Dr. Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, compared President Donald Trump’s diplomatic achievements in the Middle East with Nixon’s opening of China in 1972. He also cautioned that the United States should continue to struggle Trump’s policy in Iran.
“I think one of the great successes of the previous administration was that they aligned themselves, that they achieved two things in the Middle East. One, to separate the Palestinian problem from all the other problems so that it does not become a veto on everything else – and second, to align the Sunni states in a real or potential combination against the Shi’a states, which is Iran, “he said.
Kissinger, speaking at the start of a series of negotiations on foreign affairs – the Nixon Seminars – sponsored by the Nixon Foundation, called the Trump administration’s Abraham accords a breakthrough in Arab-Israeli relations. The agreements established diplomatic ties between several Gulf states and Israel, as well as Morocco and Sudan, opening economic, social and cultural ties between the Arab world and the Jewish state. The connections also strengthen the defenses of the Gulf States and Israel against Iran.
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“This was a brilliant concept. We were just at the beginning. It was like the beginning of the opening of China. The evolution was just beginning,” he said.
Among the seminar participants were former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former national security adviser Robert O’Brien and other Trump administration officials. Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, a member of the House’s Armed Services Committee, also participated.
Pompeo compared President Trump’s approach to international affairs to that of President Nixon, as someone willing to consider unorthodox approaches to foreign policy.
“This was a president who approached foreign policy issues in a unique way,” he said of Trump. “I wanted to make sure that the senior staff, at least I brought in the team, understood the environment in which we were going to work and how we were going to effectively deliver President Trump’s foreign policy operationally. So I wanted to make it clear – even though we know that Washington it is occupied by a lot of people and a lot of big egos – there were people who were prepared to make sure they were working as part of the team that President Trump wanted to present in the foreign policy that he presented to the American people. ”
Kissinger said that the progress cemented by Trump with Israel and the Gulf States should not be diluted by the fact that the United States initiates premature negotiations with Iran. He indirectly warned the Biden government about this possibility and said that the United States should not make concessions to Tehran.
“We must not give up on the pressures that exist on Iran until we know where they are going,” he warned. “If we separate the issue of Iran from the general issue of the Middle East, we risk losing both achievements, that is, separating the Palestinian issue, which removes it as a veto on everything else, and Sunni cooperation with Israel, which it is unique in its opening. ”
“Remember, you have to make peace with American diplomacy,” he warned. “That was our guideline at the time.”
He also advised American governments never to betray an ally.
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“When we talked about Nixon, we developed a principle, an absolutely fundamental principle, that we would never sell to people who depended on America that pledged to defend their freedom. We will not sell them in the final moment. ”
He also said that Nixon’s legacy is his lasting effect on the foreign arena.
“Over time, it will be clear how well he introduced a principle of geopolitical foreign policy into our government’s operations. And that will be his great contribution, in addition to what he did for the various specific topics he dealt with. ”
The Nixon Seminars will be held on the first Tuesday of each month and are available at: Nixonseminar.com, as part of the Richard M. Nixon Foundation Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, at Nixonfoundation.org.
Ben Evansky contributed to this report