Politics

Should Henry Kissinger Mentor a Presidential Candidate?

At the February 11 Democratic Debate, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton had a spirited exchange about an unlikely topic: the 92-year-old former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Sanders berated Clinton for saying that she appreciated the foreign-policy mentoring she got from Henry Kissinger. "I happen to believe," said Sanders, "that Henry Kissinger was one of the most destructive secretaries of state in the modern history of this country."

In one of Sanders' rare outbursts of enmity, he added, "I am proud to say that Henry Kissinger is not my friend. I will not take advice from Henry Kissinger. And in fact, Kissinger's actions in Cambodia, when the United States bombed that country, overthrew Prince Sihanouk, created the instability for Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge to come in, who then butchered some three million innocent people, was one of the worst genocides in the history of the world. So count me in as somebody who will not be listening to Henry Kissinger."

Clinton went on to defend Kissinger, using the example of China. "His opening up China and his ongoing relationships with the leaders of China is an incredibly useful relationship for the United States of America," she insisted.