Also, people forget that until the 1970s, the Soviet Union and its bloc countries maintained industrial & military parity with the Western world. South Korea overtook North Korea in the 1980s. Only by the time of the Gulf war, when the might of the massive American cold war deterrent was brought to bear on the soviet military of iraq did the world realize how far ahead the US military was.
Dr. Kissinger's prediction on deterrence & escalation came true. The soviets pushed Kennedy around until he decided to go "toe to toe" with the Russians on Cuba. The soviets knew they couldn't push Nixon around. Vietnam was lost when the NVA hit a small village and there was no retaliation from the South Vietnamese. Iran, Afghanistan, the list goes on. The less said about LBJ and containment the better.
Dr. Kissinger is right on many accounts w/deterrence at a time when the thought was America's next war: nuclear war. In hindsight though, some of his realpolitik points to the prevalent thinking among the US military in the 1960s. Nixon won Vietnam because he was willing to bomb Hanoi when LBJ wasn't previously for fear of killing soviet advisors & risking escalation while american advisors were openly being killed.
With regard to deterrence theory I think one of the most vital things he said is
“We are a nation of specialists, we tend to think that a problem is either economic or political or military. It is hard for us to understand that we have to be able to do military, political, economic and psychological things all simultaneously.”
And leaders are not necessarily making rational decisions.
Such an important interview for Cold War scholars
mozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 1 week ago
SO good! that quality <3!
MasacruRo 3 weeks ago
Also, people forget that until the 1970s, the Soviet Union and its bloc countries maintained industrial & military parity with the Western world. South Korea overtook North Korea in the 1980s. Only by the time of the Gulf war, when the might of the massive American cold war deterrent was brought to bear on the soviet military of iraq did the world realize how far ahead the US military was.
anangbhai 1 month ago
Dr. Kissinger's prediction on deterrence & escalation came true. The soviets pushed Kennedy around until he decided to go "toe to toe" with the Russians on Cuba. The soviets knew they couldn't push Nixon around. Vietnam was lost when the NVA hit a small village and there was no retaliation from the South Vietnamese. Iran, Afghanistan, the list goes on. The less said about LBJ and containment the better.
anangbhai 1 month ago
Dr. Kissinger is right on many accounts w/deterrence at a time when the thought was America's next war: nuclear war. In hindsight though, some of his realpolitik points to the prevalent thinking among the US military in the 1960s. Nixon won Vietnam because he was willing to bomb Hanoi when LBJ wasn't previously for fear of killing soviet advisors & risking escalation while american advisors were openly being killed.
anangbhai 1 month ago
shifty eyed.
knightschwartz 1 month ago
With regard to deterrence theory I think one of the most vital things he said is
“We are a nation of specialists, we tend to think that a problem is either economic or political or military. It is hard for us to understand that we have to be able to do military, political, economic and psychological things all simultaneously.”
And leaders are not necessarily making rational decisions.
tentimesworse 3 months ago