Kissinger, a travesty

Today I sent this letter to the CEO and Communications Director on the Nobel Committee.

Mattias.Fyrenius@nobelmedia.se  Maria.vonKonow@nobelmedia.se

The travesty of having this man, who is responsible for so many deaths, speaking about peace was more than I could stand.

*

Dear Sir:

I am asking how you could possibly invite Henry Kissinger to speak on peace. The man should be in the Hague as a war criminal, although the US is not part of the court.

He believed Washington’s D.C.’s “credibility” would be undermined if they did not follow Nixon’s policy of overthrowing governments to kill the “virus” that existed there. Virus referred to independent nationalism.

Kissinger described the first 9/11 “nothing of very great consequence” and also said on June 20th, 1970 when he famously said, “I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist because of the irresponsibility of its own people.”

I suspect that it was of great “consequence” to the thousands that died at the hands of the replacement dictator in Chile.

And his quote on killing in Vietnam/Cambodia to “anything that flies or anything that moves” is like a call for genocide.

In 1973 Kissinger called a high level nuclear alert  to warn Russia not to interfere in the ongoing Israeli-Arab war. There is no need to say how the unconditional support of Israel, not just under Kissinger, has reduced chances of solutions.

And there is this “That Kissinger, along with Nixon, presided over the bombing of Cambodia, and had done so since March of 1969, is now well known. Less so is that the worst of his bombing started in February 1973, a month after Washington, Hanoi, and Saigon signed the Paris Peace accords. In 1972, the U.S. dropped, in total, 53,000 tons of bombs on Cambodia. Between February 8 and August 15, 1973, that number increased nearly five fold and targeted not just enemy “sanctuaries” in the country’s east but the whole country.” Salon

Here are 10 of his quotes:

1. Soviet Jews: “The emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union is not an objective of American foreign policy. And if they put Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet Union, it is not an American concern. Maybe a humanitarian concern.”

2. Bombing Cambodia: “[Nixon] wants a massive bombing campaign in Cambodia. He doesn't want to hear anything about it. It's an order, to be done. Anything that flies or anything that moves.”
3. Bombing Vietnam: "It's wave after wave of planes. You see, they can't see the B-52 and they dropped a million pounds of bombs ... I bet you we will have had more planes over there in one day than Johnson had in a month ... each plane can carry about 10 times the load of World War II plane could carry." 
4. Khmer Rouge: “How many people did (Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary) kill? Tens of thousands? You should tell the Cambodians (i.e., Khmer Rouge) that we will be friends with them. They are murderous thugs, but we won’t let that stand in the way. We are prepared to improve relations with them. Tell them the latter part, but don’t tell them what I said before.” (Nov. 26, 1975  meeting with Thai foreign minister)
5. Dan Ellsberg: “Because that son-of-a-bitch—First of all, I would expect—I know him well—I am sure he has some more information---I would bet that he has more information that he’s saving for the trial.  Examples of American war crimes that triggered him into it…It’s the way he’d operate….Because he is a despicable bastard.” (Oval Office tape, July 27, 1971)
6. Robert McNamara: “Boohoo, boohoo … He’s still beating his breast, right? Still feeling guilty. ” (Pretends to cry, rubbing his eyes.)
7. Assassination:  “It is an act of insanity and national humiliation to have a law prohibiting the President from ordering assassination.” (Statement at a National Security Council meeting, 1975)
8. Chile: “I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves.” 
9. Illegality-Unconstitutionality: “The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.” (from March 10, 1975 meeting with Turkish foreign minister Melih Esenbel in Ankara, Turkey)
10. On His Own Character: “Americans like the cowboy … who rides all alone into the town, the village, with his horse and nothing else … This amazing, romantic character suits me precisely because to be alone has always been part of my style or, if you like, my technique.” (November 1972 interview with Oriana Fallaci)

And that you would allow this despicable human being on your stage negates the purpose of the peace and places into doubt the work of the Nobel Prize Committee.

Sincerely,

Donna-Lane NELSON

*The dove is from the Argentinian program for the surrender of firearms.  It was not part of the letter.