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  • 11/30/2023

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Transcript
00:00 He was a real titan of diplomacy, one of the most influential figures in American politics
00:05 and of course one of the most influential Secretary of States of all time.
00:09 His biggest achievements, likely the brokering of US relations with China at a time that
00:14 that seemed almost impossible, the detente as it was called at the time with the Soviet
00:19 Union as well as the shuttle diplomacy between Israel and Arab nations after the Yom Kippur
00:26 wars in 1973.
00:28 However, it must be said he also is one of the most deeply divisive politicians in American
00:34 history as well.
00:35 What his fans called his pragmatic approach to diplomacy and to international relations,
00:41 his detractors called him unscrupulous and manipulative, having little regard for human
00:46 rights or even human life at all really.
00:49 Some even say that he was a war criminal, especially for his allowing effectively of
00:55 the bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam war which effectively expanded that conflict
01:01 in Southeast Asia and ultimately led to the Khmer Rouge coming into power in Cambodia.
01:06 We all know how murderous that regime was.
01:09 He spent many of his later years in life almost defending his actions in office but he was
01:15 at the time the only person still to this day ever to be National Security Advisor to
01:21 the White House and also Secretary of State at the same time.
01:25 He became somewhat of a celebrity diplomat, especially in the years after he left office.
01:31 He began dating Hollywood starlets and he was a big fan of the limelight as well, it's
01:36 fair to say.
01:37 He's mainly quoted for saying many times, "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac."
01:44 When he was actually Secretary of State, he was so widely loved by the public here in
01:49 the United States that he was actually found to be the most admired man in the country
01:54 according to one Gallup poll.
01:56 Of course, after he left office, he still continued to have an incredible grip on international
02:01 relations in America.
02:03 He had the ear of many presidents after he left office including Barack Obama and also
02:08 George W. Bush who has just paid tribute to the man saying, "The US has lost one of the
02:15 most dependable and distinctive voices on foreign affairs.

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