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Title: The Trial of Henry Kissinger by Christopher Hitchens ISBN: 1-85984-398-0 Publisher: Verso Books Pub. Date: June, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.67 (40 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: The War Criminal's War Criminal
Comment: In this breezy but extremely well researched little book, Christopher Hitchens convincingly argues that Henry Kissinger is a war criminal according to published American and International legal standards. Hitchens builds his case not from a moral or political point of view but from a purely legal one based on evidence that Kissinger was responsible for acts of genocide, assassination, and unlawfully interfering with government operations both in the United States and in foreign countries. Hitchens documents how Kissinger's ignominious resume spans the globe and includes the mass murder of civilians in East Timor, Pakistan, Greece, Cyprus, Chile, Argentina, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
In places such as Chile and Argentina, according to Hitchens, Kissinger merely supervised the assassination of democratically elected heads of state and the establishment of brutally repressive and murderous military dictatorships. His accomplishments were more significant in East Timor where, with his help, one third of the population was murdered, and in Indochina where he not only colluded in the murder of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese but also in Cambodia and Laos where under his guidance, Nixon illegally extended the war and waged it almost purely against the civilian population.
Conservatives or self-styled realists might refute Hitchens by arguing that Kissinger's genocidal resume is merely the result of his practicing a brutal but necessary variant of realpolitik. But as Hitchens' gleefully points out, few Kissinger lovers including Kissinger himself are unwilling to do this for two reasons: first because they are unwilling to face the legal consequences of linking the man to his murders and second because in many cases, while Kissinger's actions personally benefited him and his patrons, they in no way helped the United States. For example, in 1968 Kissinger helped to sabotage the Johnson administration's peace plan in order ensure a Nixon presidential victory and his own appointment as Secretary of State. Four years later he successfully brokered THE SAME PLAN only by this time, twenty thousand more American troops had been killed along with hundreds of thousands of civilians in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The only people who benefited from this were Nixon and his top officials including Kissinger.
It is for these reasons and others, according to Hitchens, that Kissinger has gone to great lengths to cover his tracks, by censoring documents or bequeathing them to the Library of Congress under the condition that they remain sealed until his death. While Kissinger enjoys a sort of morbid celebrity status at home, he is less at ease abroad where at least once he has been legally detained to answer questions about his responsibility for the "disappearance" of foreign nationals.
The importance of this book lies not so much in its condemnation of Henry Kissinger, but in the lessons it holds for Americans in these troubled times. As of this writing, many Americans are asking themselves why their nation is so hated around the world, and whether its forthcoming invasion of Iraq is based on genuine national security concerns or the self interest of the ruling elite. Sometimes the answers to such questions are found not so much in the present but in the past. Henry Kissinger's career, as chronicled in this book, provides us with many hints and direct answers to some of our most troubling questions today.
Rating: 5
Summary: Pressing the Case
Comment: Henry Kissinger left Paris early on a recent trip. Some contended that the early departure stemmed from the Belgian government's eagerness to confront Kissinger for alleged "crimes" in the overthrow of the Chilean government of President Allende culminating with the legally elected leader's assassination. European interest has dramatically intensified in recent months regarding an expressed need for Kissinger to be compelled to explain his actions regarding Chile and other controversial matters. The controversial former U.S. secretary of state seeks to quell such inquiries through a nervous silence, hoping such concerns will dissipate through the passage of time.
Into the scene comes Christopher Hitchens, who makes a case in this book for Kissinger standing trial for past foreign policy conduct. He makes the case for Kissinger's involvement in the overthrow and assassination of Allende in Chile, but does not stop there. Hitchens also presents his reasons why Kissinger should be held accountable for a coup and an assassination in Bangladesh, and for the deaths of East Timoreans seeking freedom and incurring widespread loss of life at the hands of Indonesian President Suharto's forces. Hitchens also implicates Kissinger in the 1974 Cyprus tragedy and also hones in on actions in which he was involved as Nixon's special national security operative and secretary of state during the Vietnam War. He cites Telford Taylor, an American prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, as stating that U.S. policy was subject to prosecution by invoking the prevailing Nuremberg criteria, relating to ferocious bombing assaults which Taylor and Hitchens believe violated the Geneva Codes.
Hitchens presents his case with compelling vigor, asserting that, in a world where the United States is seeking vigorous prosecution in the World Court against Slobodan Milosevic and his cohorts for criminal conduct in the former Yugoslavia, a Henry Kissinger should also be held accountable for his activities.
William Hare
Rating: 5
Summary: Dont be fooled by my rating...
Comment: In totality this book is excellent and covers aphoristically within small bounds many grounds with detailed/ specific support and reference to appropriate documents. Nevertheless I have several major criticisms. The volume (thickness) of the book was rather disappointing in that not much content (well none at all actually) was available on Kissinger's earlier existence including none on his alleged double spy/ espionage roll with the USSR (see Capell, A. F. 1974 or 1992 'Henry Kissinger, Soviet agent'). Other exclusions also include BNL (Banca Nazionale del Lavoro who provided Iraq with over $4 billion in unreported loans) scandal as at the time under investigation by Committee On Banking involving Kissinger Associates and more explicitly Mr Kissinger himself on BNL Advisory Board since 1985 and up to his proclaimed February 22, 1991 as he had been marked stating to Financial Times on April 26th with evidence, reports ( even one by 60 minutes at the time ) and findings which proved this claim to be false (surprise surprise). Not to side track however, there other criticism that I have more regarding Mr Hitchens style ( this being the second book of his that I have had the privilege to read). The appendix is rather poor and Bibliography/ Referencing nonexistent! I would like to have direct access to all referenced documentation - where may I find them ? what is the exact source ? This is something most agitating about this book much like Hitchens others. I think if this had even been attempted and the appendix a little more developed then the overall density of the book would have been a little more rewarding for the money that one has paid as well its prestige/ resource value in ones library. Nonetheless its size makes for a great book to be enjoyed by all and consuming not much of your time to complete.
This is a must read book not only by those in the field of Humanitarian Rights but by all those who seek too see the gradual unfolding of the truth and perhaps evidently the justice that may/ should hopefully prevail from it. Furthermore this book does well to reassure that the criminals of today may not easily escape the discrepancies within their own track record and conduct even in light of their title and awards such as those of the Nobel Peace Prize being shamefully given to individuals as such.
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Title: No One Left To Lie To: The Values of the Worst Family by Christopher Hitchens ISBN: 1859842844 Publisher: Verso Books Pub. Date: July, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: A Long Short War: The Postponed Liberation of Iraq by Christopher Hitchens ISBN: 0452284988 Publisher: Plume Pub. Date: 03 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $8.99 |
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Title: Why Orwell Matters by Christopher Hitchens ISBN: 0465030491 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 17 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice by Christopher Hitchens ISBN: 185984054X Publisher: Verso Books Pub. Date: April, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Letters to a Young Contrarian by Christopher Hitchens ISBN: 0465030327 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 16 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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