Henry Kissinger: The Declassified Obituary

[National Security Archives]

"The Primary Sources on Kissinger’s Controversial Legacy Archive Obtained and Published Previously Secret Records on Kissinger’s Role in Secret Bombing Campaigns in Cambodia, Illegal Domestic Spying, Support for Dictators, and Dirty Wars Abroad.

Washington, D.C., November 29, 2023 - Henry Kissinger’s death today brings new global attention to the long paper trail of secret documents recording his policy deliberations, conversations, and directives on many initiatives for which he became famous—détente with the USSR, the opening to China, and Middle East shuttle diplomacy, among them.

This historical record also documents the darker side of Kissinger’s controversial tenure in power: his role in the overthrow of democracy and the rise of dictatorship in Chile; disdain for human rights and support for dirty, and even genocidal, wars abroad; secret bombing campaigns in Southeast Asia; and involvement in the Nixon administration’s criminal abuses, among them the secret wiretaps of his own top aides.

To contribute to a balanced and more comprehensive evaluation of Kissinger’s legacy, the National Security Archive has compiled a small, select dossier of declassified records—memos, memcons, and “telcons” that Kissinger wrote, said and/or read—documenting TOP SECRET deliberations, operations and policies during Kissinger’s time in the White House and Department of State.

The revealing “telcons”—over 30,000 pages of daily transcripts of Kissinger’s phone conversations which he secretly recorded and had his secretaries transcribe—were taken by Kissinger as “personal papers” when he left office in 1977 and used, selectively, to write his best-selling memoirs. 

The National Security Archive forced the U.S. government to recover these official records by preparing a lawsuit that argued that both the State Department and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) had inappropriately allowed classified U.S. government documentation to be removed from their control. Archive senior analyst William Burr filed a FOIA request for their declassification. The draft lawsuit—which was never filed—is included in this dossier, since Kissinger’s effort to remove, retain and control these highly informative and revealing historical records should be considered a critical part of his official legacy, and the full texts have been published in the Digital National Security Archive series from ProQuest.

This special posting also centralizes links to dozens of previously published collections of documents related to Kissinger’s tenure in government that the Archive, led by the intrepid efforts of William Burr, has identified, pursued, obtained and catalogued over several decades. Together, these collections constitute an accessible, major repository of records on one of the most consequential U.S. foreign policy makers of the 20th century.

“Henry Kissinger’s insistence on recording practically every word he said, either to the presidents he served (without their knowledge that they were being taped) or the diplomats he cajoled, remains the gift that keeps on giving to diplomatic historians,” remarked Tom Blanton, director of the National Security Archive. “Kissinger’s aides later commented that he needed to keep track of which lie he told to whom. Kissinger tried to keep those documents under his own control. His deed of gift to the Library of Congress would have kept them closed until five years from now, but the Archive brought legal action and forced the opening of secret documents that show a decidedly mixed picture of Kissinger’s legacy, and enormous catastrophic costs to the peoples of Southeast Asia and Latin America.”.."
Henry Kissinger 

The Capitol Riot: Documents You Should Read (Part 3)

[National Security Archives]
"Washington, D.C. - May 4, 2021 - Some United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers could not access their shields during the January 6, 2021, mob attack on the Capitol because the equipment was locked on a bus. Others had access to their shields, but, because they had been stored in a trailer without climate control, they shattered on impact.

These were just a few of the revelations made during USCP Inspector General Michael Bolton’s April 15 testimony before the House Administration Committee. His testimony is especially alarming considering the USCP’s own January 3 intelligence assessment stating that, “Unlike previous postelection protests, the targets of the pro-Trump supporters are not necessarily the counterprotesters as they were previously, but rather Congress itself.”

Bolton also testified that USCP leadership:

• Ordered officers on January 6 to use “heavier less-lethal weapons” out of concern that “they could potentially cause life-altering injury and/or death, if they were misused in any way;”
• Did not ensure that recruits had the required hours of civil disturbance training;
• Maintained outdated munitions;
• Failed to complete required audits;
• And tolerated a culture within the Civil Disturbance Unit that decreased “operational readiness.”

Bolton’s testimony is among the documents posted today in the National Security Archive’s third "January 6 Sourcebook." Other highlights include:

• Internal Federal Protective Service documents showing the Department of Homeland Security had ample concern for potential violence on January 6;
• A video showing how the mob took advantage of the USCP’s lack of preparation and attacked USCP officer Brian Sicknick with chemical spray; Sicknick died the following day;
• Testimony from FBI director Christopher Wray stating that “The top threat we face from [Domestic Violent Extremists] continues to be those we identify as Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists (“RMVEs”), specifically those who advocate for the superiority of the white race;”
• Testimony from D.C. National Guard Commanding General William Walker that further highlights the Pentagon’s continued failure to explain its delay in authorizing the use of the D.C. National Guard;
• An Army Investigation Report on the use of extremely low-flying helicopters to disperse crowds that were gathered close to the White House on June 1, 2020, to protest the murder of George Floyd – an incident that contrasts sharply with the DOD’s response to the January 6 attacks;
• And Justice Department charging documents alleging that a “quick reaction force” of Oath Keepers furnished a weapons stockpile in Arlington, VA that was to be brought to the Capitol “if something goes to hell.”

