A rude manipulator or a brilliant diplomat? Henry Kissinger is 100 years old

A common theme in Kissinger’s career is what is called realpolitik, or a form of practical politics. Kissinger was – and hates ideology. Serving America’s interests as best as possible in the world order and balance of power was most important to him. He knew how to party against each other like no other.

For example, America’s proximity to China did not lead to difficulties in relations with Moscow, as expected. Shortly after his meeting with Mao, Nixon also traveled to Moscow to negotiate the first SALT agreement, which provided for the reduction of strategic nuclear weapons. Thus Kissinger was the architect of ‘detente’ (relaxation period) in the Cold War.

In 1973, Kissinger and North Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho were both awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The award was controversial. Kissinger did not take the award. He donated the money to a charity for the children of fallen Americans. Le Duc Tho refused the award, as there was still no peace in Vietnam.

Kissinger’s realpolitik brought great diplomatic success, with praise and magazine articles in newspapers such as Time and Newsweek. But there was also an important dark side. Because although the Cold War was partially defused by Kissinger’s actions, it remained unstable, especially in South America, Africa and Asia.

For example, in 1973 the president elected by the socialist Salvador Allende of Chile was expelled and killed with the help of the United States, and was followed by the dictator Pinochet. In addition, Kissinger supported the Indonesian government in the bloody suppression of the freedom struggle in East Timor, the brutal suppression of the Pakistani army in East Pakistan and the rebellion that led to the liberation of Bangladesh at the cost of one million victims.

Kissinger’s support for the bombing of Cambodia, according to his critics, caused the population to embrace the Khmer Rouge regime, eventually leading to genocide.

Kissinger is still making his voice heard on the world stage. For example, he recently warned on various platforms about the dangers of a new arms race and uncontrolled artificial intelligence.

He was also recently a guest on a news program on the American channel CBS. When asked, he replied that Chinese President Xi Jinping might answer the phone personally if a Kissinger ally were to call Beijing. “And Putin?” asked the announcer. “Probably.”

Watch an excerpt here:

Unfortunately, Kissinger is no longer accepted everywhere. He can no longer travel to countries like Chile, Argentina and Spain, where judges are asking for his arrest and testimony on behalf of relatives of victims of US aid to military regimes.