'Kissinger's Record as a Statesman is Surely Mixed'

Abstract

Politico magazine decided to ask top historians and Kissinger experts to evaluate the statesman, his role in history, and his legacy.

"Henry Kissinger's record as a statesman is surely mixed. As national security adviser and then secretary of state he understood the need to adapt U.S. foreign policy to a more even distribution of global power, and he shared with his boss Richard Nixon an ability to think in broad conceptual terms about America's place in the world. Some genuine diplomatic successes resulted, notably, in the miracle year of 1972, when remarkable summit meetings in Beijing and Moscow were followed by a preliminary peace settlement in Vietnam. Armed with a winningly self-deprecating sense of humor as well as a deep German accent and slow delivery that seemed to add authority to his pronouncements, Kissinger proved adept at drumming up media support for the administration's initiatives...."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/henry-kissinger-history-legacy-213237#ixzz3oUn5bOPy