Customer Reviews

Trial Of Henry Kissinger

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

A well-documented, most credible book. Kissinger emerges as an evil influence, with unrestricted power ceded to him by a weak president. His sabotage of the 1968 Paris Peace Talks to further his own political aims resulted in the loss of countless American lives and even more lives among civilians in Indo-China. At the least, his Nobel Peace Prize should be revoked while he is still alive. Although he should be tried for war crimes as have been tyrants from the Balkans and from Africa, to say nothing of the Nazis at Nuremberg, he knows the U.S. government will protect him, not least because it wants to deflect its own guilt it would have to admit to the world. How can America export democracy to the world while it protects this criminal by a veil of hypocrisy ?

Although Hitchens wrote this book in order to expose the criminality of Henry Kissinger, it is of utmost importance to Library of Congress employees (as well as other librarians) to see how the institution was misused and [bad]. Really, just how can a government employee hide government papers as his own personal papers?

A bit out of date, Hitchens details on page 76 how this was done: "On leaving the State Department, Kissinger made an extraordinary bargain whereby (having first hastily trucked them for safekeeping on the Rockefeller estate at Pocantico Hills, New York) he gifted his papers to the Library of Congress, on the sole condition that they remained under seal until after his demise. However, Kissinger's friend Manuel Contreras made a mistake when he killed a United States citizen, Ronni Karpen Moffitt, in the Washington car bomb which also murdered Orlando Letelier in 1976. by late 2000, the FBI had finally sought and received subpoena power to review the Library of Congress papers, a subpoena with which Kissinger dealt only through his attorneys." I am also assuming one of Kissinger's attorneys could be listed as the General Counsel of the Library, Elizabeth Pugh.

Left out is the story of the man who took the papers under a [tricked] Deed of Gift, signed on Christmas Eve no less, between then Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin and Kissinger. Boorstin, a highly duplicitous man in his own right, is a former communist who named names at the McCarthy hearings. The current Librarian of Congress, right-winger James Billington, is the man who fought the FBI subpoena. Maybe that is because he later named an endowed Library of Congress chair after Kissinger?

I particularly liked Hitchens summary of just who Kissinger is on page 16: "The signature qualities were there from the [Nixon] inaugural moment: the sycophancy and the duplicity, the power worship and the absence of scruple; the empty trading of old non-friends for new non-friends. And the distinctive effects were also present: the uncounted and expendable corpses; the official and unofficial lying about the cost; the heavy and pompous pseudo-indignation when unwelcome questions were asked...It debauched the American republic and American democracy, and it levied a hideous toll of casualties on weaker and more vulnerable societies." This description goes for a lot of people in power in Washington.

One bit of work that needs to be done is to be found on page 110 and concerns the attempted assassination attempt Kissinger helped plan against Greek journalist Elias Demtracopoulos. The journalist had been very critical of the junta of generals who had taken over Greece, engaging in suppression of democracy as well as murder (and tied to Nixon and Kissinger). The index for Kissinger's papers at the Library of Congress gives this tanalizing hint about Kissinger's role: "keywords acknowledging sens moss burdick gravel re mr demetracopoulos death in athens prison due 701218." It would be nice for the Library of Congress to release those papers, would it not?

My only complaint about this book is the fact that the Library of Congress figures prominently in hiding the criminal behavior of Kissinger, yet "Library of Congress" is not to be found in the index at the back of the book.

Is former secretary of state and Nobel Peace Prize winner Kissinger a war criminal? Hitchens, a journalist (the Nation, Vanity Fair) and author (Hostage to History: Cyprus from the Ottomans to Kissinger), believes that Kissinger committed crimes around the world, from Cambodia to Bangladesh to Chile. With the recent detention of Chile's August Pinochet and the international interest in prosecuting Serbia's Slobodan Milosevic, Hitchens theorizes that the era of "sovereign immunity" for state crimes has ended. He would limit Kissinger's prosecution to "offenses that might or should form the basis of a legal prosecution: for war crimes, for crimes against humanity and for offenses against common or customary or international law." Hitchens relies on congressional hearing testimony, transcripts of the infamous Nixon tapes, and the memoirs and papers of Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administration officials to support his case against Kissinger. Although there is limited attribution of the quoted and referenced documentation, the substance of the material makes an intriguing case. Recommended for political science and international relations collections.

