The famous American war criminal responsible for millions of deaths abroad, Henry Kissinger, has been found dead at 100 years old. As Secretary of State, he was responsible for the gruesome deaths of many people. What this means, in practice, is that when left wing leaders are democratically elected in oppressed nations state officials do something about it.
Whether that is funding right wing death squads to destabilize the region, assassinating the leader themselves, or simply bombing the nation’s infrastructure, something is done about it. Henry Kissinger is the king of these sorts of imperialist tactics. This is why he is known as a globally hated war criminal. Furthermore, whenever a nation began to talk about nationalizing its resources, Henry Kissinger would commit the most depraved acts of humanity ever recorded.
(Flickr CC0)
An Example Henry Kissinger’s Inhumanity
“In declassified Pentagon reports, it was stated that Kissinger personally approved 3,875 air raids which dropped some 540,000 tonnes of bombs in Cambodia within the first year of the campaign. To this day, innocent Vietnamese and Cambodians are being killed by remaining unexploded US ordnance,” according to Aljazeera.
Cambodia continues to suffer from the actions of Henry Kissinger as do many other nations. Henry Kissinger’s legacy is not one of peace. He was a war criminal, and a destroyer of freedom, democracy, and liberation. Henry Kissinger was the epitome of American foreign policy, and now he is dead. Lastly, his legacy of death, destruction, and murder has inspired America to continue being the most exploitative nation in the world.
America In Essence
Furthermore, it’s important to understand that just because one bad person is gone, doesn’t mean that the problem is solved. Systemic problems don’t occur because of individual bad actors. However, they are simply perpetuated by them. Kissinger was simply a man who filled a spot who needed to be filled. Essentially, the capitalist class desires state officials willing to act upon their material interests in the ways that Kissinger did.
Finally, if Kissinger were never born, there would have been another person like him, by another name, and by another face. When oppressed nations across the world desire liberation form American imperialism, there will always be a person up to the job of committing atrocities, though their name may or may not be Kissinger.
Written by Kenneth Mazerat
Sources
Aljazeera: Kissinger: A war criminal with a Nobel Peace Prize by Ahmed Twaij
RollingStone: Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America’s Ruling Class, Finally Dies by Spencer Ackerman
Independent: From Cambodia to Bangladesh: a brief history of Henry Kissinger’s alleged war crimes by Bevan Hurley
Featured Image Courtesy of Hudson Institute’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Brandon’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
