Kissinger Pushed Trump to Work With Russia to Triangulate China

[dukkha]

Henry Kissinger suggested to President Donald Trump that the United States should work with Russia to contain a rising China.

The former secretary of state—who famously engineered the tactic of establishing diplomatic relations with China in order to isolate the Soviet Union—pitched almost the inverse of that idea to Trump during a series of private meetings during the presidential transition, five people familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast.
The potential strategy would use closer relations with Russia, along with other countries in the region, to box in China’s growing power and influence.

Kissinger also pitched the idea to Jared Kushner, the top White House adviser whose portfolio includes foreign-policy matters, one of the sources briefed on the discussions said.

Inside the administration, the proposal has found receptive ears, with some of Trump’s top advisers—in addition to officials in the State Department, Pentagon, and the National Security Council—also floating a strategy of using closer relations with Moscow to contain Beijing, according to White House and Capitol Hill insiders. But the idea has been complicated by the president’s deference to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which has caused countless domestic political headaches.

Kissinger is no Russophobe, either. He has met with Putin 17 times over the years. And Kissinger has repeatedly advocated for a better working relationship between Washington and Moscow. Of last week’s summit in Helsinki between Trump and Putin, Kissinger said, “It was a meeting that had to take place. I have advocated it for several years.” He has also expressed doubt about the purpose of Russian interference in the election, and promoted a better balance of power among the world’s largest influencers.

His overall views seem to have made their way into explanations for Trump’s affinity for Putin. One former Trump administration official referred to Trump’s posture toward Putin during the Helsinki summit earlier this month as “the reverse of the Nixon-China play.”

“Russia and China are cozying up to each other and it’s a lethal combination if they’re together,” said the former official, who was familiar with the strategizing behind the summit.

“[Kissinger] did not advocate a partnership with Russia,” said the source. “But he was absolutely adamant that 17 years of the global war on terror had taken up too much time and focus. And he is a huge believer that this a great power struggle [with China].”

The source added that several senior White House officials believe that “Russia would be a ‘useful counterweight’ to China.” But not everyone buys into that theory.

It’s not just that Russia has played a largely counter-productive role vis-a-vis the United States, and much of the rest of the liberal world order, over the last few years. It’s that their points of leverage over China are limited largely to weapons, oil, and cyber intrusions.

U.S. officials have become increasingly vocal in their warnings of the threat that China poses and the need for a comprehensive strategy to combat it. At the Aspen Security Forum last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray called China “the broadest, most challenging, most significant threat we face as a country,” and Michael Collins, deputy assistant director of the CIA’s East Asia mission, said that China is waging a “cold war” against the United States.

“It is clear the Trump administration views the rise of China—from issues of trade, its continued quest to dominate Asia and displace U.S. power to building a military that can challenge Washington’s most advanced weaponry—as its number one national security challenge,” said Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest. “I am not shocked that they would consider Russia a potential partner in containing China’s rise.”

n theory, the partner-with-Russia-to-combat-China strategy—regardless of its motivations—is not entirely without merit, experts say, if only to break up the partnership developing between Presidents Putin and Xi themselves.

“China and Russia have a very similar worldview right now and they're supporting each other pretty strongly. I don’t see a lot of cracks,” said Lyle Goldstein, a Russia and China expert at the U.S. Naval War College.

Russia and China often pursue complementary agendas and support each other at the United Nations Security Council, said Abigail Grace, who until recently worked on the Asia portfolio at the National Security Council. “I don’t think that the level of China-Russia collaboration is necessarily within U.S. interests,” Grace said.

Beyond Central Asia, it’s also clear that with its enormous economy and rapidly expanding military ambitions, China is on a trajectory to greatly surpass Russia’s global heft—a trajectory that could compel Russia to seek partnerships (informal or otherwise) elsewhere.

“Looking out over long term, there is a belief in the administration that Moscow will see Beijing as its greatest geopolitical foe—just like Washington does now—and that could set up a rapprochement with America,” said a source close to the White House. “But it is very far out into the future
https://www.thedailybeast.com/henry-...o-box-in-china

[dukkha]

