User:Trey Stone/Henry Kissinger sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Henry Alfred Kissinger (born May 27, 1923 as Heinz Alfred Kissinger) is a German-born American politician. He served as National Security Advisor and later Secretary of State in the Nixon administration, continuing in the latter position after Gerald Ford became President in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.

An admirer of realpolitik, Kissinger played a critical role in formulating U.S. foreign policy during his eight-year public tenure, and is best known in the United States for pioneering the policy of détente, which saw a significant relaxation in U.S.-Soviet tensions. As part of this strategy, he played a crucial role in 1972 talks with Chinese foreign minister Zhou Enlai that concluded with the "opening" of China and the formation of a new strategic anti-Soviet Sino-American alliance. At the same time, he played a key role in the successful SALT I nuclear arms reduction talks with the Soviet Union. Kissinger would later receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiating a ceasefire with North Vietnam in 1973.

With the recent declassification of Nixon and Ford administration documents relating to U.S. policy toward South America and East Timor, Kissinger has come under fire from certain journalists and human rights advocacy groups. Christopher Hitchens, one of Kissinger's most fervent and prominent critics, has accused him of war crimes. Although these allegations have not been proven in a court of law, it is considered legally dangerous for Kissinger to enter many countries in mainland Europe and South America.