Hillary Clinton. Henry Kissinger. It almost makes sense that the two would come together as mentor and apprentice…but it is a strange world indeed where Clinton would genuinely believe that her association with Kissinger would improve her standing in the eyes of a cynical, war-weary public.
Yet, in the Feb 11th Democratic Debate, she openly stated that she appreciated the lessons he taught her in foreign policy. Bernie Sanders took the opposite stance, his opinion being “that Henry Kissinger was one of the most destructive secretaries of state in the modern history of this country.” When Sanders raised the issue of Kissinger, “Oh, God,” was how the moderators reacted – as though Kissinger’s actions were somehow beyond reproach.
To garner an appreciation of what exactly Clinton learned under Kissinger’s “tutelage,” it is wise to revisit his legacy – as well as the views he has unashamedly expressed since then.
Kissinger’s Legacy
Greg Grandin, a New York University history professor, wrote in an article to The Nation, a brief historical summary of Kissinger’s “achievements” while working as former president Richard Nixon’s top foreign policy official:
“He (1) prolonged the Vietnam War for five pointless years; (2) illegally bombed Cambodia and Laos; (3) goaded Nixon to wiretap staffers and journalists; (4) bore responsibility for three genocides in Cambodia, East Timor, and Bangladesh; (5) urged Nixon to go after Daniel Ellsberg for having released the Pentagon Papers, which set off a chain of events that brought down the Nixon White House; (6) pumped up Pakistan’s ISI, and encouraged it to use political Islam to destabilize Afghanistan; (7) began the U.S.’s arms-for-petrodollars dependency with Saudi Arabia and pre-revolutionary Iran; (8) accelerated needless civil wars in southern Africa that, in the name of supporting white supremacy, left millions dead; (9) supported coups and death squads throughout Latin America; and (10) ingratiated himself with the first-generation neocons, such as Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz, who would take American militarism to its next calamitous level.”
Read all about it in Kissinger’s Shadow!
“A full tally hasn’t been done, but a back-of-the-envelope count would attribute 3, maybe 4 million deaths to Kissinger’s actions, but that number probably undercounts his victims in southern Africa. Pull but one string from the current tangle of today’s multiple foreign policy crises, and odds are it will lead back to something Kissinger did between 1968 and 1977. Over-reliance on Saudi oil? That’s Kissinger. Blowback from the instrumental use of radical Islam to destabilize Soviet allies? Again, Kissinger. An unstable arms race in the Middle East? Check, Kissinger. Sunni-Shia rivalry? Yup, Kissinger. The impasse in Israel-Palestine? Kissinger. Radicalization of Iran? “An act of folly” was how veteran diplomat George Ball described Kissinger’s relationship to the Shah. Militarization of the Persian Gulf? Kissinger, Kissinger, Kissinger.”
The late author Christopher Hitchins wrote in his book The Trial of Henry Kissinger spoke of six war crimes that Kissinger was responsible for:
1. The deliberate mass killing of civilian populations in Indochina.
2. Deliberate collusion in mass murder, and later in assassination, in Bangladesh.
3. The personal suborning and planning of murder, of a senior constitutional officer in a democratic nation — Chile — with which the United States was not at war.
4. Personal involvement in a plan to murder the head of state in the democratic nation of Cyprus.
5. The incitement and enabling of genocide in East Timor
6. Personal involvement in a plan to kidnap and murder a journalist living in Washington, D.C.
Kissinger’s Quotable Quotes
History is a fickle beast, ever reliant on the historian’s perspective and interpretation; it can be argued that Kissinger had simply reacted to crisis as best as he was able to – genocides were no more than an accident, paved by good intentions…as any American who defends George W. Bush’s actions in Iraq would argue.
There’s no better beast to gain insight on how Kissinger thinks, than the horse’s own mouth. Below are a few of Kissinger’s best lines, according to Fred Branfman:
Bombing Cambodia: “[Nixon] wants a massive bombing campaign in Cambodia. He doesn’t want to hear anything about it. It’s an order, to be done. Anything that flies or anything that moves.” (link)
Bombing Vietnam: “It’s wave after wave of planes. You see, they can’t see the B-52 and they dropped a million pounds of bombs … I bet you we will have had more planes over there in one day than Johnson had in a month … each plane can carry about 10 times the load of World War II plane could carry.” (link)
Khmer Rouge: “How many people did (Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary) kill? Tens of thousands? You should tell the Cambodians (i.e., Khmer Rouge) that we will be friends with them. They are murderous thugs, but we won’t let that stand in the way. We are prepared to improve relations with them. Tell them the latter part, but don’t tell them what I said before.” (Nov. 26, 1975 meeting with Thai foreign minister)
Dan Ellsberg, whistle-blower who released the Pentagon Papers: “Because that son-of-a-bitch—First of all, I would expect—I know him well—I am sure he has some more information—I would bet that he has more information that he’s saving for the trial. Examples of American war crimes that triggered him into it…It’s the way he’d operate….Because he is a despicable bastard.” (Oval Office tape, July 27, 1971)
Chile: “I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves.” (link)
(Notably, the CIA and Kissinger were complicit in helping August Pinochet, Chilean dictator, conduct Operation Condor, culling some 22,000 to 60,000 left-leaning journalists, dissidents and leftists, union and peasant leaders, priests and nuns, students and teachers, intellectuals and suspected guerrillas.)
Illegality-Unconstitutionality
Other interesting statements he has made:
Population Reduction for US gain: “The U.S. economy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad, especially from less developed countries…Wherever a lessening of population pressures through reduced birth rates can increase the prospects for such stability, population policy becomes relevant to resource supplies and to the economic interests of the United States… it is important in style as well as substance to avoid the appearance of coercion… Is the U.S. prepared to accept food rationing to help people who can’t/won’t control their population growth?” (National Security Memorandum written under Kissinger’s direction.)
“America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests.” (Henry Kissinger: The White House Years, quoted from Dinesh D’Souza: What’s so great about America)
“Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.” (As quoted in The New York Times, 28 October 1973)
“It is not a matter of what is true that counts, but a matter of what is perceived to be true.” (source)
If Clinton is taking lessons from this man…one must pray that she is a terrible, horrible, and completely unteachable student.
Sources: The Intercept, Alternet, Wikiquote, Salon
This article (Why Hillary Clinton’s Admiration For Kissinger is a Truly Terrible Thing) is a free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author(CoNN) and AnonHQ.com.
