War Criminal Henry Kissinger Dead at 100
The man responsible for the deaths of approx. 3 to 4 million people dies
It is hard to even put into words how vile and monstrous of a statesman Henry Kissinger was.
Perhaps it was best surmised by the late Anthony Bourdain who wrote in 2001, "Once you've been to Cambodia, you'll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands."
In his book, “Kissinger’s Shadow,” Yale University historian Greg Grandin estimates that his actions as National Security Advisor for Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford between 1969 to 1976 killed approximately three to four million people.
The worst part of it all is Kissinger got to live a comfortable 100 years as a free man and was never tried for his crimes against humanity.
Here is a brief overview of some of Kissinger’s crimes.
CAMBODIA
As National Security Advisor and Secretary of State under President Richard Nixon, Kissinger oversaw the extensive bombing of significant areas in Cambodia, which U.S. officials argued were havens for communist insurgents from South Vietnam and North Vietnamese soldiers.
Yale University historian, Ben Kiernan, estimates that around 500,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Cambodia between 1969 and 1973. Kiernan estimates that 150,000 civilians were killed during this period.
This campaign was referred to as “Operation Menu.”
Operation Menu was deliberately kept secret from the American public for several decades. However — leaked documents and declassified records confirm that Kissinger approved each of the 3,875 Cambodia bombing raids.
These documents led to fierce criticisms of Kissinger which he routinely dismissed and made excuses for.
In a 2014 interview with NPR, Kissinger said, “I think we would find, if you study the conduct of guerrilla-type wars, that the Obama administration has hit more targets on a broader scale than the Nixon administration ever did.”
Historians directly credit the rise of the Khmer Rouge regime to the U.S. bombing campaign of Cambodia.
In 1970, Prince Norodom Sihanouk was removed from power in a coup orchestrated by U.S.-supported General Lon Nol. The conflict then escalated as Lon Nol intensified the battle against Vietnamese and Cambodian communists.
As a result, Sihanouk aligned himself with Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, encouraging Cambodians to unite against Lon Nol's government.
This regime ultimately succumbed to Pol Pot's forces in 1975.
During its four-year rule, the Khmer Rouge regime killed an estimated 2 million people or approximately 1 in 4 Cambodians.
In 2009 there was a UN-backed tribunal that led to the convictions of three people involved in the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge regime.
Kaing Khek Iev, a former Khmer Rouge jailer, said at the time that, "Mr Richard Nixon and Kissinger allowed the Khmer Rouge to grasp golden opportunities."
Of course, Kissinger always maintained that the U.S. decision to bomb Cambodia could not be linked to Pol Pot’s killings.
CHILE
When socialist President, Salvador Allende, was elected in Chile on September 4th, 1970, the CIA launched a covert operation to thwart his presidency.
Kissinger oversaw the operation known as “Project FUBELT.”
Project FUBELT led to the assassination of General René Schneider, the pro-constitution commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army. However — the operation failed to incite a military coup.
This failure did not stop Nixon who scheduled a meeting with his National Security Council (NSC) the day after Allende’s inauguration.
Kissinger had the meeting postponed by one day and lobbied Nixon to prevent Allende from consolidating his power.
In a declassified document sent from Kissinger to Nixon, Kissinger states, “In my judgment the dangers of doing nothing are greater than the risks we run in trying to do something.”
Nixon approved Kissinger’s destabilization policy.
At the NSC meeting, Nixon backed Kissinger saying, “Our main concern in Chile is the prospect that he [Allende] can consolidate himself and the picture presented to the world will be his success.”
On September 11th, 1973, Kissinger’s plan came to fruition and a coup commenced which saw the death of Allende and the installment of General Augusto Pinochet.
Kissinger introduced policies to assist the new military regime under Pinochet.
During his seventeen-year reign, more than 3,000 people were killed or went missing and 200,000 fled into exile.
BANGLADESH
On March 25th, 1971, the Pakistani Army launched an offensive to crack down on separatists in the east.
During the midway point of the war, the CIA and State Department estimated that approximately 200,000 people had died. The Bangladesh government has estimated that the casualties were much higher at about three million.
Kissinger and Nixon supported the Pakistani government as they opened fire against their civilians.
India backed the East Pakistani nationalists in their struggle for independence against West Pakistan, a key ally of the United States.
It was no secret that both Kissinger and Nixon despised India.
In leaked tapes from 1971, Kissinger remarked “They’re such bastards” to which Nixon replied, “What they really need is a mass famine.”
This conflict eventually resulted in the creation of the independent state of Bangladesh, a development that Nixon and Kissinger sought to avert.
Kissinger and Nixon did not care nor did they attempt to prevent the suffering of the Bengali people during this war.
HENRY KISSINGER IS DEAD
While this barely begins to scratch the surface of the atrocities committed by Kissinger during his long life it hopefully provides a good starting point to understand why people hold him in such contempt around the world.
He was never tried for his war crimes and in fact, received recognition for them.
In 1973 he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his actions in Vietnam. A decision that was so controversial that two members of the Nobel committee resigned over it.
In a 2018 episode of “Parts Unknown,” Anthony Bourdain said, “I f—ing hate him because, in my travels, I’ve stumbled upon his good works everywhere I go.”
Kissinger’s legacy should be defined by his actions and should not be remembered as a noble statesman or “friend” that some claim him to be.