Kissinger :: 100

[Hagbard Celine 10903]

Mein Fuhrer, I can walk!

[Hagbard Celine 10903]

    Rolling Stone: Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America’s Ruling Class, Finally Dies

    CNN: Henry Kissinger, a dominating and polarizing force in US foreign policy, dies at 100

    The Intercept: Henry Kissinger, Diplomat Responsible for Millions of Deaths, Dies at 100

    Washington Post: Henry Kissinger, who shaped world affairs under two presidents, dies at 100

    CNBC: Henry Kissinger, the towering American diplomat, dies at age 100

[Hagbard Celine 10903]

 

[UpperWestside 6184]

In a week where Rosalynn Carter is laid to rest I think the best thing to do is just forget that Kissinger ever existed. He is in the dustbin of history. Mrs. Carter had more kindness in her pinky finger than that man had in his entire body. It’s just better to remember that kind people who made a positive difference while putting the horrors guys like this in a file cabinet, taking the file cabinet and throwing it to the bottom of the Mariana Trench to forever be forgotten.

[Thetexashammer 1062]

Who made him some kind of hero? The foreign policy establishment. It's like giving Yasser Arafat the Nobel Peace Prize. I never heard him contribute anything good or insightful. It's like doubling down on stupidity.

I don't condemn him nor approve of him. I just wonder why people thought he was relevant to anything.

[Rimbo 26031]

1 hour ago, Thetexashammer said:

I just wonder why people thought he was relevant to anything.

boggles

You haven't passed a History class since Junior High, have you?

[Bateshorn 9928]

I won’t speak ill of the dead. As someone who has visited and loved Cambodia, I will let Bourdain do it:

Quote

Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands. You will never again be able to open a newspaper and read about that treacherous, prevaricating, murderous scumbag sitting down for a nice chat with Charlie Rose or attending some black-tie affair for a new glossy magazine without choking. Witness what Henry did in Cambodia — the fruits of his genius for statesmanship — and you will never understand why he’s not sitting in the dock at The Hague next to Milosevic,”

 

[BamaATL 16593]

When 99 years of being wrong just isn't enough.  

[AUS-97HORN 11812]

semi-relevant CSB

 

I was an army dependent born overseas during the Nixon admin... as a result... Kissinger signed my birth certificate...

Edited November 30, 2023 by AUS-97HORN

[Bateshorn 9928]

12 minutes ago, AUS-97HORN said:

semi-relevant CSB

 

I was an army dependent born overseas during the Nixon admin... as a result... Kissinger signed my birth certificate...

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

have to retire this timeless meme

 

[Thetexashammer 1062]

Henry Kissinger has died at 100 : NPR

Quote

"I remember walking down the street in Manhattan with him, and he would attract a crowd like a movie star, a rock star," recalled David Rothkopf, who worked for a time as a managing director at Kissinger's consulting firm. "Everybody, regardless of what they thought of Henry, wanted to see Henry, wanted to be with Henry."

Oh, he was a cool kid celebrity. I didn't realize he was an early Taylor Swift type. Now I know.

Quote

With that unwavering commitment, Kissinger advocated bombing campaigns in Vietnam and Cambodia to strengthen the U.S. negotiating position. He was comfortable with the U.S. giving a green light to the "dirty war" in Argentina and to Indonesia's invasion of East Timor, because those governments were U.S. allies. Likewise, the U.S. could welcome a coup against Salvador Allende, the elected socialist president in Chile.

Never saw an act of violence he didn't like. Just the worst of the worst. However, he was not unique. This is pretty much typical foreign policy nonsense,CFR, establishment, neocon, whatever. Just like the near universal support for the 2003 Iraq War which Kissinger supported as well.

Quote

For a diplomat who always saw America as a pre-eminent player in the global power game, that was a virtually unthinkable prospect.

 Exactly right. Resulting in the deaths of countless numbers. Why would I hold this guy up as a hero? It's embarrassing. 

Quote

In 2011, Kissinger published On China, chronicling the evolution of Sino-American relations and laying out the challenges to a partnership of "genuine strategic trust" between the U.S. and China

 From wikipedia. LOL what an idoit. 

Quote

In the Rio Tinto espionage case of 2009–2010, Kissinger was paid $5 million to advise the multinational mining company how to distance itself from an employee who had been arrested in China for bribery.^[193]

Also from wikipedia. 

Henry A. Kissinger Looks Back on the Cold War | Council on Foreign Relations (cfr.org)

Quote

HAASS: In some ways, you've anticipated my next question. When Kennan wrote about containment, he obviously had the idea of resisting what he called, you know, the Soviet encroachment and spread, but he also predicted that if we were successful with that, it would encourage or bring about internal change. So when you all developed and elaborated the notion of détente, what was the balance in your thinking between simply making conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union less likely, if you will, calming the Cold War? And to what extent was your objective, also, to bring about fundamental change within the Soviet Union?