^ why Russiaphobia is counterproductive to US geopolitical goals

[evince]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Kissinger



Henry Kissinger


Henry Alfred Kissinger (/ˈkɪsɪndʒər/;[1] German: [ˈkɪsɪŋɐ]; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is an American statesman, political scientist, diplomat and geopolitical consultant who served as the United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. A Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany with his family in 1938, he became National Security Advisor in 1969 and United States Secretary of State in 1973. For his actions negotiating a ceasefire in Vietnam, Kissinger received the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize under controversial circumstances, with two members of the committee resigning in protest.[2] Kissinger later sought, unsuccessfully, to return the prize after the ceasefire failed.[3][4]
A practitioner of Realpolitik, Kissinger played a prominent role in United States foreign policy between 1969 and 1977. During this period, he pioneered the policy of détente with the Soviet Union, orchestrated the opening of relations with the People's Republic of China, and negotiated the Paris Peace Accords, ending American involvement in the Vietnam War. Kissinger has also been associated with such controversial policies as U.S. involvement in a military coup in Chile and U.S. support for Pakistan during the Bangladesh War despite a genocide.[5] After leaving government, he formed Kissinger Associates, an international geopolitical consulting firm. Kissinger has been a prolific author of books on diplomatic history and international relations with over one dozen books authored.
He remains a controversial figure in recent American history. Some journalists, activists, and human rights lawyers have condemned Kissinger as a war criminal.[6][7][8] In a 2014 survey, many scholars and foreign policy experts ranked Henry Kissinger as the most effective U.S. Secretary of State since 1965.[9]




FUCK HIM

[Cypress]

I do not care in the least what noted War Criminal Henry Kissinger believes.

I did not even know that guy was still alive. Who actually listens to him?

[archives]

Do you think that Putin wouldn't immediately recognize he was being used, or better yet, manipulate the attempt to get what he wants most out of such a policy, a division in the Western democracies alliances?

[dukkha]

is it possible to understand an IDEA? Kissinger's policy of triangulation ( practiced by Nixon) paid off for decades.
It's a sound geopolitical practice, much like realpolitik

There are some impediments to doing so now ( besides the obvious Russiaphobia) -but clearly it's in our interest to
find areas of common interest to peel Putin away from Xi..

[dukkha]

Do you think that Putin wouldn't immediately recognize he was being used, or better yet, manipulate the attempt to get what he wants most out of such a policy, a division in the Western democracies alliances?

thanks for the contribution.
Triangulation is just an extension of realpolitik.
Realpolitik looks to find areas of common interests that benefit both parties
Triangulation takes those into account, but is "targeted" ( triangulated) against a 3rd party as well.

My feeling is Putin would much rather engage the dynamic west, then partner with an historical adversary
like China - although we are forcing him there.
so there is no manipulation in play here -nor would Putin fall for such a crass play.

[Micawber]

If true that's interesting. Intersting to hear for the first time there could be a strategy, or even a thought at all behind a single thing the orange dufus is doing,
other than blunt instrument, bare knuckle, chin out, straight ahead, run off tackle, fuck the world pushing and shoving.

And if it is true, we'd have to consider it a total fail. Wrong man, wrong methods. Trump has poisoned his own well.

[Guno צְבִי]

Henry Kissinger suggested to President Donald Trump that the United States should work with Russia to contain a rising China.

The former secretary of state—who famously engineered the tactic of establishing diplomatic relations with China in order to isolate the Soviet Union—pitched almost the inverse of that idea to Trump during a series of private meetings during the presidential transition, five people familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast.
The potential strategy would use closer relations with Russia, along with other countries in the region, to box in China’s growing power and influence.

Kissinger also pitched the idea to Jared Kushner, the top White House adviser whose portfolio includes foreign-policy matters, one of the sources briefed on the discussions said.

Inside the administration, the proposal has found receptive ears, with some of Trump’s top advisers—in addition to officials in the State Department, Pentagon, and the National Security Council—also floating a strategy of using closer relations with Moscow to contain Beijing, according to White House and Capitol Hill insiders. But the idea has been complicated by the president’s deference to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which has caused countless domestic political headaches.

Kissinger is no Russophobe, either. He has met with Putin 17 times over the years. And Kissinger has repeatedly advocated for a better working relationship between Washington and Moscow. Of last week’s summit in Helsinki between Trump and Putin, Kissinger said, “It was a meeting that had to take place. I have advocated it for several years.” He has also expressed doubt about the purpose of Russian interference in the election, and promoted a better balance of power among the world’s largest influencers.

His overall views seem to have made their way into explanations for Trump’s affinity for Putin. One former Trump administration official referred to Trump’s posture toward Putin during the Helsinki summit earlier this month as “the reverse of the Nixon-China play.”

“Russia and China are cozying up to each other and it’s a lethal combination if they’re together,” said the former official, who was familiar with the strategizing behind the summit.

“[Kissinger] did not advocate a partnership with Russia,” said the source. “But he was absolutely adamant that 17 years of the global war on terror had taken up too much time and focus. And he is a huge believer that this a great power struggle [with China].”

