The capricious use of Henry Kissinger.
Atrios of Eschaton, a web log, writes that Christopher Hitchens’s head is “exploding” now that Henry Kissinger, his nemesis, is working for President Bush on the 9/11 investigative commission. (*) Yet, is this not the same Henry Kissinger that the establishment Left, and Atrios, incidentally, so shamelessly embraced a few scant weeks ago when Kissinger had public words of caution to Bush on Iraq policy? (†)
The question is Henry Kissinger’s credibility. If he were credible, the fact that he spoke up against some aspect of Bush’s Iraq policy a few months ago would be worthwhile taking note of. If Kissinger is credible, furthermore, the case against him as chairman of the 9/11 commission would be deeply undercut. On the other hand, if he is not credible, then his words of caution on Iraq carry no special significance simply for being spoken by the Henry A. Kissinger.
Leftists, like everyone else, must choose one position or another. While it is conceivable that Kissinger is right sometimes and not others, the point is that the Left cannot treat Kissinger as credible one day but not the next. He is either credible or not. Otherwise, an explanation is in order. Notably, no explanation is forthcoming.
Again the establishment Left has dived into inconstancy and capriciousness. It supports Kissinger and cites him when it suits their interests, but when it is not any longer convenient, the establishment Left uses the same man to bash their perceived enemies. It is all of a piece.
According to the analysis of Atrios and the establishment Left, Christopher Hitchens is now on the right-wing. They say he switched. Yet, Hitchens’s Slate article shows that he is able to maintain a critical posture against the Bush Administration even as he gives voice to his genuinely progressive conscience on the pressing issue of Iraq policy. (‡)
Hitchens is part of the independent Left. So are many of us. We independents are slowly taking back the Left, and there is nothing that the establishment Left can do about it anymore. The days of the establishment Left’s political correctness run amok, its unending support for Soviet agents like Hiss and the Rosenbergs, its whitewash of Stalin’s crimes (in particular, the disgraceful argument that Hitler was worse than Stalin), and its unending capriciousness are all soon coming to a close. The establishment Left is fading.
The Left is not a monolith. A person like Hitchens is perfectly consistent in supporting some key aspects of Bush’s Iraq policy while criticizing Bush severely on other issues. That is not inconsistency; it is complexity. It is important that we on the Left rededicate ourselves to our core values, and eschew arguments on the basis of convenience.
Adapted from a comment made on Eschaton. (§)
Update: 9 December 2003. Jay Reding comments. (**)
November 30th, 2002 at 09:31
Andrew,
Another good post. You get extra points for intellectual consistency, as well.
My beef with Kissinger’s appointment, such as it is, stems from the fact that there are questions of credibility. And this is why I thought that someone whose credibility is beyond reproach should be appointed to lead the commission.
Kissinger is able and I find him to be credible. I find his foreign policy positions and pronouncements to be pretty solid and his historical analysis is, in my humble opinion, without peer.
But the simple fact that Kissinger could be considered credible should have led Bush to appoint someone else.
The rest of your post about the Independent Left is "good stuff." The radical, pacifist Left is dying, and mercifully so.
December 4th, 2002 at 02:40
I don’t know how inconsistent the episode was. It’s certainly fair to agree with a reasonable point of view that’s similar to your own, even to be glad when that person is influential enough to be taken seriously in the decision making process. But it’s also fair to later say that the same person is unfit to do a particular duty based on past performance.
I mean, just tonight I was pondering the number of times I’ve agreed with something Pat Buchannan said about going to Iraq in the past few months. Still blows my mind every time. But I have no problem with thinking he would be on the short list of worst choices to chair an investigation on allegations of racial discrimination.