Ekki furðulegustu friðarverðlaunin

Flestum kom á óvart að Barack Obama Bandaríkjaforseti skyldi tilnefndur til friðarverðlauna Nobels. Friðarverðlaunatilnefning hefur þó áður verið umdeild og sumir verðlaunahafar hreint ekki taldir miklir friðarsinnar.

Henry Kissinger er mun margt merkilegur maður, þó sá sem hér skrifar sé ekki sérstakur aðdáandi hans. Kissinger hefur í áratugi haft mikið að segja um utanríkisstefnu Bandaríkjanna, sérstaklega á árunum 1969-77 en einnig á þessari öld, var hann t.d. tíður gestu í Hvíta húsið í tíð Georg W. Bush og ötull ráðgjafi og stuðningsmaður innrásarinnar í Írak. Hann var utanríkisráðherra í ríkistjórn Nixon forseta og átti mikinn þátt í að þíða gaddfrosin sambönd við Bandaríkjanna við bæði Sovétríkin og Kína.

En ótalmargt varpar skugga á feril Kissinger, ekki síst eindreginn stuðningur hans við einræðisherra og ógnarstjórnir í suður-Ameríku og áhrif hans á stefnu Bandaríkjanna í þessa veru.

Þetta má lesa á alfræðivefnum wikipedia:

The Nixon administration authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to instigate a military coup that would prevent Allende's inauguration, but the plan was not successful. The extent of Kissinger's involvement in or support of these plans is a subject of controversy. Yet it is proven fact that he was involved in what turned into the murder of a Chilean General, René Schneider, who was opposed to and stood in the way of a military coup.

United States-Chile relations remained frosty during Salvador Allende's tenure, following the complete nationalization of the partially U.S.-owned copper mines and the Chilean subsidiary of the U.S.-based ITT Corporation [...] The CIA, directly instigated by Kissinger, provided formation and education for the military officers directly involved in the coup against Allende, and funding for the mass anti-government strikes in 1972 and 1973; during this period, Kissinger made several controversial statements regarding Chile's government, stating that "the issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves" and "I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go Communist due to the irresponsibility of its people." [...]

In September 1973, Allende was killed during a military coup launched by Army Commander-in-Chief Augusto Pinochet, who became President. A document released by the CIA in 2000 titled "CIA Activities in Chile" revealed that the CIA actively supported the military junta after the overthrow of Allende and that it made many of Pinochet's officers into paid contacts of the CIA or US military, even though many were known to be involved in notorious human rights abuses [...]

On September 16, 1973, five days after Pinochet had assumed power, the following exchange about the coup took place between Kissinger and President Nixon:

Nixon: Nothing new of any importance or is there?

Kissinger: Nothing of very great consequence. The Chilean thing is getting consolidated and of course the newspapers are bleeding because a pro-Communist government has been overthrown.

Nixon: Isn't that something. Isn't that something.

Kissinger: I mean instead of celebrating – in the Eisenhower period we would be heroes.

Nixon: Well we didn't – as you know – our hand doesn't show on this one though.

Kissinger: We didn't do it. I mean we helped them. [garbled] created the conditions as great as possible.

Nixon: That is right. And that is the way it is going to be played.

Seinna þetta saman ár, 1973, voru Kissinger veitt friðarverðlaun Nobels.