By Henry Kissinger
318 pp.
Simon and Schuster Trade
June 2001.
CHECK OUT THE BOOK AT BARNES AND NOBLE
Read an excerpt: READ THE FIRST CHAPTER AT SIMONSAYS.COM
HEAR A NY TIMES AUDIO INTERVIEW WITH DR. KISSINGER
Vancouver - - Ever remember that Monty Python Song, “Henry Kissinger? ”Henry Kissinger, How I'm missing yer/ You're the Doctor of my dreams/ With your crinkly hair and your glassy stare/ And your machiavellian schemes/ I know they say that you are very vain/ And short and fat and pushy but at least you're not insane/ Henry Kissinger, How I'm missing yer/ And wishing you were here.”
Henry Kissinger’s latest book while not as exciting as this wonderful song, is still a wonderful summer read. Kissinger has been involved in teaching, shaping, and driving American foreign policy for most of the past half-century.
Unlike his earlier works, “Does America Need A Foreign Policy?”, looks more forward than it does to the past. It is much more confined within the moment but still has Kissinger’s fantastic use of history. While some have suggested that this book was written for an audience of one, George W. Bush, its scope and message are much larger than that.
Basically this is a book about most of the nations on the planet, what makes them tick, and how the United States should relate with them. Take China for instance. Kissinger outlines the historical context of China on the world stage and America’s historical positions in return. He asks if America should outlay the majority of its resources to “delay as long as possible the emergence of China as a major power?”
For Kissinger it is nationalism not communism that could lead to any future conflict with the United States. Therefore it is a mistake to view China as a potential rival for global power, but rather to view it within its own context, which has more to do with Taiwan and a “One China” than anything else.
For the China-US relationship one must consider the patience of Chinese policy. They are quite content to wait for generations, quietly discrediting US goals in the region in hopes of one day driving them out. Therefore the US must also take a long view of the relationship-and rather than label the relationship (strategic rival, partner, or who knows) the US needs to tone down rhetoric and avoid another Cold War.
