Years of Upheaval Read online

  Thank you for downloading this Simon & Schuster eBook.

  * * *

  Join our mailing list and get updates on new releases, deals, bonus content and other great books from Simon & Schuster.

  CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

  or visit us online to sign up at

  eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com

  Books by Henry Kissinger

  Crisis: The Anatomy of Two Major Foreign Policy Crises

  Ending the Vietnam War: A History of America’s Involvement in and Extrication from the Vietnam War

  Does America Need a Foreign Policy?

  Toward a Diplomacy for the 21st Century

  Years of Renewal

  Diplomacy

  Observations: Selected Speeches and Essays, 1982–1984

  Years of Upheaval

  For the Record: Selected Statements, 1977–1980

  White House Years

  American Foreign Policy: Three Essays

  Problems of National Strategy: A Book of Readings (editor)

  The Troubled Partnership: A Reappraisal of the Atlantic Alliance

  The Necessity of Choice: Prospects of American Foreign Policy

  Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy

  A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh, and the Problems of Peace: 1812–22

  To Nancy

  Contents

  List of Illustrations

  List of Maps

  Foreword

  I. A MOMENT OF HOPE

  Decision at the Swimming Pool

  Opportunity Lost

  II. A VISIT TO HANOI

  The Paris Agreement

  A Visit to Bangkok

  The Dilemmas of Cambodia

  A Visit to Vientiane

  An Eerie Visit to Hanoi

  Pham Van Dong

  Economic Aid

  III. CHINA: ANOTHER STEP FORWARD

  Peking Revisited

  Tour d’Horizon

  The Liaison Offices

  A Meeting with Mao

  Conclusion

  IV. THE GATHERING IMPACT OF WATERGATE

  A Rude Awakening

  The Legacy of Vietnam

  Watergate Accelerates

  The “Germans”: Haldeman and Ehrlichman

  The Disintegration of the White House

  The Transformation of the Nixon Administration

  The Taping System

  The “Plumbers” and the Wiretaps

  The Impact on Foreign Policy

  V. THE YEAR OF EUROPE

  Origins

  Atlantic Relations in Disrepair

  The Exploratory Phase

  The “Year of Europe” Speech

  Jobert Leads Us a Dance

  Icebergs in Reykjavik

  Waiting for Jobert

  The Year That Never Was

  VI. THE MIDDLE EAST IN FERMENT

  Time for a New Initiative?

  Preparing for Ismail: A Diplomatic Minuet

  Ismail in Washington

  Hussein

  Golda Meir

  Second Secret Meeting with Ismail

  VII. DÉTENTE: ZAVIDOVO TO SAN CLEMENTE

  Détente: What Was It?

