Henry kissinger, former secretary of state, dies at 100

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger,  the diplomat who dominated foreign policy during some of the United States’ most difficult and divisive 20th century conflicts, died Nov. 29 at

his Connecticut home, his consulting firm said. He was 100. With his gruff yet commanding presence and behind-the-scenes manipulation of power, Kissinger exerted uncommon influence on global

affairs, from his role in helping the country extricate itself from Vietnam to the breaking down of barriers with China, under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. And he was an

adviser to a dozen chief executives — from John F. Kennedy to Joe Biden. His efforts earned him both vilification and the Nobel Peace Prize. Decades later, his name still provoked

impassioned debate over foreign policy landmarks long past. To call Kissinger — a man who famously described power as “the ultimate aphrodisiac” — controversial would be a gross

understatement. Upon his passing, social media was overwhelmed with less-than-mournful posts from Kissinger critics referring to him as a “war criminal” for, among other things, his role in

the United States’ widespread bombing of Cambodia in the early 1970s. But Cindy McCain, wife of the late Sen. John McCain, wrote, “Henry Kissinger was ever present in my late husband’s life.

While John was a POW and in the later years as a Senator & statesman. The McCain family will miss his wit, charm, and intelligence terribly.” And Tricia Nixon Cox and Julie Nixon

Eisenhower, Nixon's daughters, issued a press statement expressing their "deepest condolences on the passing of one of America’s most skilled diplomats... Dr. Kissinger played an

important role in the historic opening to the People’s Republic of China and in advancing détente with the Soviet Union, bold initiatives which initiated the beginning of the end of the Cold

War. His “shuttle diplomacy” to the Middle East helped to advance the relaxation of tensions in that troubled region of the world." Kissinger’s power grew during the turmoil of

Watergate, when the politically attuned diplomat assumed a role akin to co-president to the weakened Nixon. “No doubt my vanity was piqued,” Kissinger later wrote of his expanding influence.

“But the dominant emotion was a premonition of catastrophe.” A Jew who fled Nazi Germany with his family in his teens, Kissinger in his later years cultivated the reputation of respected

statesman, giving speeches, offering advice to Republicans and Democrats alike and managing a global consulting business. He turned up in President Donald Trump’s White House on multiple

occasions. But Nixon-era documents and tapes, as they trickled out over the years, brought revelations — many in Kissinger’s own words — that sometimes cast him in a harsh light. Never

without his detractors, Kissinger after he left government was dogged by critics who argued that he should be called to account for his policies on Southeast Asia and support of repressive

regimes in Latin America.