The source added that several senior White House officials believe that “Russia would be a ‘useful counterweight’ to China.” But not everyone buys into that theory.

It’s not just that Russia has played a largely counter-productive role vis-a-vis the United States, and much of the rest of the liberal world order, over the last few years. It’s that their points of leverage over China are limited largely to weapons, oil, and cyber intrusions.

U.S. officials have become increasingly vocal in their warnings of the threat that China poses and the need for a comprehensive strategy to combat it. At the Aspen Security Forum last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray called China “the broadest, most challenging, most significant threat we face as a country,” and Michael Collins, deputy assistant director of the CIA’s East Asia mission, said that China is waging a “cold war” against the United States.

“It is clear the Trump administration views the rise of China—from issues of trade, its continued quest to dominate Asia and displace U.S. power to building a military that can challenge Washington’s most advanced weaponry—as its number one national security challenge,” said Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest. “I am not shocked that they would consider Russia a potential partner in containing China’s rise.”

n theory, the partner-with-Russia-to-combat-China strategy—regardless of its motivations—is not entirely without merit, experts say, if only to break up the partnership developing between Presidents Putin and Xi themselves.

“China and Russia have a very similar worldview right now and they're supporting each other pretty strongly. I don’t see a lot of cracks,” said Lyle Goldstein, a Russia and China expert at the U.S. Naval War College.

Russia and China often pursue complementary agendas and support each other at the United Nations Security Council, said Abigail Grace, who until recently worked on the Asia portfolio at the National Security Council. “I don’t think that the level of China-Russia collaboration is necessarily within U.S. interests,” Grace said.

Beyond Central Asia, it’s also clear that with its enormous economy and rapidly expanding military ambitions, China is on a trajectory to greatly surpass Russia’s global heft—a trajectory that could compel Russia to seek partnerships (informal or otherwise) elsewhere.

“Looking out over long term, there is a belief in the administration that Moscow will see Beijing as its greatest geopolitical foe—just like Washington does now—and that could set up a rapprochement with America,” said a source close to the White House. “But it is very far out into the future
https://www.thedailybeast.com/henry-...o-box-in-china

So the neocon warmonger is helping trump with advise, very swampy

[dukkha]

So the neocon warmonger is helping trump with advise, very swampy

I see you are unable to separate Vietnam from 21st century geo-politics.
Even Kissinger got praise for the concept of triangulation -ping pong diplomacy with China back then

[archives]

is it possible to understand an IDEA? Kissinger's policy of triangulation ( practiced by Nixon) paid off for decades.
It's a sound geopolitical practice, much like realpolitik

There are some impediments to doing so now ( besides the obvious Russiaphobia) -but clearly it's in our interest to
find areas of common interest to peel Putin away from Xi..

Realpolitik is a 19th Century concept, that also led to numerous wars to include WWI, this ain't a game of Risk

The 21st Century isn't as geopolitical as the previous, nations today are more independent yet globally connected than they were back in Kissinger's era. Putin and Xi would immediately recognize such a strategy and use it to their own advantage

Giving Putin everything he wants to include alienating our traditional allies hoping to isolate China is dangerous

[evince]

henry is a neocon god


the rest of the world hates the sociopath

[Nordberg]

Triangulation misses the point. American corporations are China. They moved there to get cheap unprotected labor and no environmental regulation. http://www.jiesworld.com/internation...s_in_china.htm We don't have the manufarcturing base to compete with China now due to corporate greed and their lack of patriotism. War is about money. Has always been about money.

[dukkha]

Realpolitik is a 19th Century concept, that also led to numerous wars to include WWI, this ain't a game of Risk

The 21st Century isn't as geopolitical as the previous, nations today are more independent yet globally connected than they were back in Kissinger's era. Putin and Xi would immediately recognize such a strategy and use it to their own advantage

Giving Putin everything he wants to include alienating our traditional allies hoping to isolate China is dangerous

and you were doing so well!

realpolitik did not lead to WWI-that was "entangling alliances", coupled with militarism.
++

This is not about a formal alliance - it's about an "alliance of convenience".
Just like Moscow aligns with Beijing over issues, but are still local rivals - we would bring temporary areas
of interests to bare against China.

Putin and Xi are already doing this - the Shanghai Cooperation Council is a good ex.
we are NOT because of our Russiaphobia, so China has nothing to fear from us as they act the global hegemon.

In effect China is already triangulating against us, since Russia is forced more and more out of the western orientation
( the danger of crippling sanctions) they are de facto and affirmative partners with China both.

The idea is to reverse that -or at least mitigate their partnership

[Fentoine Lum]

Kissinger is another of our war criminals walking free in punditryland.