Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger: A War Criminal Still at Large at 100

by Greg Grandin

Henry Kissinger was instrumental in Nixon's decision to undertake the illegal bombing of Cambodia. His foreign policy machinations also led him to push Nixon to the actions that led to Watergate and the president's downfall, though Kissinger has remained unaccountable. 

Carolyn Woods Eisenberg on Nixon's War Deceptions

by James Thornton Harris

A new history of Nixon and Kissinger's Vietnam policy shows a president driven by the abstract goal of credibility instead of concrete steps to conclude the conflict, at the cost of tens of thousands of American and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese lives. 

Would the American Right Crash the Economy for Political Advantage? Ask Chile

by Ruth Ben-Ghiat

From the moment socialist Salvador Allende was declared the winner of Chile's 1970 election, Henry Kissinger and CIA director Richard Helms were at work to "make the economy scream" to create favorable conditions for a right-wing coup. 

The "Madman Theory" Was Quintessential Nixon

by Zachary Jonathan Jacobson

Richard Nixon's famed foreign policy ruse—encouraging adversaries to think him capable of seemingly insane decisions—had one essential component: Nixon himself, and his commitment to the tightrope-walking performance. 

The Nixon Library's Vietnam Exhibition Obscures the Truth about the War's End

by Brian Robertson

The exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords chooses its sources selectively to present the negotiations as the product of Nixon's grand strategy, ignoring the role of domestic political machination. 

Who Poisoned Pablo Neruda?

by Ariel Dorfman

"In retrospect I wonder if perhaps I was so tired of tales of torture and disappearances, so full of death and grief, that I could not deal with one more affront. I preferred to shield the sacred figure of Neruda from the violence."

Forensic Experts: Chilean Poet and Pinochet Opponent Pablo Neruda Killed by Poison in 1973

The poet, a Communist and ally of democratically-elected President Salvador Allende, died shortly after the coup that installed General Augusto Pinochet as dictator. There had been longstanding suspicion of the official explanation of his death. 

"Cut His Head Off if Necessary"—The Flimsy, Politically-Driven "Peace" Nixon Made in Vietnam

by James D. Robenalt

Months after inflicting a brutal bombing campaign on North Vietnam to push them to the negotiating table in Paris, Richard Nixon pressed the South to accept a deal that doomed their survival, in order to claim the mantle of peacemaker for himself. 

After 50 Years, the Truth About the Vietnam Peace Agreement Remains Elusive

by Arnold Isaacs

In October 1972, Henry Kissinger declared "peace is at hand" in Vietnam. Why, then, did the United States continue bombing North Vietnam? Official deception still colors American foreign policy and military strategy today. 

In Ukraine, the US Likely to Follow Kissinger's Example and Disappoint Idealists

by Jeffrey Fields

"From tacit support of the murderous dictator Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq War to Washington’s close relationship with brutal human rights abuser Saudi Arabia, the U.S. frequently chooses to put its own interest ahead of its professed values."

Martin Indyk Writes the Palestinians Out of the History of Kissinger's Middle East Diplomacy

by James R. Stocker

Martin Indyk’s new work offers a vivid portrait of the former Secretary of State’s Arab-Israeli diplomacy, but he completely misses one of the most important parts of this policy – the Palestinians.

How the Cold War Killed Cannabis as We Knew It

When Henry Kissinger sought to assert American control of Caribbean bauxite ore reserves, he set off a political dirty war that poisoned the Jamaican interior and destroyed prominent strains of cannabis in the name of marijuana interdiction. 

Isaac Chotiner Interviews Martin Indyk about Henry Kissinger

Does Martin Indyk's new book on Henry Kissinger, who is a personal friend, have enough critical distance between subject and author, asks interviewer Isaac Chotiner.

The Critique of "Grand Strategy" at Yale is Decades Overdue

by Jim Sleeper

In a changing world, Yale's decision to follow the lead of influential donors to steer its Grand Strategy program toward the established orthodoxy of the national security state doesn't just fail the principles of liberal education, it fails the long-term ability of the United States to steer a course in world affairs.

A Pyrrhic Victory for Plutocrats at Yale?

by Daniel Drezner

"Everyone in the academy is now fully aware of just how far Yale’s administration is willing to warp academic freedom in the pursuit of donor management. To say this is not a good look for an institution that relies on prestige and recognition would be an understatement."

Beverly Gage Resigns from Yale's Grand Strategy Program, Citing Political Pressure from Large Donors

After a colleague wrote an op ed critical of Donald Trump in 2020, two Republican donors insisted on appointing an advisory board to the Grand Strategy program which included, against Professor Gage's wishes, Henry Kissinger.

The Missed Lesson of Vietnam: Plan for Unconditional Victory or Don't Intervene at All

by James D. Robenalt

Comparisons between American withdrawal from Vietnam and Afghanistan miss a key point: failure was overwhelmingly likely from the beginning because, if the United States was unwilling or unable to secure unconditional surrender, time was on the side of its foes. 

Saigon Didn't End U.S. "Credibility." Neither Will Kabul

by Mark Atwood Lawrence

Did the United States suffer any serious geopolitical setbacks as a result of Vietnam? The answer is neither simple nor straightforward.

What "Politics" Does to History: The Saga of Henry Kissinger and George Shultz's Right-Hand Man

by Jim Sleeper

A recent Yale memorial to the diplomat Morton Charles Hill largely glossed over Hill's and Yale's roles in crafting an imperialist American foreign policy and in educating generations of diplomats to subordinate honesty to "grand strategy." 

Argentina’s Military Coup of 1976: What the U.S. Knew

Newly declassified documents demonstrate that the US government, including Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, were aware of the developing coup and evaluated policy as a balancing of the prospective military dictatorship's friendliness to the US against its likely willingness to commit human rights violations.