Henry Kissinger, the former US National Security Adviser and Secretary of State was celebrated and criticised. But any way you look at him and his legacy, one thing is certain. He was one of the top statesmen who shaped not only US foreign policy but in turn global politics. For some, he was a ‘world statesman’ others openly called him a ‘war criminal’ for fallout of actions he took through his diplomacy.
For Kissinger, by his own admission, power was the ultimate aphrodisiac. But he dated some actresses like Jill St. John, the first American bond girl, Marsha Metrinko and others of media reports over decades are to be believed. It is also said that he never was a playboy and this was a media-generated image.
Gravitas: How Henry Kissinger Went From India-hater to Urging for Stronger Ties
One thing is for sure, Kissinger had firm control on US foreign policy as secretary of state during the years of President Richard Nixon. The two were unusually close although there were differences between them about management of some world conflicts.
The Nixon doctrine
The so-called ‘Nixon doctrine’ of US policy can safely be called Nixon-Kissinger doctrine, such was Kissinger’s influence. This approach was announced by President Nixon in 1969. This doctrine said that the US should help its allies with economic and military aid when a conflict occurs and should avoid sending US troops. Nixon even said that the United States could no longer afford to defend its allies fully. The US would ofcourse uphold treaty obligations but would also expect allies to contribute for their own defence.
Having said this, Nixon assured the allies that US nuclear assets would continue to protect them in case of a nuclear threat.
The Nixon doctrine was announced at the time of the Vietnam War. And in contradiction to what the doctrine said, US troops were already involved in the conflict.
Although Nixon announced the doctrine, the US did not fully adhere to it as it was seen in the invasions of Cambodia (1970) and Laos (1971).
Henry Kissinger was called a realist who put stock in realpolitik, that is, taking decisions on practicality and real situation rather than on moral considerations.
Kissinger was credited with some of the major foreign policy successes.
Rapprochement with China
China and the US have sparred over Taiwan for decades. During Kissinger’s time, though China was not as formidable global power as it is now, it was firm on its position that Taiwan was part of its own territory. Kissinger developed what is called ‘triangular diplomacy’ and sought to align the US with China in order to form a semblance of coalition against China’s Communist rival Soviet Russia, which was a US adversary too.
Though positions of US and China on Taiwan were poles apart, Kissinger’s diplomatic efforts with top Chinese leadership resulted in the groundbreaking 1972 summit between Nixon, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, and Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong.
Detente with Soviet Union
America’s efforts to draw closer to China did not mean it abandoned the policy of stabilising relations with the Soviet Union. And Kissinger had a part to play in this.
He developed a policy with an aim of establishing warmer political ties with the Soviet Union. Kissinger’s efforts eventually culminated in revival of talks between the two superpowers to mutually reduce the size of their own nuclear arsenal.
The US and Soviet Russia signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, SALT I and SALT II, in 1972 and 1979 respectively.
Shuttle diplomacy
So indelible is Kissinger’s mark on the world and art of diplomacy that a separate term was coined to describe his efforts towrads cessation of hostilities in Arab-Israel war of 1973.
A shuttle diplomacy is when two mediating parties do not have direct contact and a mediator travels between the principal locations of each in order to carry on the negotiation. Kissinger’s effort in the 1973 war, also known as the Yom Kippur War helped disengage the warring sides.
Kissinger and controversies
Kissinger was undoubtedly one of the most prominent diplomats of the 20th century, one who definitely shaped the contours of world politics. There are no two opinions in this limited context. However, Kissinger’s critics have even called him a ‘war criminal’ because of the direct or indirect effects of his diplomatic strategies.
Although Kissinger was heavily involved in the diplomatic efforts surrounding the Vietnam war, some of his critics say that he efforts worsened the situation. He also faced flak for America’s bombing of Cambodia, which was a noncombatant country in the context of the Vietnam war.
Kissinger has also been accused of supporting anti-democratic activities of right-wing governments in Latin America by wat of inaction.
Then there are again the allegations that Nixon and Kissinger were ignoring mass atrocities and murders committed by Pakistani Army in erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and even nudged the Chinese to attack India when it sent troops to liberate Bangladesh.
An unapologetic Realist, Kissinger did play his cards the way he wanted to. With his passing, another major personality, however controversial, from the Cold War era, is lost to time.