  Grain and Emigrants

  Missiles and Fantasy

  The SALT II Stalemate

  The Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War

  Brezhnev’s American Visit

  A Summing Up

  VIII. INDOCHINA: THE BEGINNING OF THE END

  Broken Promises

  Thieu Visits San Clemente

  The Aborted Retaliation

  A Charade with Le Duc Tho

  Cambodia: A Certain Hypocrisy

  The Lost Opportunity

  Congress Halts the Bombing

  The Negotiations Unravel

  Nobel Peace Prize

  IX. CHILE: THE FALL OF SALVADOR ALLENDE

  The United States and Allende

  Allende in Office

  1972: The Accelerating Polarization of Chilean Politics

  ITT and the Mounting Crisis

  1973: Allende’s Final Crisis

  The Military Begin to Move

  The Coup

  Washington Reaction

  X. BECOMING SECRETARY OF STATE

  Crisis of the Executive

  Waiting for the Senate

  Confirmation Hearings

  The Department of State

  The Foreign Service

  Taking Over

  XI. THE MIDDLE EAST WAR

  An Awakening for Us All

  Why We Were Surprised

  Shaping a Strategy

  October 7: A Sunday of Stalling

  Sadat Gets in Touch

  October 8: True to Scenario

  October 9–10: The Tide Turns Ominously

  October 11: Israel Drives into Syria

  October 12–13: Our Airlift Begins

  October 13–14: The Failed Cease-Fire

  October 14: Deadlock on the Battlefield

  October 15–16: The Tide Turns Again

  October 17: Heading for a Cease-Fire

  October 18–19: An Invitation to Moscow

  XII. MOSCOW, THE CEASE-FIRE, AND THE ALERT

  Journey to Moscow

  Agreement on a Cease-Fire

  A Tense Visit to Israel

  The Cease-Fire Unravels

  The Alert: October 24–25

  The Crisis Abates

  Aftermath

  Prospects for Peace

  XIII. FIRST MIDDLE EAST BREAKTHROUGH

  Fahmy and Golda

  Contact with the PLO

  My First Middle East Journey

  The Six-Point Agreement

  Anwar Sadat

  Sisco and Saunders in Israel

  Amman

  Riyadh

  XIV. PERSIAN GULF INTERLUDE

  XV. THE ECLIPSE OF ZHOU ENLAI AND ANOTHER TALK WITH MAO

  Zhou under Fire

  Another Meeting with Mao

  XVI. TROUBLES WITH ALLIES

  The End of the Year of Europe

  The Impact of the Middle East War

  The North Atlantic Council and the Pilgrims Speech

  What Went Wrong?

  Japanese Perspectives

  XVII. THE GENEVA CONFERENCE

  The Strategy

  The Kilometer 101 Talks and the Beginning of Disengagement

  The Road to Geneva

  Algiers

  Cairo Again

  Return to Riyadh

  First Visit to Damascus

  Respite in Amman

  Lebanon

  Israel

  The Geneva Conference

  XVIII. THE FIRST SHUTTLE: EGYPTIAN-ISRAELI DISENGAGEMENT

  The Origin of Shuttle Diplomacy

  Watergate Again

  Aswan: January 11–12

  Jerusalem: January 12–13

  The Flying State Department

  Aswan Again: January 13–14

  The Shuttle Concludes

  The Final Phase

  Aqaba, Damascus, and Tel Aviv

  Washington at Last

  XIX. THE ENERGY CRISIS

  The Years of Complacency

  The Gathering Storm: 1970–1973

  The OPEC Governments Take Control

  The October War and Energy: The First Oil Shock

  The Second Oil Shock: Tehran and Kuwait

  Ending the Embargo

  XX. ENERGY AND THE DEMOCRACIES

  An Energy Strategy

  The Ministers Convene

  The Washington Energy Conference

  The Consumers Unite

  Another Blowup

  XXI. THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: AN EXPLORATORY SHUTTLE

  The Soviet Dilemma

  Fahmy and Saqqaf Visit W
ashington

  An Eventful Visit to Damascus

  Drama in Israel

  Back to Cairo

  Damascus Again: Asad Stays Cool

  Riyadh

  The Jordanian Option

  XXII. THE DECLINE OF DÉTENTE: A TURNING POINT

  Détente under Attack

  The Jackson-Vanik Amendment

  Defense Dilemmas

  SALT Again

  Another Visit to Moscow

  Conclusion

  XXIII. THE SYRIAN SHUTTLE

  Caging the Bear

  The Arab World

  Prelude to the Shuttle

  Dayan Visits Again

  The Syrian Emissary

  Lebanese Interlude

  The Shuttle Begins: The Line of Separation

  The “United States Proposal,”

  The Limitation of Forces

  The Final Phase: Damascus, Another Crisis

  The Final Phase: Israel

  XXIV. THE LAST HURRAH

  The Salzburg Press Conference,

  Nixon’s Middle East Trip

  More Accusations

  The Moscow Summit

  XXV. THE END OF THE ADMINISTRATION

  The Long Voyage Home

  One More Crisis

  The End of the Road

  Photographs

  Appendix

  Chapter Notes

  Index

  List of Illustrations

  Over a pontoon bridge into Hanoi, February 1973. (White House Photo)

  Meeting Pham Van Dong in Hanoi, February 1973. (DRV Photo)

  With Le Duc Tho at the Guest House, Hanoi, February 1973. (White House Photo)

  Zhou Enlai, November 1973. (Official Chinese Photo)

  With Premier Zhou Enlai and Chairman Mao Zedong in Peking, February 1973. (Official Chinese Photo)

  A flock of Peking ducks at a commune near Peking, November 1973. (Official Chinese Photo)

  Dinner for Edward Heath at Camp David, February 1973. (White House Photo)

  Meeting with President Georges Pompidou in Reykjavik, May 31, 1973. (White House Photo)

  With Chancellor Willy Brandt after meeting in Bonn, March 4, 1974.

