The
German-born political scientist joined the Nixon administration in 1969
as the president's national security advisor and was promoted to secretary
of state in 1973. As the primary architect of the American bombing and
invasion of Cambodia, Kissinger believed that these actions were necessary
to prevent both Cambodia and South Vietnam from falling to communism.
In 1973, Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiating
a cease-fire agreement between the United States and North Vietnam.
(His co-recipient, North Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho, declined
the prize on the grounds that peace was still far away.) The civilian
death toll and long-term effects caused by the U.S. bombing campaigns
in Vietnam and Cambodia have led some to brand Kissinger a war criminal.
Kissinger, however, remains unapologetic. "Without our [military] incursion,"
he wrote in his memoirs, "the Communists would have taken over Cambodia
years earlier."
The
German-born political scientist joined the Nixon administration in 1969
as the president's national security advisor and was promoted to secretary
of state in 1973. As the primary architect of the American bombing and
invasion of Cambodia, Kissinger believed that these actions were necessary
to prevent both Cambodia and South Vietnam from falling to communism.
In 1973, Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiating
a cease-fire agreement between the United States and North Vietnam.
(His co-recipient, North Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho, declined
the prize on the grounds that peace was still far away.) The civilian
death toll and long-term effects caused by the U.S. bombing campaigns
in Vietnam and Cambodia have led some to brand Kissinger a war criminal.
Kissinger, however, remains unapologetic. "Without our [military] incursion,"
he wrote in his memoirs, "the Communists would have taken over Cambodia
years earlier." 