(NewsNation) — Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state and national security adviser under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, has a complicated legacy and while most media outlets have been at least somewhat “reverential” in their coverage of his death, others were not.
An op-ed in The Daily Beast called Kissinger one of the 20th century’s greatest monsters, for example.
Rolling Stone published an obituary that read, “Good riddance.”
While Kissinger is credited with fostering U.S. relations with China, easing tensions with the Soviet Union, and overseeing the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, his legacy is marred by accusations of war crimes and controversial geopolitical interventions.
Some critics argue that Kissinger’s strategic decisions during his tenure led to the deaths of tens of thousands in Cambodia and Laos.
Moreover, he is accused of orchestrating the overthrow of democratically elected governments in Chile and Argentina.
These controversial actions have ignited a debate about how to assess the impact of a man who played a significant role in shaping global geopolitics.
NewsNation host Dan Abrams asked on his program Thursday, “Was Kissinger really that bad?”
Sumantra Maitra, senior editor for the American Conservative, and Ben Burgis, progressive commentator and host of “Give Them An Argument with Ben Burgis,” joined “Dan Abrams Live” to discuss Kissinger’s legacy.
“I’m not troubled by dancing on the grave of somebody who was very openly involved in the overthrow of a democratically elected government in a country that the United States was not in any way at war with,” Burgis said.
“These are real serious historical crimes,” Burgis continued. “And it seems a bit much to ask us to have more compassion for the architect of those crimes than for those billions of people who are victims of his of what he did all around the world.”
Maitra stressed that the idea Kissinger was the architect of mass murder is an accusation that has been brought both from the neoconservative right and the far left.
“It’s interesting to see someone who can, you know, appeal to both sides in such a revered and reviled fashion,” he said.
President Joe Biden, who was a U.S. senator when he first met Kissinger, said, “Throughout our careers, we often disagreed. And often strongly. But from that first briefing — his fierce intellect and profound strategic focus was evident.”
Burgis said of Biden’s comments, “I don’t think that would be a terrible way to talk about a deceased person who you disagreed with about what the top marginal tax rate should be. But in this case, what you’re talking about (is) disagreements about a real serious war crimes, crimes against humanity.”
Maitra said he is not judging whether Kissinger’s actions were good or bad.
“I’m just saying that you’re operating in a scenario where you have to understand the geostrategic question,” he said. “And it’s easy to be an armchair general.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.