Debates On Kissinger’s Legacy

Obituaries and commentaries published after the death of former United States Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Henry Alfred Kissinger (1923-2023) described him as “the master of events” with a long journey of exemplary career.  He was the “Cold War’s most powerful Secretary of State and a peerless elder statesman,” with a complex legacy. There are both critics and admirers describing him as “one of the most controversial and influential foreign policy thinkers and practitioners of the past 50 years.”  They are divided on whether he was a “towering statesman or war criminal?”   

Kissinger came to the US in 1938, to escape Hitler’s Germany. He was back in Germany serving the US Army after World War II.  He attended Harvard University, obtained his Ph.D. and taught from 1954-1969. His writings on nuclear warfare and foreign policy went to be noticed by President Dwight Eisenhower, Vice-President Richard Nixon and New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller. He was foreign policy adviser during the Rockefeller presidential campaign in 1960, 1964 and 1968.   After Nixon was elected as the president of the United States in 1967, Kissinger was appointed as his National Security Adviser and Secretary of State, serving simultaneously. Kissinger and Vietnamese leader Le Duc Tho were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973. Tho declined, Kissinger humbly accepted the honor. 

Whether in or out of office, Kissinger was always in “the spotlight of global geopolitics.” He played important roles in three big transformations: withdrawal from Vietnam, the opening to China and shaping American foreign policy towards the Soviet Union.  In July 1971, Kissinger’s secret visit to Beijing laid the ground work for President Nixon's historic trip to China in 1972, paving way for reforms and opening.  Kissinger told his Chinese host Premier Zhou Enlai, “Reality has brought us together and we believe that reality will shape our future.” 

Renowned strategist 

China held Kissinger in high esteem, and described him as best known in China and all over the world for diplomacy to seek common ground while reserving differences. In his condolence message sent to President Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping called Kissinger “a world-renowned strategist.”  Prominent Chinese scholars praised Kissinger for his use of “realism to the extreme in virtuous and rational way and his ability “to transcend differences with other countries without strong political and ideological biases.” China wanted Kissinger to play a role in Xi-Biden meeting in San Francisco in September, but he was too frail.   

Before death, Nixon reportedly regretted with his speechwriter creating a “Frankenstein,” with Kissinger.  Kissinger continued to promote China until his last days, as evidenced by his visit at the age of 100.  Today’s reality is US-China relationship is not only “shaping the future,” but also shaking the world. After Nixon’s resignation amid the Watergate scandal, Kissinger held the same two positions for President Gerald Ford. In 1975, Kissinger relinquished the National Security job at President’s suggestion, coinciding with Congress becoming assertive in foreign policy, legislating issues including arms control, human rights, and foreign military issues. 

Kissinger’s critics blamed him for his policies in support of repressive regimes, citing support to Chilean general August Pinochet, who overthrew democratically elected socialist President Salvador Allende. Kissinger brushed aside State Department officials’ pleas to hold Pinochet accountable for his human rights abuses.  Kissinger is criticized for his support of “massive bombing campaign of  Cambodia”  that led to its destabilization, paving the way for the Khmer Rouge to move into the vacuum and killing 2 million people - a quarter of country’s population. US’s green signal to President Suharto was said to be “fundamental to Indonesia’s invasion and occupation,” of East Timor.

Garry J. Bass, author of “The Blood Telegram, Nixon, Kissinger and a Forgotten Genocide” highlights Kissinger’s indifference to “the worst atrocities” in the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) under  Pakistani military ruler Yahya Khan, resulting in the loss of millions of civilian lives.  Kissinger is said to have written back to diplomatic personnel, “do not squeeze Yahya at this time.”  Pakistan was an important American client during the Cold War, and helped get Kissinger into China July 1971.  He justified these actions on the basis of national security interests. He was a practitioner of “Realpolitik” which requires doing unpleasant things with unpleasant people. To Kissinger, The Economist writes: “principles often took a back seat to national interests.” 

Though Kissinger retired from the office with Jimmy Carter’s election as the President, he continued to advice on foreign policy issues for years.  President Carter was so admiring that he awarded Kissinger the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. Graham Allison, author of “Destined for War, Can America and China escape Thucydides’ Trap?”  calls Kissinger his greatest mentor because he was “the exemplary statesman as applied historian.” To President George W. Bush, Kissinger was “one of its most dependable and distinctive voices on foreign affairs.” Kissinger “thrived on attention,” was a skilled global strategist, and world class negotiator. He is credited to have transformed the world by breaking down barriers and fostering common ground. 

Nepal in Kissinger’s perspective 

Kissinger wrote in his book World Order 2014, (p.179),   “For centuries Nepal skillfully balanced its diplomatic posture between the ruling dynasties in China and those in India –offering letters and gifts that were interpreted as tribute China but recorded as evidence of equal exchanges in Nepal, then holding out a special tie with China as a guarantee of Nepal’s independence vis-à-vis India.”  

In 1983, the late King Birendra visited the United States. President Ronald Reagan welcomed the King by describing “Nepal as a neighbour on the other side of the world,” lent his support to King’s proposal to have Nepal declared as a Zone of Peace and advised, “Nepal should work closely with her neighbors to make the Peace Zone proposal a reality.”  Kissinger, in a brief encounter with the Nepali press after meeting the King during his US visit, said that for Nepal “being surrounded by great powers, a little country between two elephants, it is important to have a Zone of Peace” (Call for Peace, 1983, 17). Kissinger visited Nepal in January 1985 and was hosted by the Nepal Council of World Affairs. Dissecting his writings could provide insights into the interplay among big powers in the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. 

(Bhattarai, Ph. D., is a faculty member of the Institute of Crisis Management Studies (ICMS), Tribhuvan University. dineshbhattarai@tuicms.edu.np)