KISSINGER: We had no fixed idea about the latter. The thing that concerned us was we had inherited a war in Vietnam, which showed what can happen in the United States if the American people lose faith in their leadership. And so we were sort of obsessed with the idea that we had to show to the American people that if there were a crisis, we had done everything that could rationally be done to avoid the crisis.

And as some of you—maybe many of you remember, we were very adamant when there was any challenge to the balance of power and very willing to resist and go to great lengths to resist in specific challenges. But we thought there were—there were things to be accomplished. One, to demonstrate to the American public that we were serious and that we had a concept of peace and of international order. Secondly, to convey to the Soviet Union that if they wanted to behave like a national state, pursuing national interests, it was possible for—at least to explore accommodations with us. We thought in a vague way that in this process the Soviet Union would probably have to modify its domestic institutions.

But I don't want to predict—pretend that conversion of the Soviet system was the top item on this list. The top item on the list for us was to manage the Cold War and to transform it into an international system. We did think that in the course of it, the Soviet system would probably not be modified, but it's the first two items to which we gave attention. And we conducted the European Security Conference from that point of view.

When Ronald Reagan and the Pope teamed up to humiliate the Soviets and win the Cold War, Kissinger et al fought them tooth and nail, every step of the way.

For the course of my entire lifetime, dude has been wrong about everything. Baseball has the concept of "wins above replacement". My only response is confusion. What wins are they talking about? All I see is bad decisions that got lots of people killed. Why do they glorify the guy instead of pointing and laughing at a lifetime of failed policy decisions? He is a shining example of what not to do.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Thetexashammer

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

I watched the first 20 minutes of this this morning.

 

https://www.c-span.org/video/?165066-1/the-trial-henry-kissinger

 

Not super flattering.  

 

 

(I will note that I don't want to just pile on.  I recognize I'm only hearing the prosecution and not the defense.)

[Schulz2.0 29000]

 

[Born to Run 6569]

boggles
You haven't passed a History class since Junior High, have you?

Good old bag of hammers.

[YGIFS 19452]

I'm just chiming in to say that it's been most entertaining this morning listening/reading to folks around my age who were born in/around the time of Kissinger's influence.  But they don't really know anything about him or his works, just that contemporary people they don't like are happy he's dead and so that must mean that they must defend him to combat that.  Only they have no fucking idea where to start.  They just kinda know his name, know he was powerful for awhile a long time ago, lived a long time, and pissed off people they feel they are supposed to despise so they must rise up to defend him and his legacy.  It's sad.  But it's also fucking hilarious.  

Kissinger is just the latest example of somehow, magically everybody I know now gets to start conversations with "As a student of history, lemme tell you..."  

No, you're not.  He's dead and you're still embracing stupid.

[MissingInAction 25144]

Fuck this guy.

[Harrison Stafford 3335]

If Nixon and Kissinger hadn’t established ties with the Chicomms during the Cold War, China wouldn’t be the world power it is today controlling a much larger share of global GDP than the Soviets ever did.  Aiding China’s reentry into the international scene has been a long-term strategic catastrophe.  Thanks a lot, Hank.  And as we used to say when I was at UT, “Dick Nixon before he dicks you”.

[Beau Vine 54340]

 

[YGIFS 19452]

Since seeing him at LBJ Library a few years back, I've been meaning to fully unpack his role in China's pivot to a Communist Economic Superpower, but never really knew where to get started with unbiased, fact-based research.  I know about 1,000 people who like to throw the word "ChiComs!" & "CCP" around and claim we're placating them too much, then they mumble something about tariffs or lack of tariffs or too many tariffs.  And those same people this morning are upset that Kissinger is being disrespected by certain news outlets even though they're not entirely sure who exactly he was other than a Jew-ish looking person who worked with some Republicans awhile back.  Maybe Ford, maybe Eisenhower, probably not a Bush though maybe?  

But where's a good place to start for understanding how Kissinger had such a large role in what we vilify China over these days?  

Also, I love that his family fled Nazi Fascism in 1938 for America.  Sure hope his grandkids don't have exit visa issues.  

[Hefeweizen 5328]

10 hours ago, Rimbo said:

boggles

You haven't passed a History class since Junior High, have you?

I think that guy may be dumber than a box of hammers.

[UpperWestside 6184]

5 hours ago, BamaATL said:

When 99 years of being wrong just isn't enough.  

I got 99 problems, but a hundred year old Kissinger ain’t one.

[Brian Fantana 6690]

Burn in hell, cocksucker.

[FartingMonk 3608]

He is the very definition of a wolf in sheep's clothing.  I hope someone shits on his grave everyday 

[Beau Vine 54340]

 

[Rimbo 26031]

 

[Superhero 8833]

2 hours ago, Harrison Stafford said:

If Nixon and Kissinger hadn’t established ties with the Chicomms during the Cold War, China wouldn’t be the world power it is today controlling a much larger share of global GDP than the Soviets ever did.  Aiding China’s reentry into the international scene has been a long-term strategic catastrophe.  Thanks a lot, Hank.  And as we used to say when I was at UT, “Dick Nixon before he dicks you”.

