No Welcome For Kissinger

HENRY A. KISSINGER '50 came to town last weekend in his limousine and on his own terms. The Nieman Foundation honored Kissiner by making him the main attraction of its triennial convocation. It kept Kissinger's visit secret, almost completely sparing him from any public confrontation with his critics. Kissinger requested, and received, assurances that his appearance would be strictly off the record.

The irony of the situation was readily apparent. Henry Kissinger, a man who had manipulated, lied to, and even wire-tapped the press, was being honored by the trade's most prestigious members. But demonstrators outside the convocation tried to remind the Nieman fellows and alumni that Henry Kissinger is more than just a former friend or adversary.

Henry Kissinger is the man responsible for the scorched earth policy that left large portions of Vietnam uninhabitable-portions still unfit as places to live. Kissinger widened the Vietnam war into Laos and Cambodia. Kissinger headed the destablization effort that toppled the freely elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile. And Kissinger lied about all these crimes, not just to the press, but to Congress and the American people as well.

It is distressing therefore to see Kissinger, despite his well-known history, honored by offers of positions at Harvard, Columbia, and Georgetown Universities, and by invitations like the Nieman Foundation's. This is not a question of academic freedom. Kissinger won his notoriety not as a scholar, but as a government official whose policies killed hundreds of thousands of Asians, Africans, and Americans.

If the Niemans did not intend to pay Kissinger tribute they should have placed him in an adversary relationship where representatives of the other sides could have helped bring out the truth. The Nieman Foundation was set up to "elevate and promote the standards of journalism." We hope that such an ideal, rather than an eclectic affection for power, guides the foundation's future.