U.S.
World reacts to Henry Kissinger’s death and legacy in wars
By
The Washington Post November 30, 2023
Ben Brasch, Rebecca Tan and Leo Sands
The Washington Post November 30, 2023
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger walks past a line of protesters on his way to speak at a German-American tricentennial ceremony in Worms, Germany, June 12, 1983.. At left is German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. The protesters are holding letters forming the word “freeze,” in connection with nuclear disarmament. (L. Emmett Lewis Jr./Stars and Stripes)
The death Wednesday of Henry Kissinger — a centenarian, former secretary of state and figurehead of American power on the world stage — has sparked a wave of reaction across the globe to his polarizing legacy.
He shaped world affairs under two presidents with his realpolitik approach to diplomacy and remained active in influencing U.S. foreign policy for the nearly half-century since he left government. He was an admired geopolitical strategist in Washington, while people who opposed his policy objectives often viewed his actions far more harshly.
“Secretary Kissinger really set the standard for everyone who followed in this job,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday. Blinken added that he had sought counsel from the former diplomatic chief many times, including most recently about a month ago.
“He was extraordinarily generous with his wisdom, with his advice. Few people were better students of history. Even fewer people did more to shape history than Henry Kissinger,” Blinken said.
Former president George W. Bush was among the first public figures to comment publicly on Kissinger’s death. “America has lost one of the most dependable and distinctive voices on foreign affairs,” Bush said in a statement late Wednesday, which was accompanied by a portrait of Kissinger painted by Bush. “I am grateful for that service and advice, but I am most grateful for his friendship. Laura and I will miss his wisdom, his charm and his humor.”
Critics have long held Kissinger responsible for expanding the Vietnam War to Cambodia, first with “secret bombing” in 1969 and then with an incursion into eastern Cambodia by U.S. ground forces the following year. Kissinger has been blamed by critics for coups in Chile and Cyprus, and for backing oppressive government actions in Iran and Pakistan.
Some of the reaction to Kissinger’s death was harsh. His obituary in Rolling Stone was headlined “Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America’s Ruling Class, Finally Dies.”
However, Kissinger’s supporters have argued that even his more controversial foreign policy projects promoted stability and were born of pragmatism in an effort to advance U.S. objectives. He is credited with organizing rapprochement between the United States and China, as well as orchestrating détente with the Soviet Union in the early 1970s.
Former secretary of state Mike Pompeo described Kissinger as “a model of service” and recalled his escape from Nazi Germany as a teenager, his military service during World War II and his “indelible mark on America’s history and the world.”
“I will always be grateful for his gracious advice and help during my own time as secretary,” Pompeo said on social media. “Always supportive and always informed, his wisdom made me better and more prepared after every one of our conversations.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin singled out Kissinger’s reputation as a pragmatist in a tribute that celebrated his role in that détente, describing him as an “outstanding diplomat, a wise and farsighted statesman” in a telegram sent to Nancy Kissinger, the late diplomat’s wife.
Russia’s leader praised Kissinger for his “pragmatic foreign policy line, which at one time made it possible to achieve détente in international tensions and reach the most important Soviet-American agreements that helped strengthen global security,” according to the Kremlin website.
Kissinger’s death was mourned by officials and state media in China, which he visited more than 100 times. In February 1972, he forever altered global power relations by orchestrating a historic visit by President Richard M. Nixon to China, the result of behind-the-scenes overtures that laid the groundwork for the normalization of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Washington.
Beijing’s ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, praised Kissinger for the role he played. “History will remember what the centenarian had contributed to China-U.S. relations, and he will always remain alive in the hearts of the Chinese people as a most valued old friend,” Xie said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
In the Middle East, Kissinger’s style of “shuttle diplomacy” helped stabilize Israel’s relations with the Arab world after the 1973 Middle East war and established Washington’s role as a power broker in the region — to the detriment of Soviet influence. In a statement shared to X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described him as a “giant” of “formidable intellect and diplomatic prowess.” Netanyahu said: “Each meeting with him was not just a lesson in diplomacy but also a masterclass in statesmanship.”
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida directly referenced Kissinger’s role in facilitating the rapprochement between the United States and China. “He made significant contributions to the regional peace and stability,” Kishida told reporters Thursday. “I would like to express my sincere respect to the great achievements he made.”
Another decisive foreign policy move that Kissinger made in Asia was in East Timor, half of an island in the Indonesian archipelago. In 1975, along with then-President Gerald Ford, Kissinger gave Indonesian dictator Suharto an implicit go-ahead to invade East Timor, prompting a bloody civil war and famine that left as many as 200,000 people dead, according to documents that were declassified in the early 2000s. In the following decades, even after East Timor gained independence in 2002, Kissinger denied that he played a role in Indonesia’s massacre.
“Those who follow history, who follow international politics — they know about this past, which was tragic and ugly,” José Ramos-Horta, the president of East Timor and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said in an interview Thursday with The Washington Post, in which he reflected on Kissinger’s role in greenlighting an Indonesian invasion of the former Portuguese colony decades ago.
He said he had met Kissinger several times after his country gained independence. The U.S. official was “respectful,” he said, but never directly addressed his nation’s struggle for independence.
“They are embarrassed by what they did,” Ramos-Horta said, referring to Kissinger and other U.S. officials involved in the Timor policy. “We are free now. That’s what is most important.”
Michael Birnbaum and Julia Mio Inuma contributed to this report.