Henry Kissinger

[Emperor_Mike]

I was on the plane home a few days ago reading "Diplomacy" by Dr. Henry Kissinger when this woman beside me commented on him being a war criminal. We had a fulfilling exchange, but it left me with a few questions. Is this view prevalent among most people? That Dr. Kissinger is being looked upon as a war criminal?

[FACKU]

He had a lot of to do with what happened in Chile in early 1970s after Socialist President Allende was elected and his presidency ended with a coup led by Augusto Pinochet who is known for kidnapping and killing his opponents in Chile. Many blame Kissinger for his role being the adviser to Nixon who supported the military junta in the name of getting rid of communism.

Kissinger also advised Nixon to increase bombing in North Korea and widened the war to Cambodia and Laos.

Many also accused him of being involved with mass murder in Bangladesh, planned assassinations in communist leaning countries, and genocide in East Timor when he supported Indonesian military to annex east timor. There are some truth to that since he was the primary adviser to Nixon and Ford. He would be a karl rove in current bush regime.


This is a good site to learn more about the accusations: http://www.trialofhenrykissinger.org/charges.html

[FACKU]

Interesting article from Slate on how Bush appointed Kissinger to be in charge of 9/11 investigation:
The Latest Kissinger Outrage (http://slate.msn.com/?id=2074678)

[Emperor_Mike]

Well, that's rather depressing.

Though the book is a remarkable read and great for any diplomatist in the making.

[ism]

I don't think the view is held by a majority of people. It's probably due to the ignorance of the general population. Even supplied with the facts though, and in a forum for the political left, I'd say it's still in the minority.

If someone came up to me and said something I wasn't sure how common a belief it was, I'd try to gauge general political stance by asking about certain other issues. The woman strikes me as very progressive, possibly a Green.

[YuheiCarreau]

Originally posted by ism@Jun 12 2003, 01:26 AM
I don't think the view is held by a majority of people. It's probably due to the ignorance of the general population. Even supplied with the facts though, and in a forum for the political left, I'd say it's still in the minority.

If someone came up to me and said something I wasn't sure how common a belief it was, I'd try to gauge general political stance by asking about certain other issues. The woman strikes me as very progressive, possibly a Green.
I know plenty of Centrists (mostly Democrats, but certainly not Green) who consider Kissinger a war criminal. They don't all want to prosecute the guy decades after the fact, but they don't want any repeats of his work, either.

[sandra]

yup. that's why he can't travel much. risk of being arrested.

[TyroneK(prettypretty)]

I think that's the prevalent view of anyone who actually knows what the Nixon administration did to Chile's government during the early 70's. Also, many of the incursions into Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam weren't legal either.

The guy had his successes, but he's got a lot to answer for too. I'm not quite sure if I'd call him a war criminal, but a lot of people died because of the decisions he made.

[Emperor_Mike]

Yes, I agree with all the assessments here. I've done some sort readings on his background and the controversies around his work and I've got to say that a lot of it is highly suspect in terms of legality and morality. It is a waste that a man who has accomplished so much has soiled his name with those very acts that have given him prestige and notoriety.

[Chester]

It should be noted that this whole thing -- at least in terms of popular saturation -- was spearheaded by Christopher Hitchens, everyone's favorite English, cantankerous, chain-smoking agitpropagandist. The man perhaps most famous for dissing Mother Teresa.

He can often be found in the pages of Vanity Fair. Always entertaining.

[ism]

Originally posted by Chester@Jun 12 2003, 02:07 PM
It should be noted that this whole thing -- at least in terms of popular saturation -- was spearheaded by Christopher Hitchens, everyone's favorite English, cantankerous, chain-smoking agitpropagandist. The man perhaps most famous for dissing Mother Teresa.

He can often be found in the pages of Vanity Fair. Always entertaining.
I was so glad when he quit The Nation. It kind of pissed me off that he still continued to write his column via the Letters page for the next several months though. Definitely amusing.