Events That Attained Henry Kissinger Notoriety
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has died at the age of 100. Kissinger served as a top diplomat and national security adviser during the Nixon and Ford administrations. While he was loved by some in the US elite, others hated him for his involvement in wars abroad.
Here are some notable events and actions that gained Henry Kissinger notoriety:
1) Kissinger orchestrated a military coup in Chile, leading to the oppressive Pinochet dictatorship and the disappearance and execution of tens of thousands of people.
2) He supported the Argentinian dictatorship’s crackdown, resulting in the kidnapping, torture, and killing of thousands.
3) Kissinger urged General Suharto, an Indonesian army officer and politician, to “act quickly,” adding “It is important that whatever you do succeeds quickly,” which led to the murder of at least a quarter of a million Timorese during the Japanese Indonesian occupation.
4) He undermined Vietnamese peace talks “for personal gain”, expanded the war into Laos and Cambodia, and advocated for extensive bombing, resulting in an estimated 2 million Vietnamese deaths.
5) Kissinger ordered indiscriminate bombing in Cambodia, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians. The official numbers are difficult to verify, and Kissinger claimed they were unpopulated areas.
6) He famously said, “The illegal we do immediately; the unconstitutional takes a little longer,” reflecting his approach.
7) He encouraged the Kurds to rebel against Iraq with promises of aid in the 1970s. He never intended for the rebellion to succeed, but just to put enough pressure on Iraq to cut a deal with Shah’s Iran.
On the other hand, some believe that Kissinger made efforts to promote world peace:
1) He was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for his role in the negotiations that led to the Peace Agreement in Vietnam, although Mr. Le Duc Tho declined the prize.
2) Kissinger played a big part in promoting black majority rule in Southern Rhodesia, which is now called Zimbabwe. In 1976, he had negotiations with Ian Smith to deal with the problems in Southern Africa. He wanted to avoid a big fight and worked to find a peaceful way to end the rule of the white minority group. However, his actions were not out of love for the blacks but also a way to prevent the conflict from turning into a Cold War issue. The freedom fighters were getting support from Russia and China, who were against the United States and its friends.
Kissinger’s passing is seen as the end of an era, marking the loss of a major figure in the 20th century.
