What happened: Henry Kissinger, the widely respected scholar and statesman who achieved the American Dream after fleeing Nazi Germany as a teenager in 1938, died Wednesday at the age of 100.
• A tireless advocate for freedom and capitalism, Kissinger championed the just use of military action to defeat the Red Menace of Soviet Communism around the world. He will be sorely missed.
Why it matters: The American hero lived a long and noble life. Alas, it would have been nice if Kissinger had held on a little longer to see Israel, a country he firmly supported, complete its mission to annihilate Hamas in Gaza.
• In one of his final comments on international affairs before his death, Kissinger condemned the genocidal anti-Semitic organization for its "open act of aggression" against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 and dismissed the Hamas sympathizers in the West for urging the Jewish state to stop defending itself. "You can't make concessions to people who have declared and demonstrated by their actions that they cannot make peace," he said.
What they're saying: "It is with a heavy heart that I mourn the passing of a great statesman, scholar, and friend, Dr. Henry Kissinger," Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. "[His] departure marks the end of an era, one in which his formidable intellect and diplomatic prowess shaped not only the course of American foreign policy but also had a profound impact on the global stage."
• "The ease with which [Kissinger] wielded power made him a natural avatar for an American national security state that grew and gained momentum through the 20th century, like an organism that survives by enlarging itself," wrote former Obama adviser Ben Rhodes, a tireless advocate for America's enemies.
Bottom line: Rest in power, king.