Midway through Hitchens' examination of Kissinger there is little doubt left that were Kissinger not a US citizen, he would surely be subject to the same level of examination by the UN, the ICC and over a dozens nations whose citizens his policy advising have affected. Only his immunity provided by the most powerful nation in the world keeps him out of prison.
Hitchens takes the same approach throughout every chapter, contrasting the different versions of history as presented by DOD documents obtained by the FOA and those given by Nixon, Kissinger and US military officials themselves. The process is thorough and extremely reliable, considering that most of the documentation of Kissinger's deadly foreign policy dealings from Cambodia to Chile are provided by the same department that allowed these atrocities to happen 30 years ago.
Reading about all the backpedaling and evasion of accountability on Kissinger's part throughout the years is enough reason to buy this book.
The only word of warning I would give is that this is not a book for newcomers to the world of US foreign policy in the 1970s. Be prepared for some serious time/subject leaps, especially in the sections on Bangladesh and E. Timor, due in part to Hitchens' quick and assuming writing style and in part to the fact that this stuff never exactly gets talked about in your "average" history lesson. Read your history first and then come to this book.
The only question I had left at the end is where Hitchens got the picture for the cover.

Christopher Hitchens talks of George Orwell (his own self-styled mentor) in his invited lectures and at the New School in New York where he occasionally teaches, writes of Orwell in his books, and backs Paul Wolfowitz as a matter of Realpolitik on the second gulf war. One waits in vain to read a piece of his that, knowledgable as he is and not one to turn away from a fight, critiques the Pentagon, an institution that houses Wolfowitz (and, among many others, Wolfowitz's boss Rumsfeld) and which simply cries out to be critiqued at the present time -- and precisely on Orwellian grounds. On this matter Hitchens is no longer an expat critic of the American establishment as he was once hailed to be, he is a yes-man. In his silence is a complicit yes to any number of things the Pentagon currently says and does. This makes not only for his current spate of bad critical writing (a gadfly who agrees?), but more to the point it aligns his current thinking with the likes of Kissinger, whom Hitchens sees fit to dispatch with in this book (and rightly so). (***) Hitchens has gone to bed with the Pentagon far too uncritically regarding the second Iraq war, simply because they talk about democracy and wage war against theocracy. Whom did Paul Wolfowitz recently hire as consultant for matters of national security? Henry Kissinger. The irony could not be more biting. I can find no better way to get my point across regarding Hitchens and the distance that he has placed between himself and his own mentor than to put it thus: Orwell would have disagreed with Hitchens on his uncritical choice of partners here. And that matters, especially for a man whose entire intellectual reputation is built upon the notion of political disagreement, or dissensus rather than consensus.

Christopher Hitchens' slender indictment of former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger can be judged according to its realization of either one of two possible goals. The first, explicit, goal is the narrow one of presenting historical evidence and the relevant clauses of American and international law so as to make the case for Kissinger's trial as a war criminal by US, foreign or international courts. The second goal, implicit in Hitchens' subject matter and arguments, is the broader one of explaining, or at least exploring, what role justice ought to play in Great Power politics and how heads of state ought to be held accountable for their actions. The book realizes the first goal but falls far short of the second--and far more interesting--one.

Drawing on available White House and State Department documents from Kissinger's years in government service, as well as various accounts by others, inside and outside Washington power circles, Hitchens does a skillful job of defining the war crimes in question and demonstrating Kissinger's culpability in them. Here, Hitchens shows his abilities as a journalist and historical detective, as well as his debating skills, deftly dissecting Kissinger's various excuses and evasions concerning his past actions.

Two problems mar this otherwise impressive performance. The first, inevitable, problem is that the sifting of historical data and parsing of laws makes the book a bit dry and dull--exactly what one would expect from a legal brief. The second, far more avoidable, problem is the book's style, made extremely tedious by the buckets of vitriol and self-righteousness Hitchens pours out not only on Kissinger but on far less morally reprehensible figures like Clark Clifford or Daniel Patrick Moynihan (whose writing abilities, as well as character, are attacked in a bizarre aside).

The book's most serious flaw, however, is its failure to address the larger issues involved. Hitchens seems to believe that all key political decision makers ought to be held to the high standards set by international law and human rights codes and tried for their violations of these standards by a body like the International Criminal Court. While this is a worthy goal in principle, its practicality is doubtful. The rule of law within a society presupposes the authority of a unified state, preferably one accountable to the people, behind the law. Only such a common authority can enforce the law and ensure a reasonably uniform application of it. No such authority exists behind international law or the ICC, which are subject to the same old power politics among nations they are supposedly above.

Take, for example, the original war crimes tribunals against the German and Japanese high commands after World War II. Were those men guilty of war crimes? Absolutely--but so were Winston Churchill (for allowing the fire-bombing of civilians at Dresden), Harry S Truman (for authorizing use of the A-bombs) and Josef Stalin (for originally invading Poland, slaughtering Poles and allowing the mass rape of German women at the war's end). The reason those men did not end up at the end of the rope was for the simple, cynical reason that they won and the Axis powers lost. Similarly, Henry Kissinger might someday be prosecuted for his crimes, but such prosecution will represent the triumph of his political enemies, not of justice.

