A crowd of over 600 people who gathered at Temple Sinai last Wednesday night were treated to a wide-ranging lecture by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on both past and current world events.

The talk was part of the temple's Distinguished Lecture Series and was sponsored by Temple Sinai's Adult Education Committee.

Dr. Kissinger's talk was a mixture of reminiscences about the often "exciting, nerve-racking" days as both President Richard Nixon's national security advisor and secretary of state and his thoughts on the current world scene, much of it leavened by the speaker's legendary sense of humor.

For instance, Dr. Kissinger recalled first hearing about the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He was awakened at 6 a.m. and told there was some "trouble along the Suez Canal." State Department personnel thought the Israelis had attacked first, but Dr. Kissinger, knowing it was Yom Kippur and that "two thirds" of the Israeli army were in various synagogues, dismissed such a theory and instructed his charges to "go back to the drawing board" for another estimate on the situation.

Surveying the current world scene, Dr. Kissinger discussed events in China, Russia, and the Middle East, plus, as always, America's standing in the world.

Dr. Kissinger praised the United States for its long years of support to Israel, claiming that without it, Israel "would not have survived." Further recalling the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Dr. Kissinger noted that during the first three days of that conflict, Israel lost 300 tanks and other key military components. Only a 72-hour American airlift, which was as "rapid as you can get" helped to save Israel from further disaster.

On the diplomatic front, Dr. Kissinger warmly remembered the late Egyptian president, Anwar el-Sadat as "one of the greatest human beings" he had ever met, a man who deserves credit for breaking the deadlock in peace talks between Egypt and Israel. "Without him, there still might be constant warfare" in the Middle East, Dr. Kissinger claimed.

On the subject of current Middle East negotiations, Dr. Kissinger acknowledged that Israel has already made "the great concessions" namely by fueling the peace process with territory concessions. There are, however, limits to what Israel can concede on the West Bank; that nation, he added, "can't have its principal cities under mortar range."

Dr. Kissinger believes an agreement with Syria is likely, since current negotiations have been reduced to land concerning "100 meters along the Sea of Galilee." An agreement concerning the West Bank is possible too, he said. Such agreements, Dr. Kissinger observed, represent real progress, but not the end to tensions in the Middle East. Throughout it all, Israel has been correct to go ahead with negotiations, still Dr. Kissinger added that it, "can't afford to go soft." That nation "has survived by courage, if it gets frantic, it will encourage the Arabs."

Looking further east at China, Dr. Kissinger expressed concern that there are "a lot of people who seemed determined to have a confrontation with China," specifically over the Taiwan issue. Noting that China is the world's oldest nation with a 4,800 year-old history, its leaders, Dr. Kissinger said, are "not impressed" by U.S. belligerence. Here is a country characterized by the ability to "out endure" their opponents.

Concerning Taiwan, Dr. Kissinger said the three agreed on principals---that there is one China, that mainland China will not use force on Taiwan and that Taiwan in turn will show restraint in its political conduct---has kept hostilities at bay and could, over time, result in a favorable settlement. It would be a grave mistake, however, if elements in the U.S. tried to force a "too rapid conclusion" to the situation.

Assessing the situation in Russia, Dr. Kissinger expressed confidence that Vladmivir Putin, that nation's young prime minister, will get the Russian economy on track after "cracking down" on corrupt elements in Russian society. Once that happens, Russia, once again, will become a player on the world scene. Not through military means, but through diplomatic maneuvering, Russia may attempt to reduce U.S. influence in the world, including the Middle East. "We shouldn't be surprised if Putin appeals to the traditional, national Russia," Dr. Kissinger said.

Finally, Dr. Kissinger readily acknowledged that the United States stands unchallenged as the world's economic and military power. However, he worried that the U.S. was not using such power very wisely, noting that last spring, the Clinton Administration bombed Kosovo for 78 straight days, causing "damage" to civilians, but practically no harm to the Yugoslav army.

Also noting that Americans are mesmerized by technological progress, Dr. Kissinger claimed that technology does not affect the world in any homogeneous fashion. "Top level" nations are happy with an Internet economy, while other nations remain more protectionist, using such technology only to help themselves. Finally, the world has "underclass" nations which are not part of the technology revolution at all. Globalization, he said, only solves the problems of "Internet countries," the world remains as diverse as ever, it is not made up, as some people erroneously think, of nations and peoples who are "aspirant Americans."

Dr. Kissinger floated the idea of free trade zone including all of the Western Hemisphere and European nations. Such a set-up might considerably strengthen the status of the world's democratic bloc, even though the Russians and Chinese might feel left out. On the subject of missile defense, Dr. Kissinger thought the ideal situation would be to have a cadre of non-partisan foreign policy "wise men" to determine what sort of missile defense is feasible for the country in both practical and political terms. American military power, he added, is not likely to restrain what terrorist groups there are in the world.

Other highlights of the talk was Dr. Kissinger's assertion that supporting the Shah of Iran was the correct way to go in that country. If the Shah and his successors had remained in power, Iran today would be both prosperous and democratic. When dealing with Iran now, the U.S. should not be apologetic about its earlier support of the Shah.

He remembered Richard Nixon as a shy man with a "fear of rejection" who offered him the key job as national security advisor even though Dr. Kissinger had been a longtime supporter and advisor to Nixon's main political rival, then-New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller. During the question and answer session, Dr. Kissinger remained steadfast in his overall defense of the Nixon presidency.

A more melancholy memory was the final day of America's involvement in the Vietnam War, when American personnel were evacuating Saigon. Dr. Kissinger's duty on that long day was to authorize the movement of Army helicopters picking up the 500 American civilians left in the embassy in Saigon. After ordering a "double helicopter service," Dr. Kissinger briefed the press, which, as he recalled, "heckled [him] unmercifully." ("It was not a great press corps," he added.)

However, the White House learned that once the helicopter maneuvers ended, there were still 150 U.S. Marines left in the embassy. All this was happening while North Vietnamese troops were bearing down on Saigon. Dr. Kissinger authorized three more helicopters back in to rescue the Marines from what would have been a humiliating catastrophe at the hands of the North Vietnamese. He remembered the one-and-a-half hours of that final evacuation as the "most anguishing" of his entire career, adding that the maneuver was kept secret from the public for a long while after the actual event.