Henry Kissinger warned: we must take into account the interests of the enemy and not try to “inflict a strategic defeat on Moscow”

Henry Kissinger

Photo: REUTERS

Henry Kissinger was born on May 27, 1923. He died on November 29, 2023. One hundred years old. Without funeral hype, an era has passed.

Kissinger, United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor to two American presidents between 1973 and 1977, remained in big politics almost until his death. Everyone heard his voice – both the enthusiastic supporters of the self-proclaimed “temple on a hill” abroad and the ardent opponents who dreamed of how this “temple” would collapse. Some considered him a peacemaker; After all, both the end of the Vietnam War and Israel’s reconciliation with the Arabs in the Yom Kippur War occurred with his active participation. Others call him a war criminal: the same American war in Indochina and the overthrow of President Allende in Chile could not have occurred without his active participation either. Who was he? Falcon or dove?

The bygone era of international politics, which Kissinger personified, was called “realpolitik.” “Realpolitik” in its execution is a tough defense of the interests of the Anglo-Saxon world, but it also takes into account the interests of the enemy, no matter how irreconcilable it may be for Washington. Under his command, the “detente” in the confrontation between the USSR and the United States began. He, unlike today’s Western politicians, did not publicly call for a “battlefield victory” over the Russians. He preferred to twist one hand while shaking the other in a friendly manner. And each side understood where the limit of what was possible was in the desire to destroy the enemy. That’s why we agreed. And the whole world breathed a sigh of relief: “Thank God, he is gone!” And so they lived, recognizing the “peaceful coexistence of the two systems.”

Henry Kissinger was a dove when America needed it and a hawk when it was necessary. Implementing his famous “shuttle diplomacy”, he knew how to “fly” with an olive branch in his beak and with a sword and lightning in his claws, because politics must be friends with reality. Such a desirable state of peace does not deny the fact that the history of humanity is a continuous series of wars ending in truces, during which the parties prepare for a new fight. But understanding that, wanting to destroy the enemy, we must not forget that he can destroy you. Therefore, we need to find a balance.

Kissinger sought it, without forgetting at all about the interests of his country, but on the contrary, trying by all means to look after them. Unfortunately, his era has passed. Balance is no longer fashionable in the West; Today the main thing is to “inflict a strategic defeat on Moscow.” The time of the royalists is over; today radical idealists are in power in the West. What compromises, if only we were the “forces of light” and our enemies were the “forces of darkness.” There is no time for “peaceful coexistence” here. Maybe it’s good that one of its authors died without witnessing a possible Armageddon…

In his 2014 book, World Order, Kissinger warned: “The digital world prioritizes speed, which discourages reflection, radicals gain an advantage over thoughtful people, and values ​​are formed by consensus of subgroups rather than through deliberation.” . So we are left with Borrell and Berbock…