Reckless: Henry Kissinger’s Responsibility for the Tragedy in Vietnam

Brigham—who teaches U.S. history and international relations at Vassar—offers a persuasive argument that Nixon’s national security adviser (and later secretary of state) Henry Kissinger lied, misled, and deceptively outmaneuvered other policy makers in setting Vietnam War policy from 1969 to 1975, with disastrous results. Drawing on new primary sources from Vietnam and the U.S., Brigham demonstrates that Kissinger and Nixon bungled four years of negotiations with the Vietnamese communists, agreeing to virtually the same peace terms in 1973 that were on the table in 1969. Among other perfidies Brigham cites, Kissinger repeatedly prevented others—including leaders in the State and Defense departments and members of Congress—from making Vietnam War policy. And he lied to Congress and other administration officials about the ongoing peace talks and the military situation in Vietnam. This all-but-total condemnation of Kissinger (and Nixon), while dryly written, confirms what many Kissinger skeptics have believed for decades and may change the minds of some who have believe him to be a foreign policy guru. (Sept.)