  The Big Four Foreign Ministers before dinner in Brussels, December 9, 1973.

  With Helmut Schmidt in Munich after Schmidt’s accession to the Chancellorship, July 7, 1974. (Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung)

  French Foreign Minister Michel Jobert at the Washington Energy Conference, February 1974. (US State Department Photo)

  Being greeted in Tokyo by Japanese Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ohira, November 14, 1973. (Official Japanese Photo)

  The guest house at Zavidovo, May 1973. (Helmut Sonnenfeldt)

  Dobrynin, Gromyko, Brezhnev, Sukhodrev, and Korniyenko at Zavidovo, May 1973. (Helmut Sonnenfeldt)

  With Brezhnev at the hunting tower, Zavidovo, May 1973. (Novosti from SOVPHOTO)

  Brezhnev, HAK, Sukhodrev in hunting garb at Zavidovo, May 1973. (Novosti from SOVPHOTO)

  Brezhnev’s arrival in Washington, June 1973. (White House Photo)

  On the Presidential yacht Sequoia on the Potomac, June 19, 1973. (White House Photo)

  Actress Jill St. John, Leonid Brezhnev, and Andrei Vavilov (interpreter) at San Clemente, June 1973. (Newsweek—McNamee)

  Nixon, Brezhnev, and HAK at San Clemente, June 1973. (White House Photo)

  Len Garment and Ron Ziegler answer press questions on Watergate, May 22, 1973. (White House Photo)

  New White House Team, June 1973: Melvin Laird, President Nixon, Alexander Haig. (White House Photo)

  After being sworn in as Secretary of State, September 22, 1973. (United Press International Photo)

  Luncheon in the White House Mess after the swearing in, September 22, 1973. (White House Photo)

  Waiting for a ride at the White House With Brent Scrowcroft. (ABC News)

  First day at the State Department after being sworn in, September 1973. (Wide World Photo)

  The traveling State Department press corps. (White House Photo by David Hume Kennerly)

  Testifying before Congress as Secretary of State, September 1973. (Congressional News Photo by Dev O’Neill)

  With the House Congressional Leadership, 1973. (Congressional News Photo by Dev O’Neill)

  Opening of the Washington Energy Conference, February 11, 1974. (United Press International Photo)

  Walking in the garden with President Sadat’s national security adviser, Hafiz Ismail, Paris, May 20, 1973. (Eugenie Trone)

  With King Hassan of Morocco in Rabat, on HAK’s first trip to the Middle East, November 5, 1973.

  With President Habib Bourguiba in Tunis, November 6, 1973. (Agence Tunis Afrique Presse Photo)

  Meeting President Houari Boumedienne in Algiers, December 12, 1973. (Wide World Photo)

  With King Hussein in Amman, November 8, 1973.

  A call on King Faisal in Riyadh, February 1975.

  With President Hafez al-Asad in Damascus, January 20, 1974. (United Press International Photo)

  The US delegation at the Geneva Middle East Peace Conference, December 21, 1973. (United Nations Photo)

  Geneva Middle East Peace Conference, December 1973: The Man in the Middle. (Henri Bureau-SYGMA)

  Cocktails at Abba Eban’s house, Jerusalem, January 13, 1974. (Peter W. Rodman)

  Negotiating the Egyptian-Israeli disengagement agreement, Aswan, January 1974. (Photo Department, Egyptian Presidency — Cairo)

  Vice President Hosni Mubarak and President Sadat. (White House Photo by David Hume Kennedy)

  Anwar el-Sadat. (White House Photo by David Hume Kennedy)

  Completion of the Egyptian-Israeli disengagement, at the Prime Minister’s Residence in Israel, January 18, 1974. (K. Weiss) (Tova Weiss-Lynch, 1974)

  Signing the Egyptian-Israeli agreement at Kilometer 101, January 18, 1974. (United Nations Photo by Y. Nagata)

  Ismail Fahmy and Omar Saqqaf say goodbye after a visit to the White House, February 19, 1974. (White House Photo)

  “Photo opportunity” on the veranda at Giza. (Peter W. Rodman)

