Anthony Bourdain’s comments about Henry Kissinger in his 2001 book have resurfaced following the controversial politician’s death.
The former United States Secretary of State died at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut on Wednesday 29 November.
During his lifetime, some called for Kissinger to be charged with war crimes. And, it seems the beloved late chef Bourdain was not a fan of his after scathing comments from the book 'A Cook’s Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal' resurfaced.
After a visit to Cambodia, Bourdain wrote, “You’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands”, because of his approval of a secret and illegal war there.
Kissinger is believed to be responsible for the deaths of between 150,000 to 500,000 Cambodian civilians after ordering the secret carpet bombing of Cambodia and Laos over four years from 1969. 540,000 bombs were dropped by the US.
Bourdain wrote: “You will never again be able to open a newspaper and read about that treacherous, prevaricating, murderous scumbag sitting down for a nice chat with Charlie Rose or attending some black-tie affair for a new glossy magazine without choking.”
He continued: “Witness what Henry did in Cambodia ― the fruits of his genius for statesmanship ― and you will never understand why he’s not sitting in the dock at The Hague next to [Serbian President Slobodan] Milošević.”
It was not the only time Boudain mentioned Kissinger’s name with disdain after Bourdain responded to comments that he had become a kind of “statesman” due to the way his work had brought awareness around global conflicts and struggles.
Bourdain argued, “I’m not going to the White House Correspondents’ dinner. I don’t need to be laughing it up with Henry Kissinger”.
“Any journalist who has ever been polite to Henry Kissinger, you know, f*** that person,” Bourdain said. “I’m a big believer in moral grey areas, but, when it comes to that guy, in my view he should not be able to eat at a restaurant in New York.”
There's been plenty of takes on social media to the news. As people around the world have reacted to the news of his death, an X/Twitter account called “Is Henry Kissinger Dead Yet?” simply wrote “YES” in a post.
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