INTERNATIONAL: Having deprived millions of his fellow humans of the right to reach old age, infamous US foreign policymaker Henry Kissinger died this week at the age of 100, leaving behind a legacy of war crimes, propaganda and millions of undetonated explosives that continue to murder civilians to this day. Cambodia was never at war with the United States, yet it is still recovering from the secret carpet bombing and political meddling that enabled the Khmer Rouge to take over and kill a quarter of the population.
Kissinger was the chief architect of the plan to interrupt Vietnam’s supply line by relentlessly bombing Cambodia, which he called Operation Menu. The plan was kept secret from the public, as bombing a neutral country was and is against international law. “Let's start giving them a little shock," Kissinger said. "A massive bombing campaign in Cambodia. Anything that flies on anything that moves."
American scholar Ben Kiernan has estimated that around 500,000 tons of US bombs were dropped on Cambodia between 1969 and 1973, killing as many as 150,000 civilians. He noted that the illegal campaign paved the way for the seemingly endless war America has been involved in ever since.
“You can trace a line from the bombing of Cambodia to the present,” said Greg Grandin, author of “Kissinger’s Shadow.” “The covert justifications for illegally bombing Cambodia became the framework for the justifications of drone strikes and forever war. It’s a perfect expression of American militarism’s unbroken circle.”
Grandin estimated that, overall, Kissinger is responsible for the deaths of at least three million people, having helped to prolong the Vietnam War and facilitate genocides in Cambodia, East Timor, and Bangladesh. His policies also accelerated civil wars in southern Africa and supported coups and death squads throughout Latin America.
Despite the carnage his policies enabled, Henry Kissinger is being memorialized by many global politicians with admiration and deference. Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has often been accused of war crimes himself for his hand in the Iraq invasion, called Kissinger an “artist” of diplomacy. “I was in awe of him,” he said. Admiration also poured in from the leaders of Germany, China, Japan, France and even Ukraine.
After officially retiring from politics, Kissinger went on to make millions through his geopolitical consulting agency that profited off the privatization of industries, often in countries that the US helped destabilize. He would continue to act as a political advisor until his death, however. Speaking in Israel yesterday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he was “very privileged to get [Kissinger’s] counsel many times, including as recently as about a month ago.”
American chef, author and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain grew to love Cambodia through his travels and interaction with Khmer people. His love for Cambodia bred hatred for Kissinger. “Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands,” he wrote. “Cambodia, the neutral nation he secretly and illegally bombed, invaded and undermined, and then threw to the dogs, is still trying to raise itself up on its one remaining leg.”
Director General of Cambodia Mine Action Center, Heng Ratana, expressed condolences to Kissinger’s family and friends, but said that the Cambodian people cannot forget the trauma caused by his actions. “His decision to bomb our beautiful country and peaceful people destroyed everything and killed innocent Cambodians…[It] is very sad for the Cambodian people and we cannot forget this tragedy,” he said. “These remnants of war that include bombs, cluster munitions and chemical weapons continue to pose severe threats to Cambodian lives and are major obstacles for the redevelopment of this country.”
