Strength, Vision and Dedication

Henry Kissinger’s recently published Six Studies in World Strategy deals with six leaders who understood that what seems inevitable becomes so by human agency. They transcended the circumstances they inherited, writes Kissinger, and thereby carried their societies to the frontiers of the possible. The leaders are Konrad Adenauer of Germany, Charles de Gaulle of France, Richard Nixon of the United States, Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, and Margaret Thatcher of Britain. Kissinger, who turned 100 in May, encountered all six at the height of their influence.

Adenauer probably had the hardest job of the six. His country had been defeated in war, was occupied by its enemies, and was broken morally. Twice in recent decades it had sought to dominate Europe. Adenauer, writes Kissinger, pursued a strategy of humility: integration into Europe, although a suitable Europe was yet to be created. Undeterred, Adenauer radiated self-confidence. He believed that the unity of…