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Kissinger: 1973, the Crucial Year

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Thirty five years after Richard Nixon's August 1974 resignation as president, the well regarded English historian, Alistair Horne, has written an informative and balanced examination of Henry Kissinger's 1973 tenure as Nixon's national security director and secretary of state. Horne travels a long road focusing on Henry Kissinger's first trip to China, followed by Nixon's 1972 trip, the 1973 Paris peace talks, the US's detente with Russia, the failed Year of Europe, the 1973 Yom Kippur War and his famous shuttle diplomacy securing Israel's final Sinai withdrawal; all heavily overlaid with the looming Watergate scandal and its impact leading to Nixon's resignation. Horne's credentials as a judge of history are impressive and he does not fail the reader. The book is convincing with facts and quotes and a thorough synthesis of memoirs, interviews and other source material. He does not skimp with details and provides interesting cameos and asides of the major players. This is true history told from the perspective of time and reflection; his conclusions are dispassionate and sensible. One is fascinated with Kissinger's adroitness in handling negotiations with Brezhnev, Sadat, Zhou En Lai, Golda Meir and the subtle nuances of his diplomacy forcing the withdrawal of the Israelis from the Sinai. Fact checking gaffes however mar the story line; he confuses "John McCord" and "James McCord" of Watergate infamy, there was only one James McCord, a defendant in the first Watergate trial. His claim that the House of Representative had no power over Kissinger ignores the House's power of the purse and the power of subpoena. Horne's claim that Nixon was "incapacitated" for DEFCON 3 and that this was one of "the most critical meetings in US - indeed, world- history since 1945" is an exaggeration. Horne's jumps on George W. Bush contending he fired one of his White House chief of staff but that contention has no basis. Rightly turning on the Watergate media, "the witch doctors of the media," he sees a feeding frenzy on Nixon and Kissinger with adverse historical consequences for American foreign policy. What is notable is that this is a balanced treatment of Richard Nixon foreign policy contributions without the typical slanted American scream.

The author is a famed British historian who has written extensively on French and to a lesser extent, British history. Although I haven't read all of his previous books, the ones I have, including his trilogy on the battles for France in the Franco-Prussian War, World War I and World War II, I found very good. When this book was published I noted the change in topic for this author as well as the minimal fanfare it received. After reading Kissinger, 1973, The Crucial Year, I now understand the minimal splash the book made, suggesting that the author's change of venue may not have been a wise choice.

According to Horne's introduction, he was approached to write a full length biography on Henry Kissinger. After assessing the task, including Kissinger's own memoirs and literally the tons of raw data, i.e. the Kissinger papers, Horne declined the offer. Then after second thoughts Horne approached his publisher and Kissinger and requested this project - "a year in the life" of Kissinger volume - which sounded like a sound plan, providing a focus on the subject's turbulent times.

Unfortunately the plan soon goes awry with the reading. First, for anyone familiar with Kissinger and the Nixon administration, there is very little if anything new here. Second, the author bounces back and forth in chronological time with anecdotes and observations while filling in the back-story of Kissinger's actions, trips, failures and accomplishments, as he dealt with the end of the Vietnam War, the Yom Kippur War, (the best section of the book), and détente. Lurking in the background is Watergate, which is mentioned repeatedly although never fully developed.

What this reader found most disconcerting though was the author's insertion into the narrative of both himself - including dinners, lunches, banquets and private meetings with the subject and others over the last 30+ years - and inexplicably, the titles of just about every book he has written. At times it was unclear if this book was a dry run at an autobiography or at the very least least an attempt by Horne to be "coaxed" into writing one.

Much like Robert Dallek's book of 2007, Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power, although for different reasons, I was disappointed after finishing this book. Walter Issacson's 1992 biography is still by far the best on this subject.

At the beginning of this book, we are informed that if one had to write a full biography of Henry Kissinger,he would have to cope with the impossible-to-handle mission of reading thirty-three tons of material and documentation.Thus,choosing one year to describe Kissinger seems a wise and reasonable decision.This year was to be 1973,and Mr.Horne has chosen to focus particularly on four main issues:Watergate,Detente,Yom Kippur War and Vietnam.
Nixon and Kissinger were an odd couple:the first one was a poor Californian boy who had a rough life, the second was a German Jew whose family immigrated to the United States, where he got the best education and reached the pinnacle of American policy making pyramid.Both men were and felt extremely insecure in their lives.
Conversely, there was one thing which was the driving force of these two: their ambition to succeed in life and to establish a place in history.This they have managed, albeit in different ways.
The first part of this book describes the unfortunate days of Vietnam ,the most controversial American war.It does not take the stroke of a genius to confirm that 58000 American casualties and 350000 wounded and disabled men paid a horrible price because the American policy makers took a stupid decision to get themselves involved in a quagmire named Vietnam.At the beginning of the seventies of the previous century,this war was going nowhere.Nixon and Kissinger knew it very well.They cannot be blamed for something they have inherited.
However, Kissinger had the mandate to end this war provided he would reach a "peace with honour" agreement.Indeed,such an agreement was finally signed by the belligerent parties.But this important fact cannot detract one inch of resposibility which Nixon and especially Kissinger bear:the secret bombing of Cambodia.
I share the view with many others that in this respect,Kissinger can be regarded as a war criminal, not only for this episode but also for the State Department's responsibility in helping and brewing schemes to destabilize unfriendly regimes, particularly in South America.Chile is the most famous example and this is dealt in another chapter of the book, where Kissinger tries to exculpate himself unconvincingly.
Even the reconciliation with the Chinese cannot be attributed to Kissinger but to his boss.
The main and best part of the book deals with the Yom Kippur War,where Kissinger had played a vital role in establishing a cease fire between Israel and her neighbours.This episode as well as his
detachment and uninvolvement in the Watergate scandal can credit Kissinger with some extra points.
As the author points out,one cannot stay aloof from Kissinger's image.You either like the man or hate him.
Unfortunately,one suspects that the author,in spite of trying to be impartial and doing every possible effort to remain neutral about his subject(whom he interviewed a number of times),cannot avoid falling in the trap of admiring Kissinger.The truth is that here are only few positive points that can be said about Kissinger, who has himself written at the end of his book "Crisis" that when the last of American helicopters took off from the roof of the American embassy," only a feeling of emptiness remained".

Though Mr Horne is an accomplished historian, he trolled too close to the trees to see the Kissinger forest. Interesting anecdotes aside, his accounting of a pivotal year in the career of the refugee from Hitlerite Germany seems too starry eyed about the dubious achievements of his subject. Way too dismissive of Kissinger's role in the Allende tragedy (if not outright fascist in his treatment of the Chilean), he glosses over most of Kissinger's other crimes because those would diminish the profile Horne wishes to paint. Fine for hagiography, but one expects more from an unbiased historian of international repute. But Horne makes it obvious he will only allow reactionary, right wing perspectives; not for him any leftist skew of the world. Next time, Mr Horne, spend less time being wined and charmed at your subject's home and more on scrutiny, skepticism and objectivity.