The documents posted today – and throughout the National Security Archive’s systematic FOIA campaign to open the documentary record on the Capitol riot – will serve as an important repository for the public, historians, and members of Congress, especially as hopes dim for a bipartisan, independent commission into the attack similar to the 9/11 Commission..."
Capitol Riot 

The Capitol Riot: Documents You Should Read (Part 2)

[National Security Archives]

"Washington, D.C., March 3, 2021 - Video evidence presented by House impeachment managers during Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial shows just how close the violent mob came to physically confronting Vice President Mike Pence and Senators Mitt Romney and Chuck Schumer, and includes footage of the mob rifling through congressional desks and offices. The never-before-seen cell phone and surveillance footage, which members of Congress watched at the same time as the public, makes the Pentagon’s continued silence about its delay in sending in the D.C. National Guard to protect the U.S. Capitol all the more glaring.

The videos, as well as the flash message that was sent at 5:39 PM ordering all D.C. National Guard not already at the Capitol to report to duty – hours after the assault was underway – are among the documents posted today in the National Security Archive’s second "January 6 Sourcebook".

The Sourcebook’s second installment includes:

* A collection of seven videos presented by House impeachment managers;

* An FBI press release announcing a $75,000 reward for information on the person(s) who placed pipe bombs at the Democratic and Republican National Committee buildings;

* The flash message sent by Joint Operations Command ordering all D.C. National Guard troops not already supporting Operation First Amendment Support to report to the D.C. National Guard armory at 7 PM for encampment duty;

* The official written testimonies submitted by Steven A. Sund, Former Chief of Police, U.S. Capitol Police, Robert J. Contee III, Acting Chief of Police of the Metropolitan Police Department, Washington, D.C., and others for the first joint Senate hearing on the events of January 6, “Examining the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol”;

* A re-posting of the Defense Department’s three-page timeline that fails, particularly in light of the impeachment video evidence, to answer mounting questions about the catastrophic decision to delay sending in the D.C. National Guard to assist the Capitol Police.

The January 6 Sourcebook publication marks the continuation of a systematic campaign by the Archive, a champion of the Freedom of Information Act, to use the FOIA to open the documentary record of what the government knew and when, and what the government did and didn’t do and when, about the mob attack on the Capitol. Archive staff have already drafted more than 100 specific, targeted FOIA requests to multiple federal agencies..."
Capitol Riot 

The Capitol Riot: Documents You Should Read (Part 1)

[National Security Archives]

"Washington, D.C., January 13, 2021 - The Pentagon’s timeline of its response to the January 6, 2021 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol features multiple discrepancies with the public record, while the first federal indictment of mob participants details the specific legal charges that likely will be brought against others, according to the documents in the National Security Archive’s first "January 6 Sourcebook" posted today.

The Sourcebook, subtitled “documents you should read,” includes:

* the Dissent Channel message signed by more than 100 State Department employees denouncing the attack as undermining the U.S. promotion of democracy abroad (published by Josh Rogin of the Washington Post in his Twitter feed);

* the earlier 2006 FBI report warning of white supremacists’ influence in far-right circles, released by the House Oversight Committee;

* the Department of Homeland Security threat assessment from October 2020 warning that violent white supremacy was “the most persistent and lethal threat in the Homeland” (published by Lawfare);

* the FBI poster “seeking information” on “violence at the U.S. Capitol”;

* the text of the speech by President Trump at the Ellipse just prior to the mob marching on the Capitol (published and annotated by the Washington Post);

* the Congressional Research Service report detailing the steps Congress was taking to certify the presidential election vote when the mob interrupted (posted by Steve Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists); and

* the federal grand jury indictment of one of the mob members, Mark Leffingwell, citing five different sections of the U.S. Code violated by the mob. (First reported by Josh Gerstein of Politico.)
 

The January 6 Sourcebook publication marks the beginning of a systematic campaign by the Archive, a champion of the Freedom of Information Act, to use the FOIA to open the documentary record of what the government knew and when, and what the government did and didn’t do and when, about the mob attack on the Capitol. Archive staff have already drafted more than 75 specific, targeted FOIA requests to multiple federal agencies..."
Capitol Riot (part 1) 

Archive Publishes Treasure Trove of Kissinger Telephone Conversations
"...Kissinger never intended these papers to be made public, according to William Burr, senior analyst at the National Security Archive, who edited the collection, Kissinger Telephone Conversations: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969-1977. “Kissinger’s conversations with the most influential personalities of the world rank right up there with the Nixon tapes as the most candid, revealing and valuable trove of records on the exercise of executive power in Washington,” Burr stated. For reporters, scholars, and students, Burr noted, “Kissinger created a gift to history that will be a tremendous primary source for generations to come.” He called on the State Department to declassify over 800 additional telcons that it continues to withhold on the grounds of executive privilege.

The documents shed light on every aspect of Nixon-Ford diplomacy, including U.S.-Soviet détente, the wars in Southeast Asia, the 1969 Biafra crisis, the 1971 South Asian crisis, the October 1973 Middle East War, and the 1974 Cyprus Crisis, among many other developments. Kissinger’s dozens of interlocutors include political and policy figures, such as Presidents Nixon and Ford, Secretary of State William Rogers, Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Robert S. McNamara, and Soviet Ambassador Anatoli Dobrynin; journalists and publishers, such as Ted Koppel, James Reston, and Katherine Graham; and such show business friends as Frank Sinatra. Besides the telcons, the Kissinger Telephone Conversations: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969-1977 includes audio tape of Kissinger’s telephone conversations with Richard Nixon that were recorded automatically by the secret White House taping system, some of which Kissinger’s aides were unable to transcribe."