When was Kissinger's judgement ever good?

Depends what you mean by "good".

For the ruthlessly cynical and basically destructive ends toward which this man has devoted his life - his judgement is arguably quite effective.

That is, after all, how you get to be "America's preeminent living statesman".

> how you get to be "America's preeminent living statesman"

Mostly by having been in the room during historical decisions, getting old, and refusing to ever go away even when your contributions proved to be disastrous.

Kissinger's plan to bomb rice production in Cambodia not only failed to stop the North Vietnamese, but directly lead to the rise of Pol Pot. It also starved millions of civilians. The guy is a monster.

The ongoing Holmes trial revealed all kinds of celebrity and private equity investors were snookered. Retired politicians are eager to jump onto the Silicon Valley gravy train as directors. George Bush Sr made a killing participating in the Global Crossing fiber cable venture.