Kissinger’s flair for international diplomacy brought him to the attention of Nelson Rockefeller. ibid.
In 1957 Henry Kissinger published a book called Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy in which he argued for a bomb shelter in every house, and a doctrine of limited nuclear war. ibid.
The prospect of peace gave [Hubert] Humphrey a last minute surge in the polls. ibid.
‘I had spent three presidential campaigns backing governor Nelson Rockefeller against Richard Nixon.’ ibid. Kissinger
Less than a month into Nixon’s Presidency he and Kissinger began planning an attack against North Vietnamese sanctuaries in neighbouring Cambodia. ibid.
Under the US constitution, bombing Cambodia was an act of war and it would require the approval of the US Congress. In February 1969 in a secret meeting on Air Force 1 Kissinger and his aide Alexander Haig met with Air Force Colonel Ray Sitton to plan for the secret bombing of Cambodia ... Under Kissinger’s supervision the US flew 3,600 secret missions over Cambodia in 14 months, dropping 110,000 tons of bombs. ibid.
‘Real attention to the cruelties of the detail: picking targets, selecting hamlets and villages to be bombed.’ ibid. Hitchens
Nixon decided to invade Cambodia to send a message to North Vietnam. ibid.
Kissinger told his staff: Our peerless leader has flipped out. ibid.
‘A terrible travesty that he should be awarded a peace prize.’ ibid. critic
The Khmer Rouge drew strength from the chaos of the country. When they seized power in 1975 they forced populations of entire cities back to the countryside. Then they began a policy of exterminating their enemies in execution grounds that came to be known as Killing Fields. By 1979 another three million Cambodians had lost their lives. ibid.
In July 1973 the detection of Nixon’s taping system would lead to the discovery of the Watergate cover-up, the indictment of key members of the White House staff and the end of the Nixon presidency. Nixon resigned rather than face impeachment. One of the original articles of impeachment addressed the concealment of the Cambodian bombing from Congress. When the impeachment was dropped so was the investigation into the secret bombing. ibid.
In East Timor, a small island in the Indonesian archipelago, Henry Kissinger saw a communist threat to the global balance of power. ibid.
The invasion, executions, destruction of the land and resulting famine cost the lives of over a hundred thousand Timorese. In interviews Kissinger has long denied that he discussed the invasion in the meeting with Suharto. ibid.
‘The US government knew exactly what was happening.’ ibid. Amy Goodman
Last year Kissinger was enjoying a trip to Paris when a French judge served him with a subpoena to answer questions about US involvement in Chile thirty years ago. That issue was Operation Condor: a campaign of murder and torture conducted by the regime of Augusto Pinochet. ibid.
Early in 1970 Pepsi and IT&T were concerned about political developments in Chile ... [Salvador] Allende promised to nationalise Chile’s copper industry, a direct threat to IT&T and of concern to other American corporations. ibid.
After Schneider’s death Allende was elected, but the efforts of Kissinger and Nixon to overthrow Allende would ultimately succeed. In 1973 military forces launched a coup in Santiago, killing Allende. Augusto Pinochet would assume power and begin a reign of terror that would last seventeen years. The date was September 11th. ibid.
His case raises issues about the accountability of public figures. ibid.
Any fact that needs to be disclosed should be put out now or as quickly as possible because otherwise the bleeding will not end. Henry Kissinger
Blessed are the people whose leaders can look destiny in the eye without flinching but also without attempting to play God. Henry Kissinger, The End of the Road, 1982
Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people. Henry Kissinger
Depopulation should be the highest priority or foreign policy towards the third world. Henry Kissinger, 1974
Every civilization that has ever existed has ultimately collapsed ... History is a tale of efforts that failed, of aspirations that weren’t realized ... So, as a historian, one has to live with a sense of the inevitability of tragedy. Henry Kissinger, cited The Watchtower 2004
For other nations, utopia is a blessed past never to be recovered; for Americans it is just beyond the horizon. Henry Kissinger, attributed
He [Nixon] didn’t enjoy people. What I never understood was why he went into politics ... Isolation had become almost a spiritual necessity to this withdrawn ... tormented man. Henry Kissinger
I can think of no faster way to unite the American people behind George W Bush than a terrorist attack on an American target overseas. And I believe George W Bush will quickly unite the American people through his foreign policy. Henry Kissinger
I believe that with all the dislocations we now experience there also exists an extraordinary opportunity to form for the first time in history a truly global society carried by the principle of inter-dependence, and if we act wisely and with vision I think we can look back to all this turmoil as the birth pangs of a more creative and better system. Henry Kissinger, interview 1975
I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves. Henry Kissinger
It’s not a matter of what is true that counts but a matter of what is perceived to be true. Henry Kissinger
I’ve always acted alone. Americans like that immensely ... This amazing, romantic character suits me precisely because to be alone has always been part of my style or, if you like, my technique. Henry Kissinger, interview November 1972
I was at a party and a young lady came up to me and said, Are you a swinger? And I said I’m too busy to do any public swinging. And I don’t want you to think I don’t do any swinging, so why don’t you just assume I’m a secret swinger. Henry Kissinger, televised interview
Leaders are responsible not for running public opinion polls but for the consequences of their actions. Henry A Kissinger
Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy. Henry Kissinger
My country’s history, Mister President, tells us that it is possible to fashion unity while cherishing diversity, that common action is possible despite the variety of races, interests, and beliefs we see here in this chamber. Progress and peace and justice are attainable. So we say to all peoples and governments: Let us fashion together a New World Order. Henry Kissinger, address to General Assembly of United Nations October 1975
NAFTA will represent the most creative step toward a new world order taken by any group of countries since the end of the Cold War, and the first step toward an even larger vision of a free-trade zone for the entire Western Hemisphere ... NAFTA is not a conventional trade agreement, but the architecture of a new international system. Henry Kissinger, The Los Angeles Times 18th July 1993
90% of the politicians give the other 10% a bad reputation. Henry Kissinger
[Nixon] wants a massive bombing campaign in Cambodia. He doesn’t want to hear anything about it. It’s an order, to be done. Anything that flies on anything that moves. Henry Kissinger
No foreign policy – no matter how ingenious – has any chance of success if born in the minds of a few and carried in the hearts of none. Henry Kissinger
Our nation is uniquely endowed to play a creative and decisive role in the New Order which is taking form around us. Henry Kissinger, Seattle Post 18th April 1975
Power is the great [often ultimate] aphrodisiac. Henry Kissinger, cited New York Times 19th January 1971
The American foreign policy trauma of the sixties and seventies was caused by applying valid principles to unsuitable conditions. Henry Kissinger
The illegal we do immediately; the unconstitutional takes a little longer. Henry Kissinger
The New World Order ... cannot happen without US participation, as we are the most significant single component. Yes, there will be a New World Order, and it will force the United States to change its perceptions. Henry Kissinger, press conference 19th April 1994
There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full. Henry A Kissinger