for his diplomatic abilities with various countries, but is also denied ties to various dictatorships in Latin America, most notably Chile’s Augusto Pinochet.
Henry Kissinger turns 100 this Saturday, May 27th And, despite allure and controversy, his geopolitical advice still attracts the attention of world diplomacy.
Visionaries for some, war criminals for others Former Secretary of State Nixon can still be recognized by his thick-rimmed black glasses.
Kissinger blew out the candles on a chocolate cake celebrating his 100th anniversary on Tuesday, May 24, as he attended a memorial service at the New York Economic Club of choice.
His public appearances have become rarer over the years, but more often through videoconferences, as he did at the Davos conference in January 2023.
But for Kissinger, His mark on US foreign policy in the late 20th century its lifespan is exceptional.
Henry Kissinger: “America’s Reality Politician”
The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who played a key role in Cold War-era world diplomacy, began rapprochement with Moscow and China in the 1970s with a realistic worldview. A kind of American-style “real politics”.
In a sign that his worldview hasn’t changed much, on Tuesday, May 24, he extrapolated: The United States Must Protect ‘Vital Interests’ . Also about the Ukrainian war, which he insists on a ceasefire.
“We have reached the stage of achieving our strategic goal. Russia’s military attempt to absorb Ukraine has failed. is indicated.
But the image of the man with the raspy voice and strong accent that he inherited from his German roots remains tarnished, with his support for the 1973 coup in Chile and the invasion of East Timor, and the dark pages of American history. tied. .
Kissinger is actually never cared about justice Since the lawsuit was dismissed in 2004.
The findings, published Wednesday on the website The Intercept, based on Pentagon archives and survivor testimony, widely underestimated the U.S. bombing campaign in Cambodia between 1969 and 1973. It is claimed that It caused more civilian deaths than previously acknowledged.
Muntashir Mamoun, a historian at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh, noted that Kissinger “actively supported genocide” in the country in 1971.
“The irony is that while he is remembered for making peace, all that he did to prolong the war not only in Vietnam but also in Cambodia and Laos is forgotten.” added Carolyn Eisenberg, a historian at Hofstra University in the United States.
Biography of the Nobel Peace Prize
Heinz Alfred Kissinger was born on May 27, 1923 in Fürth, Bavaria, Germany. He fled to the United States with his family at the age of 15 and became a naturalized American at the age of 20.
teacher’s son integrate military counterintelligence and the U.S. Army Before starting his illustrious career at Harvard University, he was also a teacher there.
He established himself as the face of world diplomacy in 1969 when Republican Richard Nixon called him to the White House as his National Security Advisor. Later as Secretary of State He served as President Gerald Ford’s foreign affairs secretary until 1977.
At that moment he began de-escalating tensions with the Soviet Union, Thaw in Mao Zedong’s relations with China . In this sense, he made a covert visit to organize Nixon’s historic visit to Beijing in 1972.
He also undertook secret negotiations with Le Duc Tho to end the Vietnam War in parallel with the bombing of Hanoi.
With the signing of a ceasefire agreement with North Vietnam, he Nobel Peace Prize Awarded in 1973, the award is one of the most controversial in history.
5 Key Kissinger Moments
Kissinger secretly traveled to Beijing in July 1971 to forge ties with Communist China. paved the way for President Nixon’s historic visit to the Asian capital in 1972.
This hand extended to China ended the isolation of the Asian giant and contributed primarily to Beijing’s rise on the international stage economically.
In addition, in parallel with the bombing of Hanoi secretly, Negotiations with revolutionary Le Duc Tho to end the Vietnam War.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for signing a ceasefire agreement with North Vietnam, but North Vietnam rejected the agreement, assuring that the negotiated ceasefire would not be honored.
Kissinger did not dare to accept the prize in Oslo for fear of demonstrations, and instead the US ambassador was appointed.
others, Kissinger critics condemn support for coup in Latin America in the name of the fight against communism, especially the US-backed fight in Chile bring dictator Augusto Pinochet to power After the suicide of President Salvador Allende.
In defense of the general interests of the United States, he often took the following actions. More or less implicitly supporting various invasions . For example, he supported Indonesia’s President Suharto’s invasion of East Timor in 1975, which killed 200,000 people.
This was also the case when Turkey occupied a third of Cyprus territory in 1974 and during destabilization operations in the midst of the Angolan civil war.
Kissinger at the end he devoted much of his time to the Middle East After a surprise attack by Arab states during the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday of 1973, he organized a massive airlift operation, Operation Nickel Glass, to supply arms to ally Israel.
he then “Road diplomacy” in negotiations with Israel, Syria and Egypt will become an important ally after it leaves Moscow’s sphere of influence.
Source: Biobiochile
