Much of the civilised word views former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as a war criminal. Some, of course, are more, er, forgiving:
According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, Pope Benedict XVI has invited the 83-year-old former adviser to Richard Nixon to be a political consultant, and Kissinger has accepted.
Quoting an “authoritative” diplomatic source at the Holy See, the paper reported Nov. 4 that the Nobel laureate was asked at a recent private audience with the Holy Father to form part of a papal “advisory board” on foreign and political affairs.
Although many in the Western media still worship at the feet of Kissinger (Murdoch’s Australian regularly features his rantings), at least one journalist clearly took a stand:
Four years ago, Barbara Walters, who calls Kissinger “the most loyal friend,” was entertaining Kissinger and his wife at a dinner party for a D.C. politician when ABC News anchor Peter Jennings, who died last year, suddenly piped up, “How does it feel to be a war criminal, Henry?”
You can just imagine the conversation:
POPE: So, Mister Kissinger, I understand you are the brains behind the brains behind the man with no brains.
KISSINGER: Heh.
POPE: I urge you to consider renouncing violence, withdrawing US troops from Iraq, and pressuring Israel into a genuine solution to the Palestinian people’s sad predicament.
KISSINGER: Heh, heh.
POPE: OK, you got me. But can you at least let me know whether I should go long on 20-year oil futures?