  Shuttle scene: working in the compartment on SAM 86970. (White House Photo by David Hume Kennedy)

  Poster presented by the traveling journalists on the Syrian shuttle, May 1974. (United Press International Photo)

  Getting ready to board King Hussein’s helicopter, Aman, May 6, 1974. (Peter W. Rodman)

  Arriving home after the thirty-four-day shuttle, at Andrews Air Force Base, May 31, 1974. (Ron Hall)

  With Nancy on a shuttle. (White House Photo by David Hume Kennedy)

  Verification Panel meeting in the Situation Room, 1974. (ABC News)

  Chatting with Senator Henry M. Jackson before delivering testimony to Jackson’s Armed Services subcommittee, June 24, 1974. (Wide World Photo)

  With Brezhnev in Moscow, March 1974. (Novosti from SOVPHOTO)

  The June 1974 Nixon-Brezhnev Summit:

  At Brezhnev’s villa in Oreanda. (White House Photo)

  Getting ready for a cruise on the Black Sea. (Peter W. Rodman)

  At Oreanda, by Brezhnev’s swimming pool, waiting for Nixon and Brezhnev to emerge from their tête-à-tête in the grotto. (White House Photo)

  Nixon’s tumultuous reception in Egypt, June 1974. (Photo Department, Egyptian Presidency — Cairo)

  Nixon’s visit to Egypt, June 1974. (Photo Department, Egyptian Presidency — Cairo)

  Nixon departing the White House, August 9, 1974. (Wide World Photo)

  List of Maps

  Southeast Asia, 1973

  Western Europe, 1973: the North Atlantic Alliance, the European Community, and the OECD

  The Middle East

  Israel and Its Neighbors before the October 1973 War

  The Sinai Front: Egyptian Attack, October 6, 1973

  The Golan Front: Syrian Attack, October 6–7, 1973

  The Golan Front: Israeli Counterattack

  The Sinai Front: Israeli Canal Crossing and Breakthr
ough

  The Sinai Front: Cease-Fire Line after the October War

  Egyptian-Israeli Disengagement: Dayan’s Plan, January 4, 1974

  Egyptian-Israeli Disengagement: Sadat’s Concept, December 1973 (approximation)

  Egyptian-Israeli Disengagement Agreement, January 18, 1974

  The Golan Front: Cease-Fire Line after the October War

  Quneitra and Environs

  Syrian-Israeli Disengagement Agreement, May 31, 1974

  Foreword

  A STRANGE combination of circumstances caused me to be entrusted with the day-to-day conduct of our nation’s foreign policy during Richard Nixon’s second term — a time of upheaval without precedent in this century. A President fresh from the second largest electoral victory in our history was unseated in a revolution that his own actions had triggered and his conduct could not quell. And amid the disintegration of the Nixon Presidency there occurred an explosion in the Middle East, disputes with our allies, an energy crisis, the unraveling of the Vietnam settlement, and a bitter domestic controversy over US–Soviet relations. We had begun Nixon’s second term imagining that we were on the threshold of a creative new era in international affairs; seldom, if ever, had so many elements of foreign policy appeared malleable simultaneously. Within months we confronted a nightmarish collapse of authority at home and a desperate struggle to keep foreign adversaries from transforming it into an assault on our nation’s security and that of other free peoples.

  Nixon’s first term (1969–1973) — the subject of my earlier volume, White House Years — was in a sense an adolescence. Amid turmoil over Indochina, the Administration was able to dominate events and help shape a new international structure of relations among the superpowers. Diplomacy in the second term, which ended abruptly in the late summer of 1974, was a rude accession of maturity. A weakened executive authority magnified the difficulty of every challenge even while the world afforded no respite from America’s responsibilities as the leader and protector of the democracies.

  Watergate had a severe impact on the conduct of diplomacy in almost all its dimensions, providing an object lesson, if one was needed, in how crucial a strong President is for the design and execution of a creative foreign policy. Yet through it all we managed to preserve the basic design of our foreign policy and even scored some important successes. American diplomacy in the Middle East during and following the October 1973 war contributed to a peace process that has continued, with great advances and some setbacks, to this day. And we laid the basis for mastering the energy crisis. It was an extraordinary period of testing, but statesmen do not have the right to ask to serve only in simple times.