Fair application of international law is a near impossibility, especially since its violation is a sadly routine part of politics and if it ever were rigorously applied not only Kissinger but most of the world's governments would be behind bars. Hitchens failure to acknowledge this problem makes him seem naive and makes The Trial of Henry Kissinger an ultimately unsatisfying read.

What is a "war criminal"? For all practical purposes it means you lost so you are the criminal, we won we bring peace and freedom. It gives an easy out and a simple legal mechanism to lock up or kill the opposing leaders at the end of hostilities.

Here is the problem - there is no consistent set of international laws. As an example, I just read the new book by Brzezinski "The Choice" - excellent book - and he thinks an effective World Court is many decades away. So at the present time we have individuals living in sovereign states that accept only that laws apply to individuals living within states, but the states themselves still have failed to grasp or have intentionally chosen to ignore the concept that sovereign states in dealing among themselves must (also) be governed by a set of international laws. Then when there is a problem anywhere (like Iraq or even Haiti) the first step is to go through a legal process. People like Kissinger in the past, and more recently Wolfowitz have decided on their own that they are above the law or can act with impunity. But even Jimmy Carter shipped material to Afghanistan to support an armed insurrection, and Reagan shipped goods (secretly) to Iraq, Iran and Nicaragua contrary even to US law, not just international laws. So this is a problem that extends well beyond Kissinger.

It is somewhat ironic that Jack Straw is condemning Israel in March 2004 for their acts against Hamas while he supports illegal intervention in Iraq in 2003. All in all there is a high degree of arbitrariness and hypocrisy.

So it follows that if the US or Britain are to be a democratic examples they must apply consistent legal standards to all international dealings and support international treaties and laws - to the letter of the laws, even if that is inconvenient, takes longer, and does not always result in the short term interests of the US being served. If some sort of international consensus cannot be reached then it is a "war of the jungle", and war crimes will always be an issue. It also follows that Middle East peace and an environment consensus will never be solved which is quite a depressing concept. So it is really a priority to strengthen international laws and institutions. At the moment it is shear nonsense to call Kissinger a war criminal since there are no laws to break.

Jack in Toronto

In an ideal democratic society, no one is above the law. Crimes against humanity are a pretty serious business, and the international community are now beginning to take it very seriously, as they should, because without justice, no one is safe. It takes courage to go against individuals of power, and Hitchins has put himself squarely in the face of a man with considerable clout, who has a lot to answer for. What is mind boggling is that there should be enough evidence out there, and enough witnesses, particularly in regards to the secret meetings between Nixon and the South Vietnamese, stalling the peace negotiations, and prolonging that terrible war for another four years, costing thousands of American lives, not to mention a plethora of innocent deaths; add to the illegal bombings of Cambodia and Laos, and the extermination of literally thousands of civilians, instigated without congressional approval, should be enough to at least begin arraignment proceedings, though Kissinger manages to wriggle out of the legal spotlight, because I suspect, opening this particular can of worms would implicate more people, thus bringing shame upon everything good the United States stands for. If anything, Hitchens book presents a compelling case to begin arraignment proceedings against a man who clearly has many things to hide.

In this little book, Hitchens outlines several areas on the international stage where Henry Kissinger had influence or direct involvement with terrible crimes, including political assassination, massive genocide, illegal regime change, and war crimes that match, in terms of scope, the Nazi atrocities of WW II. In fact, it has reached a point where Kissinger refuses to enter certain countries for fear of being detained and arrested. As Hitchens points out, it takes a person with an excellent memory and intelligence to have gotten away with murder on a grand scale and for such a long time. What is telling, is that Kissinger will not come clean. Documents are currently hiding in the Library of Congress that would blow the lid off his illegal activities. The man is hiding behind what is termed "National Security". In other words, the contents of these documents, if revealed to the public at large, could present a dangerous security problem for the American people. Rubbish. The contents of these documents present a security problem for Henry Kissinger and his present and past cronies.

Where there is crime and the misuse of power, one will always find a money connection. In chapter 10, The Profit Margin, Hitchins touches upon Kissinger's company, Kissinger and Associates, and his corporate clients. It's a 'boy's club' on a world scale. It would be naive to believe that there wouldn't be at least a few financial and political improprieties connecting American corporations with foreign governments - Kissinger has been cashing in for a long time, and it's time someone had the courage to investigate him and bring this man to justice.

Hitchens book is not a thorough or by any means a comprehensive account of Kissinger's alleged crimes against humanity, but it is at least enough to start the wheels of justice turning in the right direction.

