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Henry Kissinger Has Died

nytimes.com

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Re: Henry Kissinger Has Died

#481

Post by [deleted] »

FergusArgyll wrote: post #457
leobg wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. What a refreshing directness: > He was a swine of a man and a jabbering dupe of a president. Nixon was so crooked that he needed servants to help him screw his pants on every morning. Even his funeral was illegal. He was queer in the deepest way. His body should have been burned in a trash bin. How come they could publish this without getting sued into oblivion?

There's a little known law in the USA which states the following; "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." It's not always followed but it does remain fairly important in the mind of Ame…

[deleted]

Re: Henry Kissinger Has Died

#482

Post by yanellena »

hilux wrote: post #466
seanhunter wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're expecting a podcast titled "Behind the Bastards" to be an objective source?

I listened to it once based on some redditor's enthusiastic recommendation, and it was as bad (i.e. blatantly unapologetically biased) as you might expect.

It's entertainment podcast first and history second but the sources are always listed and it's usually pretty well researched.

Re: Henry Kissinger Has Died

#483

Post by nabla9 »

stareatgoats wrote: post #460

RIP Henry Kissinger. I am as far apart on the political spectrum from Kissinger as can be imagined, but it is useless to imagine a counterfactual, somehow better, history where he did not make his mark. We often think powerful people have the power to command the course of history, and therefore is somehow more culpable than the cheering onlooker. But we are all vessels on the tides of history. Applying criminal law…

Kissinger's book "Diplomacy”(1994) is incredibly good and well-written Must read for anyone interested in international politics.

To understand Kissinger, you must understand his worldview. He had an acute sense of tragedy, and understanding that things can go wrong in an instant. For him the job of foreign policy was very modest: to keep the most horrible disasters away by using power against power. By preventing the worst from happening, others had the opportunity to better the humanity. Cynical realpolitik was necessary to prevent everything from going to hell.

In the last 30 years Kissinger was not very consistent or well thought in his opinions in public. He just wanted to get included and consulted in the highest level, so his opinions were often grafted to be accepted. For example, the plan to invade Iraq was fundamentally against Kissinger's realpolitik world view. Neoconservative foreign policy is idealistic (spread democracy trough military strength) but Kissinger rationalized the invasion for neocons.

Re: Henry Kissinger Has Died

#485

Post by forinti »

bell-cot wrote: post #458
sdiq wrote: post #398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think many people from the Global South would agree with you and not just Africans. That was also exactly my thought when i read the headline, even though he did nothing against my native Kenya. Also, the phrase "Third World" isn't the most appropriate one to describe a good chunk of the world.

"Third World" is very much a Cold War term, with roots in French history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World#Etymology While often used in condescending or pejorative ways...do consider what happened to the French First Estate and Second Estate during the French Revolution.

I prefer to use "peripheral economies". It's even more pejorative but it shows the way and better describes the situation.

"Third world" actually seems like an euphemism to me. It makes me think of a race and gives you the false hope of improving in the future by just playing along the same game.

Re: Henry Kissinger Has Died

#486

Post by warbaker »

warbaker wrote: post #393

Kissinger gets a lot of flak for the bombings in Cambodia and Vietnam, but... I mean, it was awful when the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, and it was also awful when the Viet Cong took over Vietnam. The Khmer Rouge murdered 25% of the country! 2 million people!! https://sfi.usc.edu/collections/cambodian-genocide The Viet Cong were also horrible (excepting, of course, their intervention in Cambodia against the Khmer…

Can't say I'm surprised that this is my most downvoted post! HN, classy as ever.

Re: Henry Kissinger Has Died

#487

Post by yakshaving_jgt »

ReptileMan wrote: post #478
mrweasel wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's a generational thing. Kissinger should have stopped commenting on world affairs 20 decades ago. It became increasingly oblivious that the world was evolving in a direction he didn't understand or comprehend. He continued to attempt to apply his cold war era world view and solutions to current issues, when it was obvious to most that his ideas where nonsense. An example: His idea that Ukraine should give…

> His idea that Ukraine should give up territory to please Russia made it clear that he don't understand modern Russia or Putin. It's not a conflict in which he has no relevant experience or any deep insight, yet he felt the need to use his influence to present his poorly thought out idea. And yet it is exactly this behind the scenes that Ukraine European backers are pushing Zelensky to do. When it is clear that the…

Which ones? You mean russian puppets like Orban and Fico?

Re: Henry Kissinger Has Died

#488

Post by chris_wot »

Aicy wrote: post #475
aniforprez wrote: post #467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What "nuance and unbiased conversation". Forgive me for not giving an inch to someone who watched as millions were murdered by bombs. A factual retelling of the man's "achievements" should make any sane person cringe with disbelief that he lived to be a hundred and wasn't jailed. There's a time and place for multiple viewpoints and this is not it. Sometimes "the other side" really has no place

This leads to a dangerous path. If you are not willing to engage with or understand the other side of the debate you will have no capacity to understand or debate the modern day Kissingers who are currently in government.

How does that follow? Firstly, he likely understands the “other side of the debate”, but even if he didn’t, how does that preclude him from understanding modern Kissingers?
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