No American diplomat’s record has provoked such dramatically different reactions as that of Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state and foreign policy intellectual who died Nov. 29 at 100. His death immediately led to hundreds of obituaries praising or condemning him – some did both – written by establishment thinkers, historians and others.
Kissinger’s long shadow is partly explained by his sheer length of time in the spotlight. After leaving government in the late 1970s, he remained an influential figure until his death from his private consulting practice and as an informal counselor for presidents and Cabinet officials. He also wrote prodigiously.
Also important were the years he served as the country’s top national security adviser and then secretary of state, 1969 to 1977. The United States was embroiled in a tragic war in Vietnam while attempting to reduce tensions with the Soviet Union, a policy known as détente. It was a momentous time. But Kissinger became a towering figure because of what he did while executing the policies of his bosses in the White House, first Richard Nixon then Gerald Ford.
In this episode of History As It Happens, historian Jeremi Suri, the author of “Henry Kissinger and the American Century,” weighs Kissinger’s achievements against his failures, which include the secret bombing of neutral Cambodia and support for foreign autocrats. Mr. Suri also examines the reasons why Kissinger meant different things to different people as a symbol of American power and supposed realpolitik.
“Kissinger is the most difficult test for historians, because his career had some great, enduring accomplishments like the opening to China and shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East. But there are abject failures that resulted in a great deal of suffering, and enduring problems for the world and American policy,” said Mr. Suri, who hosts the “This is Democracy” podcast.
SEE ALSO: History As It Happens: Kissinger and Cambodia
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