From Meet the Press (3/27/11):
GREGORY: I’ll start with you, Ted Koppel. You spent time, in your early days as a correspondent, with Henry Kissinger.
KOPPEL: I did.
GREGORY: Who knew something about the big ideas for the world. Is this administration getting the big ideas right in the–in the tumult of the Middle East?
Who knows what those “big ideas” might be. But if you want to make Ted Koppel feel comfortable, it’s good to praise Henry Kissinger– as we noted recently:
Koppel once boasted of Kissinger: “Henry Kissinger is, plain and simply, the best secretary of state we have had in 20, maybe 30 years…. I’m proud to be a friend of Henry Kissinger. He is an extraordinary man. This country has lost a lot by not having him in a position of influence and authority.”
For another view of the value of Kissinger and his “big ideas,” see my article from Extra! Update: “Questions for Kissinger Go Unasked: Journalists Show ‘Sensitivity’ to War-Crime Suspect’s Feelings” (8/01).
This is not a joke, though some might find it funny. True story.
You hear about sitting bolt upright in bed, waking up suddenly in panic and sitting bolt upright in bed, drenched in cold sweat. This has only happened to me once in my life.
I had dreamed (back in the 70s) that Henry Kissinger had been appointed permanent Secretary of State.
Kissinger was a traitor who rose to prominence by sabotaging the Paris Peace Talks to end the war in Vietnam (he was the lead negotiator, appointed by LBJ) and being rewarded for preventing any breakthrough with his SOS appointment by Nixon, who’s 1968 election he insured. Then he has proceeded to sell us out ever since.
Chomsky on Kissinger:
“Kissinger’s memoirs give the impression of a middle-level manager who has learned to conceal vacuity with pretentious verbiage…His ignorance and foolishness really are a really are a phenomenon. I’ve written about this in some detail. But he did have a marvelous talent, namely, of playing the role of the philosopher who understands profound things in ways that are beyond the capacity of the ordinary person. He played that role quite elegantly. That’s one reason why I think he was so attractive to the people who actually have power. That’s just the kind of person they need.” 2 (Chomsky 42-43)
Ah, yes… Henry Kissinger. I encountered him in person once in the airport while we both waited for the shuttle from New York City to Washington, D.C. He was with a few of his minions from his private consulting firm. It was in the 1990’s and my colleague and I were going to D.C. for a meeting. The shuttle had no assigned seating, so when boarding time came, everyone just lined up to board the plane, first come, first on. When the gate attendant announced the plane would begin the boarding process in 5 minutes, and that there were no seat assignments, Kissinger said, sotto voce, in his accented, gravelly, supposedly portentous voice to his employees, “This means I have to stand in line?” One of the underlings ran straight to the gate attendant, said a few words, pointed to the Font of All Wisdom sitting across from me, waved to his companions and Kissinger. They got up, went to the desk and were allowed to board the plane before anyone else. A true man of the people, a veritable democrat, a truly selfless individual even in such small matters… May Nemesis wreak a truly innovative launching into oblivion upon the Great One, the mastermind of the bombing of Cambodia, the Christmas bombing of Hanoi in 1972, and the 1973 coup in Chile…
this guys brain power is unequaled,the contents of approximately one peanut comes to mind.
http://www.zpub.com/un/wanted-hkiss.html
Masterminded the murder of as estimated 600,000 peasants in Cambodia (the “Secret bombing”)
Henry Kissinger: War Criminal or Old-Fashioned Murderer? – Welcome to the “Henry Kissinger: Unindicted Terrorist” file! …
Incredibly, Henry Kissingerâ┚¬”Âthe man who rivals Pol Pot for the dubious honor of being the person responsible for the death of the largest number of innocent people in South East Asia (and far surpasses Pol Pot in criminality when one factors in Kissinger’s various levels of responsibility for wholesale slaughter and repression in other parts of the world)â┚¬”Âstill wields significant power in the United States; but his role as eager facilitator of mass murder, totalitarian repression and other atrocities is never discussed in polite society.
Interesting post by Greg Driscoll. It reveals Hank Kissinger, the octogenarian war criminal, as he really is: a vain, self-important asshole. But then, it’s hard for Kissinger, this legend in his own mind, to get over the feeling that the Great Unwashed should get the hell out of his way. . . .
He is still alive?Do we have a confirmation on that?He looked old in 1965!Im a little perplexed by people thinking he has any role or power today.Im sure if he actually got through the white house switchboard today Obama would say”the guy has been dead for about 30 yrs hasn’t he?Gimme the phone i’ll bet it is Ashton Kutcher trying to punk me”.
Ask any person under 30 to pick his picture out of a lineup and Im sure they would be flummoxed.Lets say we get a confirmation that he is still respirating.Is he cognizant?AS far as his record…I will still blame Nixon or Johnson or Kennedy for our part in the Vietnam debacle.JUst like I will blame Obama and not Hilary for the boneheaded play in Libya. Secretary of state is a consigliere position.And for a president there are many of those.HE(The prez)pulls the trigger.Let us say his advice was not always sound.
My goodness, but I never agreed so whole-heartedly with every single comment before on anything. You are all correct.
But I would like to add one thing. Henry was about as mediocre a mind as they get. As a student in the sixties in International Affairs, we had to read his books. They were atrocious! What is more, the second contradicted the first, the third the second, the fourth the third, etc. All were rabidly violent in the recommendations made. Tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, wow! All the bastard was doing was trimming his sails on a continuing basis so he could get the big job.
I didn’t know Henry, but I believe that I saw much through a small window when he proclaimed that “power is the greatest aphrodesiac”.
Do a search on GOOGLE to find how this man supported Pakistani genocide during the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971 and how he blocked help to Bangladesh during the 1974 famine calling Bangladesh a â┚¬Ã‹Å“bottomless basket. Here are a couple links for your ready reference:
http://bangladeshasiasdirtylittlesecret.blogspot.com/2007/09/henry-kissinger-and-bangladesh.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4633263.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiWlsOnzhtM