Dec 26 2023 34 mins 2
Usually, Americans tend to ignore foreign policy. It is messy and tricky and difficult to understand. However, the death of Henry Kissinger last month recalled one of the few periods that foreign policy was on the newspapers’ front pages.
For those born since the disastrous Vietnam War, if may be difficult to understand why Dr. Kissinger was so famous. His short stature, homely face, and thick German accent would seem to inspire ridicule rather than respect.
However, those who lived through that time wanted to see an end to the war. They also wanted reassurance that World War III would never happen. Henry Kissinger’s presence seemed to promise that these ends would be achieved.
The current situation in both China and Russia shows that Kissinger's happy talk of detente made promises and implied a future that has not come to pass. Indeed, Russia provoked the first European war since World War II and China became ever more militant.
This podcast explores those realities.
The second essay, by Mr. Julio Loredo, is richly footnoted. Interested listeners can see his sources of information by activating this link - https://www.returntoorder.org/2022/04/can-russia-and-nato-co-operate-vladimir-putin-says-no-it-is-time-for-the-facts/. The other two essays can also be read in their original formats by using https://www.returntoorder.org/2023/12/the-disastrous-kissinger-era-comes-to-an-end/ and https://www.returntoorder.org/2023/05/xi-jinpings-threats-to-taiwan-highlight-the-dangers-of-americas-fictional-one-china-policy/.
Thank you for listening.
For those born since the disastrous Vietnam War, if may be difficult to understand why Dr. Kissinger was so famous. His short stature, homely face, and thick German accent would seem to inspire ridicule rather than respect.
However, those who lived through that time wanted to see an end to the war. They also wanted reassurance that World War III would never happen. Henry Kissinger’s presence seemed to promise that these ends would be achieved.
The current situation in both China and Russia shows that Kissinger's happy talk of detente made promises and implied a future that has not come to pass. Indeed, Russia provoked the first European war since World War II and China became ever more militant.
This podcast explores those realities.
The second essay, by Mr. Julio Loredo, is richly footnoted. Interested listeners can see his sources of information by activating this link - https://www.returntoorder.org/2022/04/can-russia-and-nato-co-operate-vladimir-putin-says-no-it-is-time-for-the-facts/. The other two essays can also be read in their original formats by using https://www.returntoorder.org/2023/12/the-disastrous-kissinger-era-comes-to-an-end/ and https://www.returntoorder.org/2023/05/xi-jinpings-threats-to-taiwan-highlight-the-dangers-of-americas-fictional-one-china-policy/.
Thank you for listening.
