It stands to reason he must have been doing something right to have stayed so close to the halls of power.
I was a toddler when he was carpet bombing Cambodia, never knew him as anything but “an important person” that was sometimes on the TV. Only learned of his crimes in the past decade.
How did an in-your-face war criminal retain such influence for so long?
He made the ruling class a ton of money. Here’s just a few things he did…
Kissinger sabotaged peace talks in Vietnam: He leaked information to Nixon’s campaign in 1968 to prevent a deal between Johnson and Hanoi, prolonging the war for four more years and killing millions of people.
Kissinger orchestrated the coup in Chile: He supported the overthrow of the democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende in 1973, and backed the brutal dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, who tortured and killed thousands of dissidents and implemented neoliberal policies that harmed the majority of Chileans.
Kissinger enabled genocide and repression: He ignored or encouraged the atrocities committed by U.S. allies in Bangladesh, East Timor, Indonesia, Pakistan, and elsewhere, and participated in Operation Condor, a campaign of assassinations of left-wing activists across Latin America.
Kissinger expanded U.S. bombing and intervention: He secretly bombed Cambodia and Laos, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians and paving the way for the Khmer Rouge genocide. He also set the precedent for U.S. presidents to bomb countries without congressional or public oversight, as seen in the War on Terror.
Kissinger was celebrated by the U.S. elite: He received praise and awards from presidents, politicians, journalists, and academics, who admired his geopolitical strategy and ignored or justified his crimes. He was also an informal adviser to several administrations, including Bush and Obama
And he was sold on Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. Karma.
Any source that he advised Obama? I’m curious because it sounds like Obama wasn’t a particular fan of his:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/us/politics/kissinger-biden-trump-nixon-presidents.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/04/the-obama-doctrine/471525/
That’s very much what I’m asking! I’m well aware of his sins, but was his influence 100% from making the rich richer?
His influence was largely because his geopolitical philosophy of Realpolitik was “effective” in that it ruthlessly pursued power over all else. For a series of presidents seeking hegemonic control that is valuable in and of itself.
Making the rich richer is what keeps most politicians in power. If you aren’t making lots of money you don’t matter.
Large, robust response.
This guy plucks out 5 words and completely misses the plot.