Circus Rider Of What ?

(Circus Rider For Now ?)

German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, the "Iron Chancellor," had been referred to as the "Circus Rider of Europe." His diplomacy shaped Europe in the last half of the 19th Century, Balancing Austria, France and Russia against each other in a shared power configuration, Bismarck was able to create the German Empire. However, when Bismarck was no longer on the scene, the careful diplomacy could not be maintained by his successors and the resulting tensions that were not managed led to the outbreak of the First World War.

A worthy successor to the Iron Chancellor would be the now late Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who was perhaps Bismarck's equivalent for the last half of the 20th Century. Borm in Germany, the Kissinger's family emigrated to the United States when Hitler came to power and, as a Jewish family, came to this country. But it was as a member of the Nixon Administration, first as National Security Adviser and then as Secretary of State.

It was in the latter role that Kissinger gained his renown. He was able to negotiate the American departure from Vietnam, assisting Nixon opening China and in a policy that reflected Bismarck's Three Emperors' League, the apex of Bismarck's diplomatic career, to which Kissinger was able to replicate with American détente with the Soviet Union. That put a thaw, albeit a temporary one, in the arms race.

Kissinger is like Bismarck in another way in that he practiced realpolitik and a Machiavellian realism. Everything he did was in the narrow interpretation of American interest. Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for ending the war in Southeast Asia. Whether he would still open China remains to be seen. And, détente with the U.S.S.R. was only as good until President Reagan came into Office to confront Moscow more directly.

The point can also be made that the diplomatic crises that are worldwide today would not have happened had Kissinger of one of his caliber still ran Foggy Bottom. And one can imagine how the eruption of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment would have affected Kissinger, a Jew himself. During the Yom Kippur War, for example, as Soviets were supporting Arab states Egypt and Syria and the Americans the Israelis, certain superpower forces were mobilized. Secretary of State Kissinger responding that there was concern on the part of the United States and had American assets placed on "cautionary" alert. As it happened, the U.N. with both sides agreeing to a 7,000 troop presence in Sinai.

Too often diplomacy is handled by amateurs. Indeed, it is an art. Of all those who went into the foreign service of their countries, how many were mere bureaucrats ? Functionaries at some level at a foreign ministry, or the State Department, and how many are able to truly speak for their nation's interest ? One had been Otto von Bismarck. The other was Henry Kissinger.

May he rest in peace with the thanks of a grateful nation.