Kissinger resigns! The wily realist realized that he’d rather continue running his own private consulting practice than return to public office in this important role. And that is just the charitable version of events. The uncharitable version, let’s call it the realistic take, is that his clients are so unsavory that listing them publicly (as the ethics committee demands of all appointees at his level) would have permanently undermined his credibility. The other option, selling Kissinger Associates, was probably not feasible because—let’s face it—what the clients are paying for is his access to power, not the advice of his underlings.
But you might ask, what credibility? Chris Hitchens has been at him quite successfully, first in a book, The Trial of Henry Kissinger, in which he puts the realpolitiker on trial for war crimes, and more recently in articles pointing out the absolute hypocrisy of putting this man in charge of the 9/11 committee.
Why Republicans continue to consort with him is beyond me. Well, actually, I can understand that you would give an old operative your undying gratitude for having done all your dirty work during the Cold War, but please do it behind closed doors. (For example, invite him to Bob Bartley’s retirement bash.) Public support of this man is not justifiable; the White House’s pressure on the ethics committee to let Kissinger off the hook for the vetting process is unconscionable. But it’s always about seeing what you can get away with, isn’t it?
[Tue, Dec 17 2002 – 15:06] Charles Kenny (email) Stefan, is mentioning that exchange just a feeble attempt to dredge up replies on your recent pisspoor blogs? If so, I have fallen for it.
Talking of which, we never found out what happened with Charlie’s date. Are you shagging Leah, Charlie?
[Wed, Dec 18 2002 – 05:05] kartika (email) I hope not Charles- I have just emailed Leah to let her know of a lovely Australian friend of mine in London…
K
[Wed, Dec 18 2002 – 10:08] Matthew (www) (email) also, charles, your responses are becoming very meta. little too much discourse on the nature of responses and not a lot of responding. is it the just the dullness (dullillity?) of the short thanksgiving-to-christmas period or has washington finally turned your brain to mush?
[Wed, Dec 18 2002 – 11:01] eurof (email) charles isn’t shagging leah, but rather an apparently cutie-pie mexican girl. arjun’s met her, I haven’t.
doh!! i fell for it too. stupid blog.
while i’m at it, did i tell any of you i’m going to be a dad? in may. a girl apparently. i’m going to keep her away from boys. i know what they’re like. it’s really worrying me already.
[Wed, Dec 18 2002 – 14:26] Matthew (www) (email) yes, everyone knows. you got tired and emotional at your wedding and blurted it out several times.
[Wed, Dec 18 2002 – 14:36] kartika (email) No need to worry about her with boys Eurof-most of we daughters are cunning and beguiling enough to ensure that our Fathers are right where we want them- around our little finger and you should worry about that instead. You should be more worried about being an object of shameless manipulation once she grows up and learns to speak.
As for the boys- I am sure she will ensure that you will never know what she is up to… As it should be.
K
The following revealing item on Henry Kissinger is extracted from an article from the ‘New World Order Intelligence Update’ [http://www.nwointelligence.com/NEWWORLD.HTM]:
‘And, fellow-Canadians, as a faint echo of the freedoms we have now lost in this once great Dominion, here’s a robust exercise of free speech, fresh from the Mother Country, which is now impossible to imagine in modern Canada!
[Henry Kissinger walks out on Paxman radio program in the U.K. after being asked, among other things, if he felt “like a fraud.” Exchange below, as reported by THE GUARDIAN, 29th June, 1999]
Jeremy Paxman: “It’s been 17 years since the last volume of your memoirs. You said you wanted to let the dust settle but [didn’t you] need the distance in order to rewrite history?”
Dr Kissinger: “No I based these memoirs on documents which were as valid then as they are now.”
Paxman: [describes Kissinger’s claim that he ended the cold war as “farfetched”] “What bothers a lot of people is you seem to ignore the human rights of people within regimes with which you’re trying to establish a balance of power.”
Kissinger: “That’s not correct either.”
Paxman: question about supporting General Pinochet and undermining President Allende in Chile.
Kissinger: “We did not support Pinochet. In what way did we support Pinochet?”
Paxman: “You supported the military regime.”
Kissinger: “After the coup we preferred Pinochet to Allende.”
Paxman: “It doesn’t stop there… You’re on record justifying the [behaviour of the] Chinese government in Tiananmen Square.”
Kissinger:… “I have never supported what the Chinese did in Tiananmen Square.”
Paxman: “Did you feel a fraud for accepting the Nobel Prize [for the Indo-China agreement]?”
Kissinger: “I wonder what you do when you do a hostile interview?”
Paxman: [accuses Kissinger of a “wilful misreading of history”]
Kissinger: “It may be a misreading but it wasn’t wilful.”
Paxman: question about the “hundreds of thousands of people killed in the bombing of Cambodia”.
Kissinger: “That’s absolutely untrue. We have no evidence that hundreds of thousands of people were killed… I think this is an absolute outrage, it’s nonsense.”
Paxman: “You don’t deny [the bombing of Cambodia] was secret though?… This was a secret operation against a neutral country…”
Kissinger: “Come on now, Mr Paxman, this was 15 years ago, and you at least have the ability to educate yourself about a lie on your own programme… ”
Paxman: “What’s factually inaccurate?”
Kissinger: “… That’s outrageous… ” [Kissinger abruptly leaves: Paxman calls out, “‘Bye, Dr. Kissinger”!]’
You’ll also find a superb archive of articles on the New World Order [which is impacting and changing us all increasingly] from the ‘New World Order Intelligence Update’, at http://www.rarehistorybooks.com/NWOCONSP.HTM. They are also mirrored at http://www.survivalistskills.com/NWODICT.HTM and at http://www.torontochristianbooks.com/NWOGOV.HTM. Well worth reading!