... on Iraq and the Iraq War, NATO and the EU, Pakistan and Iran, radical Islam and pacifism, George Bush and Obama and McCain, objective reality and moral considerations, and plenty more.
The interview is short but the content is real—highly recommended reading (and the articles comes from Der Spiegel of all places). To quote a few choice morsels:
I do not know many Europeans who would deny that the victory of radical Islam in Baghdad, Beirut or Saudi Arabia would have huge consequences for the West. However, they are not willing to fight to prevent it… [this] is not a sustainable position. In the long run, we cannot have two categories of members in the NATO alliance: those that are willing to fight and others that are trying to be members à la carte. That cannot work for long.
With regards to this, check out this interview with Prince Harry of Great Britain, etc., who holds the rank of cornet in the Household Cavalry and who recently talked of his pride and excitement on serving on the front line in Afghanistan—a real anomoly in the European political sphere.
Nixon sat down with Mao three years after we had initial contact. I think a meeting with an Iranian president would be at the end of a process, not the very beginning.
Food for thought for those presidential candidates who say they would sit down and chat with Chavez, Kim and Ahmadinejad the moment they take office.
We face three challenges currently: The disappearance of the nation-state; the rise of India and China; and, thirdly, the emergence of problems and challenges that cannot be solved by a single power, such as energy and the environment. We do not have the luxury to focus on one problem; we have to deal with all three of them or we won’t succeed with any of them.
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ComingAnarchy.com » Blog Archive » Equal Alliance, Unequal Roles added these pithy words on Mar 28 08 at 5:47 am[...] on the Kissinger post of last week, Kaplan has an Op-Ed in the New York Times on the Nato alliance and the unequal nature of the [...]
ComingAnarchy.com » Blog Archive » The Three Revolutions added these pithy words on Apr 08 08 at 3:51 pm[...] which is an op-ed by Kissinger which loosely lets him put in his own words the substance of his recent interview with Der Spiegel. I note again that his opinion on NATO is in stark contrast to the opinion of CA patron saint [...]
IJ added these pithy words on 04 Mar 08 at 1:05 pmVery interesting interview. The former US secretary of state suggests that representative administrations in Baghdad, Beirut or Saudi Arabia could have such harmful consequences for Western interests that the West/NATO should fight them.
It would help to move the matter forward if the Western interests were set out now.
On more challenges for the future, the SG of the United Nations is starting to take a stand against lack of even-handedness in that organisation. The FT reports that yesterday Mr Ban Ki-moon questioned whether the UN Human Rights Council was “fully meeting the high expectations” of the international community. In particular the Council has issued repeated condemnations of Israel while showing a strong reluctance to denounce rights abuses elsewhere.
Eddie added these pithy words on 07 Mar 08 at 2:11 amKissinger is disingenuous regarding contacts/talks with rogue states. The key point is not having a conversation with them but dropping the regime change rhetoric which is discredited by events now. That’s the real barrier far more than not talking to someone.
Aceface added these pithy words on 07 Mar 08 at 4:21 pmI have an idea on Kissinger.And it’s not very nice.
Think Henry Kissinger really is a far-sighted strategist?
Let’s just forget him saying Japan go nuclear in 20 years for nore than four decades.I remember Super Kraut once said there are places where America and it’s ally do not intervene for there are no crucial interests in two different occasions.
If my memory is correct those were East Timor,Mindanao,Afghanistan and Tibet.It didn’t take more than a decade three out of four were intervened by either the U.S or it’s allies.There’s more.I also remember when I read “The White House Years” ages ago,and Kissinger was mentioning about when a Pakistani press asked his opinion about Durand line dispute and couldn’t answer anything.Now he thinks the region is crucial for NATO’s existence according to this interview and I don’t believe it.
seana added these pithy words on 08 Mar 08 at 1:21 amKissinger is being direct and honest. I completely agree
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