The Middle East & Henry Kissinger, an Introductory Overv

[Searcher08]

This is what I said in my last post:

I can't tell what this piece is supposed to "prove". I see various snippets of information, which seem to be leading somewhere, and I can hazard a guess where they are going, based on what I have read previously of Alice's view of the world.

However, since Alice has declined to state what her thesis is, I can only wrestle here with shadows and say that I don't think the information given presents a very compelling argument for the case which I'd guess that Alice is trying to make.

In other words, I'd be making an educated guess as to what her point is.

What specifically about Alices's information is missing for it to be compelling in your view?

Why don't you make an educated guess and then present an argument against the specifics of the facts she has raised?

While you are at it why not answer the points raised by myself and erosoplier?

[American Dream]

You can certainly use "true facts" to lead to an untrue conclusion. It is my hunch that this is what is going on here. However, since it is essentially a hunch, I'm not feeling particularly motivated to write a great amount more at this time.

So, sorry Searcher- not right now. If and when Alice does tell us what the point of this piece is, I imagine I'll have something more to say.

That's all for now...

[Searcher08]

You can certainly use "true facts" to lead to an untrue conclusion. It is my hunch that this is what is going on here. However, since it is essentially a hunch, I'm not feeling particularly motivated to right a great amount at this time.

So, sorry Searcher- not right now. If and when Alice does tell us what the point of this piece is, I imagine I'll have something more to say.

That's all for now on this..

That reply is most helpful for forming a picture of your agenda.

[cptmarginal]

I'm still working my way through this and clicking the links.

When I worked as a Newsweek correspondent in the late 1980s, I was surprised at the influence Kissinger wielded inside the magazine, which regularly published his columns, famous for their density and convoluted writing style.

Once I was told by a Newsweek editor who was “late-gating” the magazine – giving it a final read-through before it went to press – that he got to Kissinger’s column and discovered that some sentences lacked verbs. So the “late-gating” editor called the editor who was responsible for handling Kissinger’s column and got the surprised reaction, “You mean you actually read it?”

[cptmarginal]

From here:

Prima Donna - Nixon did not anticipate the extent to which Kissinger, whom he barely knew when he appointed him national-security adviser, in 1969, would be envious and high-strung—a maintenance project of the first order. Nixon had a running conversation with Haldeman about "the K problem," as Haldeman noted in his diaries. Nixon complained in one taped conversation with the chief of staff: "Henry's personality problem is just too goddamn difficult for us to deal [with].… Goddamn it, Bob, he's psychopathic about trying to screw [Secretary of State William] Rogers." Haldeman feared that if Kissinger "wins the battle with Rogers" he might not be "livable with afterwards." Nixon agreed that he would "be a dictator." "Did you know that Henry worries every time I talk on the phone with anybody?" he told Haldeman and domestic counselor John Ehrlichman in another taped conversation. "His feeling is that he must be present every time I see anybody important."

[...]

Mental Health - Nixon confided to Haldeman, according to the unpublished diaries, that he was "quite shocked" at how Kissinger had "ranted and raved" at Alexander Haig during a 1971 phone conversation, telling Haig that he "had handled everything wrong," and calling U.N. ambassador George H. W. Bush "an idiot." Nixon believed that something more serious was going on, and it is known that he once mused to Ehrlichman that Kissinger might need psychiatric help. The subject of Kissinger's stability came up again in 1972. Having read The Will to Live, by Dr. Arnold Hutschnecker, his former psychotherapist, Nixon recommended it to Haldeman as providing a road map to what Nixon, according to Haldeman's unpublished diary notes, called "K's suicidal complex." Haldeman went on: "He also wants to be sure I make extensive memoranda about K's mental processes and so on, for his file."

Hmm

[vigilant]

You can certainly use "true facts" to lead to an untrue conclusion. It is my hunch that this is what is going on here. However, since it is essentially a hunch, I'm not feeling particularly motivated to write a great amount more at this time.

So, sorry Searcher- not right now. If and when Alice does tell us what the point of this piece is, I imagine I'll have something more to say.

That's all for now...