Good Thursday evening. This is Daniel Allott with The Hill's Top Opinions.
At 99 years old, former Sec. of State Henry Kissinger is still a leading voice on international affairs. He's also a "living demonstration that you're never too old to learn new things — or to unlearn wrong old things," writes JOSEPH BOSCO, former China country director for the secretary of Defense.
Kissinger, whose name is synonymous with the foreign policy doctrine called "realism," has suggested that Ukraine should cede territory to Russia, opposed NATO membership for Ukraine and been critical of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's leadership.
But at a recent Davos conference, Kissinger beat a partial retreat, reversing his stance on NATO membership for Ukraine.
Bosco wonders whether Kissinger will now admit he's also been wrong on another major geopolitical crisis: China and Taiwan.
China claims Taiwan as its own territory. And while official U.S. position on Taiwan has been one of "strategic ambiguity," President Biden has stated that the U.S. would help Taiwan if China invaded it. Bosco laments that Kissinger has "gradually adopt[ed] China's position as his own."
"As he has partially done regarding Russia and Ukraine, Kissinger should correct his flawed judgment regarding China and Taiwan," writes Bosco.
"It is late – but not yet too late – for Kissinger to change his blemished record," he concludes. "To enhance deterrence, which failed in Ukraine, he should support an unequivocal U.S. commitment to defend Taiwan."
Read Bosco's op-ed here.
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