The Nixon Foundation, Henry Kissinger and China: The ‘Grand Strategy disconnect’

The Hill ^ | 11/22/0222 | JOSEPH BOSCO

[ChicagoConservative27]

The Richard Nixon Foundation, created to memorialize the achievements of the 37th president of the United States, recently commemorated the 50th anniversary of his historic opening to China.

The program was entitled “Grand Strategy Summit Dedicated to Addressing America’s Geopolitical Challenges,” and began with a keynote address by Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s first national security adviser and second Secretary of State. It was moderated by Robert O’Brien, a successor of Kissinger’s at the National Security Council.

Kissinger noted that Nixon came into office at a fraught moment for U.S. foreign policy, facing issues in Vietnam, the Middle East and the Soviet Union, while China was outside of any set of relationships with the U.S.

He generously praised Nixon’s combination of strategic vision and tactical flexibility. By introducing strategic thinking to American foreign policy, Kissinger said, Nixon was able to make simultaneous progress on all those key issues.

[ChicagoConservative27]

Some say it was great he met with China others say it was not helpful.

[hardspunned]

People who don’t know history are ignorant of what a coup for America the opening of China was. The monolithic nature of world communism had ended, Russia and China were very much becoming enemies and a world war was always possible. Nixon and Kissinger played them off against each other by playing the center. Ping pong diplomacy and detente left the US and the world safer, the commies more divided and markets for American goods. The Uniparty (R) weasels (f’n Bush) slid the Chinese economic shiv into our backs some years later. In the last year of the draft for those born in 1956, my draft number was 8, so yeah, these two guys are my heroes from the early 70s.

[tinamina]

Look how it’s turning out. Nixon opened up the US to China and he took us off the gold standard both of those things are our demise.

[Boogieman]

Probably a smart move at the time, to drive a further wedge between the Chinese and the Soviets, since the Soviets were the greater threat and we needed to isolate them as much as possible.

The mistake was continuing to play patty cake with the Chinese once the Soviets were no longer much of a threat.

[hinckley buzzard]

The Nixon China strategy was an effective one. The whole trade debacle we have been dealing with in recent decades evolved long after Nixon had left the scene.

[Sam Gamgee]

Kissinger the spawn of all that is evil. Look how trade with China worked out for American manufacturing and blue collar jobs. Nixon sold his own country out.