# Henry Kissinger Has Died **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 30, 2023, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884 "2023-11-30T01:59:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/101 "2023-12-03T21:13:04Z")
Bourdain doesn’t pull a lot of punches in _A Cook’s Tour_ or his other excellent books. A few of his targets, maybe Jamie Oliver, do not seem to merit his milder criticism. But Kissinger does. Would he have claimed publicly to support a democratically elected government, actually supported a corrupt and incompetent pretender, carpet bombed an innocent people destroying their food supply and livelihoods and many lives, then did nothing while millions were killed - including anyone who was educated - for no actual real strategic benefit, than joked about it while eschewing any responsibility… would this have happened if he really felt all peoples were equal? There is a reason this was secret, and millions of Americans at the time were furious when the truth was revealed. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/102 "2023-12-03T21:42:42Z")
Though I believe he kept the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/103 "2023-12-03T21:50:28Z")
Tom Lehrer: « Satire died when the Peace Prize went to Kissinger. » ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/104 "2023-12-03T21:55:21Z")
Well, that cleared up where the horseshit argument that Obama’s drone strikes were in any way comparable to carpet bombing Cambodia came from. Straight out of the horse’s ass: > Kissinger was [labeled](https://web.archive.org/web/20231130144359/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/30/henry-kissinger-cambodia-bombing-war/) a “war criminal” by many activists and critics, though he continued to defend his record throughout his life, [saying](https://web.archive.org/web/20231130144359/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/30/henry-kissinger-cambodia-bombing-war/) the bombings were milder than American drone attacks in recent years, according to a 2014 interview. Historians [dispute](https://web.archive.org/web/20231130144359/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/30/henry-kissinger-cambodia-bombing-war/) his accounts, however, and many also say the carpet bombings contributed to the rise of the Khmer Rouge totalitarian regime that carried out a genocide of minority groups in Cambodia. From the WP article linked at the Snopes article: > In later decades of his life, particularly as declassified documents detailed the extent of the U.S. assault on Cambodia, Kissinger drew intense criticism for his leading role and was labeled by some as a “war criminal.” He dismissed these critiques and maintained that the Cambodia bombing was milder than later U.S. bombing campaigns. > > “I bet if one did an honest account, there were fewer civilian casualties in Cambodia than there have been from American drone attacks,” he said in a 2014 interview with NPR. Many researchers dispute this. Historian Greg Grandin, who wrote the book “Kissinger’s Shadow,” said that at least one area in Cambodia known to have “sizable concentrations” of civilians was bombed nearly 250 times. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/105 "2023-12-03T23:09:59Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Though I believe he kept the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Peace Prize is about as indicative of saintly virtue and moral courage as left-handedness is of vice and corruption. Winning the Nobel Peace Prize is pretty much a lottery that only people who have somehow figured in recent world events can enter. Don’t even get me started on the “The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences”. ChatGPT could be fed a few macroecon textbooks, shat out some grammatically correct gibberish, and have equal claim to compete for that prize, except for not being an actual living person, of course. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/106 "2023-12-04T00:39:32Z")
Yes, there was the Barack « Thank God he’s not George W. Bush » Obama award, really granted to commemorate the American voters coming to their senses. Until 2016. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/107 "2023-12-04T00:58:34Z")
Yeah, but just think of the awesome award whoever follows the next R president will get. Whenever that may be. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/108 "2023-12-04T01:02:58Z")
Well, Elinor Ostrom did some good work. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/109 "2023-12-04T01:45:45Z")
Which, unfortunately, has not found its way into any application in government or corporate policy as far as I can tell. But I like the nod; once in a blind pig moon the Nobel Committee did something right outside of the sciences. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@Harvey\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_B)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/110 "2023-12-04T02:17:19Z")
You are entirely correct. Just by using a different word, some think that blatant murder is OK. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/111 "2023-12-04T03:42:47Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Don’t even get me started on the “The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences”. There is a Nobel Prize for Fiction (Literature), which makes the Ncbel Prize for Economic Sciences kind of redundant. ---
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/112 "2023-12-04T08:23:53Z")
What did Kissinger get the Nobel Prize for? Im sure ive read about it before, but now i cant remember. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/113 "2023-12-04T13:02:02Z")
(Wiki) > Kissinger and [Lê Đức Thọ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%AA_%C4%90%E1%BB%A9c_Th%E1%BB%8D) were jointly offered the 1973 [Nobel Peace Prize](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prize) for their work on the [Paris Peace Accords](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Peace_Accords) which prompted the withdrawal of American forces from the [Vietnam war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_war). Lê Đức Thọ declined to accept the award on the grounds that peace had not actually been achieved in Vietnam. Kissinger donated his prize money to charity, did not attend the award ceremony and later offered to return his prize medal after the [fall of South Vietnam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Saigon) to North Vietnamese forces 18 months later. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/114 "2023-12-04T13:04:16Z")
It is rather like the NY Times printing the occasional correction: the effect is to make one think everything else it’s published is accurate and true. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/115 "2023-12-04T13:38:17Z")
To be fair to Kissinger, he did have [nicer legs than Hitler and bigger tits than Cher](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVGV6lvNTR4). ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/116 "2023-12-04T14:35:12Z")
I think he got it for teaching crabs to dance… ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/117 "2023-12-04T16:06:23Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > It is rather like the NY Times printing the occasional correction: the effect is to make one think everything else it’s published is accurate and true. _The New York Times_: “We’re right about almost everything except the time we convinced the American public to back a foreign invasion based upon fraudulent information that was never independently verified, and then gave a backhanded apology for embroiling the country in a decade-long conflict of historic cost. Oh, and we’re cutting our sports section.” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/118 "2023-12-04T17:15:47Z")
“Remember the Maine!” ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884/119 "2023-12-04T17:26:02Z")
> _Conrad ‘Connie’ Brean: You’re goddamn right, then it’s got nothing to do with the B-3 Bomber!_ > _John Levy: There is no B-3 bomber._ > _Conrad ‘Connie’ Brean: [Knowingly] I just said that! There is no B-3 bomber, and I don’t know why these rumors get started!_ > [— _Wag The Dog_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120885/quotes/?item=qt0226346) Also: > _Conrad ‘Connie’ Brean: Well, if Kissinger can win the Peace Prize, I wouldn’t be surprised to wake up and find out I’d won the Preakness._ > _Stanley Motss: Well, yes but, our guy DID bring peace._ > _Conrad ‘Connie’ Brean: Yeah, but there wasn’t a war._ > _Stanley Motss: All the greater accomplishment._ Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/henry-kissinger-has-died/993884.md?page=5)