In an ideal democratic society, no one is above the law. Crimes against humanity are a pretty serious business, and the international community are now beginning to take it very seriously, as they should, because without justice, no one is safe. It takes courage to go against individuals of power, and Hitchins has put himself squarely in the face of a man with considerable clout, who has a lot to answer for. What is mind boggling is that there should be enough evidence out there, and enough witnesses, particularly in regards to the secret meetings between Nixon and the South Vietnamese, stalling the peace negotiations, and prolonging that terrible war for another four years, costing thousands of American lives, not to mention a plethora of innocent deaths. Added to the illegal bombings of Cambodia and Laos, and the extermination of literally thousands of civilians, instigated without congressional approval, should be enough to at least begin arraignment proceedings, though Kissinger manages to wriggle out of the legal spotlight, because I suspect, opening this particular can of worms would implicate more people, thus bringing shame upon everything good the United States supposedly stands for. If anything, Hitchens book presents a compelling case to begin arraignment proceedings against a man who clearly has many things to hide.

In this little book, Hitchens outlines several areas on the international stage where Henry Kissinger had influence or direct involvement with terrible crimes, including political assassination, massive genocide, illegal regime change, and war crimes that match, in terms of scope, the Nazi atrocities of WW II. In fact, it has reached a point where Kissinger refuses to enter certain countries for fear of being detained and arrested. As Hitchens points out, it takes a person with an excellent memory and intelligence to have gotten away with murder on a grand scale and for such a long time. What is telling, is that Kissinger will not come clean. Documents are currently hiding in the Library of Congress that would blow the lid off his illegal activities. The man is hiding behind what is termed "National Security". In other words, the contents of these documents, if revealed to the public at large, could present a dangerous security problem for the American people. Rubbish. The contents of these documents present a security problem for Henry Kissinger and his present and past cronies.

Where there is crime and the misuse of power, one will always find a money connection. In chapter 10, The Profit Margin, Hitchins touches upon Kissinger's company, Kissinger and Associates, and his corporate clients. It's a 'boy's club' on a world scale. It would be naive to believe that there wouldn't be at least a few financial and political improprieties connecting American corporations with foreign governments - Kissinger has been cashing in for a long time, and it's time someone had the courage to investigate him and bring this man to justice.

Hitchens book is not a thorough or by any means a comprehensive account of Kissinger's alleged crimes against humanity, but it is at least enough to start the wheels of justice turning in the right direction.

One of the most memorable scenes in the original "Godfather' movie was a sequence in which Michael (played by Al Pacino), now firmly insinuated in the evil machinations of the family business, travels to rural New England to try to attempt to persuade Kate (played by Diane Keaton) to marry him. When she complains about his father's business and the violence associated with it, Michael says that his father is no different than any other powerful men, like a governor or senator. Kate looks at him with surprise and contempt, claiming governors and senators don't have people killed. With those cold dark eyes, Michael says, "Now Kate, who is being naive?"

Such a cynical recognition of the motives and methods of some of our leaders informs this insightful book by journalist Christopher Hitchens, who does the reader a yeoman's service in detailing the evidence mounting against Henry Kissinger for crimes against humanity. Chief and foremost of these many such incidents involves Kissinger's willful disregard for the welfare of American soldiers in harm's way in Vietnam, where his actions and policies served to both derail a possible settlement in the fall of 1968 (thereby condemning an additional 40,000 servicemen to unnecessary death in the fields and jungles of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos), and also extended a state of war over additional areas such as Cambodia and Laos for strictly political purposes, thus creating the conditions for millions of unnecessary and unfruitful deaths as well as unimaginable destruction for Americans, Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese over the next several years.

Yet Hitchens' indictments of Kissinger's malice and misdeeds do not end here, but extend to many other situations and sets of circumstances, such as the involvement in the overthrow of Chile and the murder of Chile's elected President, Allende, as well as the sponsorship of murder and mayhem on the part of a plethora of indigenous dictators and potentates, ranging from Indonesia's Suharto to the Greek Cypriots, from Bangladesh to Angola. Everywhere Hitchens peered beneath the neatly papered-over official record, Kissinger's bloody fingerprints emerged, staining the truth with his personal brand of Realpolitik, extending his malevolence toward innocent bystanders who got in the way of his global ambitions. And the irony of all this is that despite all the evidence indicating there is more than adequate evidence of Kissinger's culpability and participation in many acts of genocide and murder, Kissinger is still held in such high esteem by so many unsuspecting Americans.

Of course, in point of fact, Kissinger is not alone. Others belong to this select group of indictable Americans culpable for their participation in crimes against humanity, including Robert McNamara, William Westmoreland, and William Rogers, along with many others who operated more anonymously in service to the bloody policies of the Johnson and Nixon administrations. Yet among these people, no one deserves the humiliation and discrediting as much as Kissinger, who should be charged, tried, and ultimately executed for his actions.Hang him high, as a beacon and a memorial for the memory of all the innocent victims he left in his terrifyingly reckless wake. This is a book that will illustrate just how heinous his actions while supposedly serving the country actually were. I highly recommend this book.