This InsiderNJ episode of the Jessie Frees Show on WMTR features an interview with InsiderNJ Columnist Alan Steinberg, who dives into the life and times of former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Earlier this year, Steinberg wrote an essay on Kissinger for the Jandoli Institute, and he uses this as his jumping off point in his discussion with Jessie Frees.

Steinberg consistently strives to make clear the complexity of a significant world figure.

From his Jandoli Institute essay:

“It is essential that the new arrival into the world of Kissinger gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors that resulted in the formation of Henry Kissinger’s intellectual context, most notably, his status as a German-Jewish escapee from the Holocaust.

“With this basic background knowledge, the reader can now begin the study of issues of the Kissinger record. While Kissinger always attempted to portray himself as apolitical and nonpolitical, the remarkable aspect of Kissinger that few citizens comprehend is his intense focus and indeed mastery of the politics of public perception. I relate a story that illustrates Henry’s political nature.

“From there, we proceed immediately to a capsule view of Kissinger’s relationship with his President, Richard M. Nixon.  There are two dominant conflicting features:  1) Kissinger’s admiration of Nixon as a master analyst of foreign policy equilibrium; 2) his ordeal in dealing with Nixon’s appalling antisemitism.

“Next, we deal with the two features of the Kissinger record for which he received the most intense criticism. The first was the policy he executed regarding the American withdrawal  from Vietnam, a debacle which ultimately resulted in the American humiliation which Nixon and Kissinger so dreaded; and 2) the apparent Kissinger-inspired deprioritization of human rights concerns, as evident in 1) the American-assisted 1973 overthrow of the democratically elected Chilean Allende government; 2) the refusal to intervene against the Pakistani genocide in Bangladesh in 1971; and 3) the acquiescence in the mass murder of inhabitants in East Timor in 1975.”

For the (FULL!) interview with Steinberg on Kissinger on the Jessie Frees Show, please listen below:

Award winning veteran New Jersey Broadcaster Jessie Frees has hosted numerous radio shows and has interviewed thousands of notable guests in her 37-year career. She hosts the interactive live call – in talk shows, “Ask the Expert” and “Your New Jersey Connection” on WMTR. A children’s author, she is a mother of three and grandmother of eight. A political analyst and writer, she guest lectures around the state.