My dad was a diplomat for Taiwan. He was stationed in Seattle in 1979 when the US officially recognized China. I remember him coming home ashened faced because it was a big fucking deal. Granted the US still supports Taiwan militarily, and may come to Taiwan's aid if China attacks, but my thought is the US wouldn't give a shit once TSMC moves a bulk of their manufacturing to Arizona.

I just hope my parents will be granted asylum to the US when that happens.

[butthurt 1525]

[GopherRock 1765]

Worms have to eat, too.

[Constant 6752]

Why the fuck does a guy like him get to live to 100? Spit on that grave. 

[cactusflinthead 27601]

Every single person who died in Vietnam between autumn 1968 and the Fall of Saigon — and all who died in Laos and Cambodia, where Nixon and Kissinger secretly expanded the war within months of taking office, as well as all who died in the aftermath, like the Cambodian genocide their destabilization set into motion — died because of Henry Kissinger.

----

. So the U.S. let Khan’s forces rape and murder at least 300,000 people — and perhaps three million. “We can’t allow a friend of ours and China’s to get screwed in a conflict with a friend of India’s,” Nixon quoted Kissinger shrugging. 

---

Korry was wrong in the end. Kissinger’s policy of overthrowing Allende — “Why not support extremists?” he spitballed in a December 1970 White House meeting with the CIA’s covert-operations chief, Tom Karamessines — paid off on September 11, 1973, when a military junta took power, prompting Allende’s suicide. He would be among the first of 3,200 Chileans to die violently under the 17-year regime of Augusto Pinochet and his Caravana de la Muerte, to say nothing of the tens of thousands tortured and imprisoned. “In the Eisenhower period, we would be heroes,

 

 

 

[Rimbo 26031]

50 minutes ago, cactusflinthead said:

Every single person who died in Vietnam between autumn 1968 and the Fall of Saigon — and all who died in Laos and Cambodia, where Nixon and Kissinger secretly expanded the war within months of taking office, as well as all who died in the aftermath, like the Cambodian genocide their destabilization set into motion — died because of Henry Kissinger.

----

. So the U.S. let Khan’s forces rape and murder at least 300,000 people — and perhaps three million. “We can’t allow a friend of ours and China’s to get screwed in a conflict with a friend of India’s,” Nixon quoted Kissinger shrugging. 

---

Korry was wrong in the end. Kissinger’s policy of overthrowing Allende — “Why not support extremists?” he spitballed in a December 1970 White House meeting with the CIA’s covert-operations chief, Tom Karamessines — paid off on September 11, 1973, when a military junta took power, prompting Allende’s suicide. He would be among the first of 3,200 Chileans to die violently under the 17-year regime of Augusto Pinochet and his Caravana de la Muerte, to say nothing of the tens of thousands tortured and imprisoned. “In the Eisenhower period, we would be heroes,

 

 

 

Just want to say: The CIA didn't overthrow Allende all by themselves. They actively supported it with resources, and deserve the hate they get for that, but Allende was doomed and the coup would've happened without the CIA's help.

Pet peeve of mine. Americans hold this view as if Chileans themselves had no agency or involvement.

Think of what's going on in the USA now, and how regimes like Russia, Iran, China and India use us against ourselves to try and destabilize us. Similar thing: If we get our shit together, their help doesn't matter.

[HouTex 1888]

19 hours ago, Thetexashammer said:

Who made him some kind of hero? The foreign policy establishment. It's like giving Yasser Arafat the Nobel Peace Prize. I never heard him contribute anything good or insightful. It's like doubling down on stupidity.

I don't condemn him nor approve of him. I just wonder why people thought he was relevant to anything.

Interesting post.  I assume you know that, speaking of Nobel Peace Prizes, Kissinger did receive the Nobel Prize for peace.  

[Thetexashammer 1062]

Just now, HouTex said:

Interesting post.  I assume you know that, speaking of Nobel Peace Prizes, Kissinger did receive the Nobel Prize for peace.  

Yes, but I don't have the time to go down that rabbit hole. 

The article tweeted about: Henry Kissinger, War Criminal, Dead at 100 (rollingstone.com) I endorse the entire, with one exception.

In the public mind, Kissinger is responsible. However, he was merely an advisor. He was never chain of command, he had no legal authority to order anything, not since his time in the military. He was merely a staffer. Obviously a good adviser is persuasive and wields influence effectively, and you are certainly morally responsible for your advice. But his status as an advisor mitigates his responsibility, somewhat.

So not a war criminal in my mind. Despicable, outsized impact surely, but not philosophically different than a thousand other establishment assholes.

 

[Saint Tacky 1614]

The only kind word I have for the man is that he did like the Texas Longhorns.