Henry Kissinger Shuttle Diplomacy Essay

Outline

I. Biography
II. Introduction
a. Shuttle Diplomacy Definition
b. Chronology of Kissinger’s Shuttle Diplomacy
III. Body
a. Arab-Israeli War – Yom Kippur War
b. Major Accomplishments of Shuttle Diplomacy
c. Legacy of Shuttle Diplomacy
IV. Shaping of Current US Foreign Policy
V. Epilogue
VI. Conclusion I. Biography
Henry Kissinger born in Furth Bavaria, 1923, to a German Jewish family escaped Nazi persecution by emigrating to the United States in 1938. He became a naturalized United States citizen in 1943, changing his name from Heinz Alfred Kissinger to Henry Alfred Kissinger, and served as a translator in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946. After serving in the Army he went on to attend Harvard University where he obtained

Introduction After the Yom Kippur War in 1973 between Israel, Egypt, and Syria, Henry Kissinger developed what is known today as “Shuttle Diplomacy”. The phrase was created by the US media to describe Mr. Kissinger’s frequent travel travel in the middle east between Israel, Egypt and Syria. Kissinger was trying to broker a ceasefire and end hostile actions in the region. His secondary agenda, or primary agenda, was to limit Soviet involvement in the region and secure a United States foothold absent Soviet meddling.
Shuttle Diplomacy Definition:
"Shuttle Diplomacy" is most often used when the two primary parties do not formally recognize each other but want to be involved in negotiations in order to disengage opposing armies as well as to promote a lasting truce between the belligerents. A third party serves as an intermediary or mediator between the two parties, "shuttling" back and forth, between the two feuding parties. The term became widespread following Henry Kissinger's term as the 56th United States (U.S.) Secretary of State (1973-1977). Famously, Kissinger primarily used shuttle diplomacy to mediate conflicts in the Middle East throughout the1970s, specifically those between Israel and Arab states following the 1973 Yom Kippur

Israel successfully conducted air strikes on Egypt and Syria, gaining air superiority, allowing for ground forces to seize the Gaza strip and West Bank from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria. In the Yom Kippur War, Egypt and Syria were seeking retaliation for the 1967 Six-Day War which ultimately failed. After a successful Israeli counterattack, two failed UNSC resolutions 338 & 339, and burgeoning Soviet involvement, Kissinger saw this as an opportunity to expand U.S. influence in the Middle East. Kissinger wrote in his book Crisis, that “his policy was designed to shape events in conformity with America’s values and national interests.” During this timeframe the Watergate scandal plagued the Nixon administration to the point the administration was incapable of implementing foreign policy in the Middle East. Kissinger saw this as an opportunity to take charge of the situation in the Middle East, advance U.S. foreign policy, and limit the Soviet involvement in the region. At the same time it may help to restore some credibility to the Nixon administration. “The Soviet-American jockeying made the crisis into one with potentially global ramifications.” During talks at the Geneva convention, Kissinger openly discussed a multi-lateral approach, seeking Soviet input, while secretly “he worked hard to sideline the Soviets and searched for unilateral