The Trial of Henry Kissinger [Paperback]

Richard Stampfle's excellent review of this book, posted over two years ago, nails the central issue of Henry Kissinger's criminal conduct. He draws on the old saw analogy of money owed to a bank - if you owe a small amount, the problem is yours; if you owe megabucks, it's the bank's problem. Likewise, if you are high on drugs, and kill one person, you have the problem; but if you are high on the arrogance of power, and cloak your actions in "statecraft," and are responsible for the death of millions, it is unlikely that you will be prosecuted, particularly if your country does not lose a war.

Christopher Hitchens wrote this indictment, in polemic form, almost ten years ago. He admits that he is (or at least was, when he wrote it) a political opponent of the "Doctor," and points out how, as one of his "achievements," Kissinger managed to have virtually everyone call him by that honorific, even though he is not a medical doctor. In the preface Hitchens eliminates from his indictment certain Kissinger actions that might not be indictable offenses, but are despicable enough, such as encouraging the Kurds to rise against Saddam Hussein, as well as his support for apartheid South Africa. Setting these aside, Hitchens details Kissinger's bloody hand in the events in Indochina, Chile, Bangladesh, Cyprus, East Timor, and the murder of a journalist in Washington, D.C. Prior to Hitchens' book, I was most aware of Kissinger's malevolence in the events in Indochina and Chile. Hitchens details Kissinger's efforts to prolong the Vietnam War by encouraging South Vietnamese obduracy at the Paris Peace talks in 1968, so that Richard Nixon could be elected. My personal involvement in the Vietnam War, serving as a medical corpsman, during a period of that prolongation, places me also in that "political opponent" camp. Considering that half the names (some might quibble- and have - that it is only a third) on the black wall in Washington D.C. might be alive today if "Dr." Kissinger had not practiced his "statecraft" in Paris is enough to beg for a revision of Dante, and create a special 10th circle of Hell, for his exclusive residence. And if that is not enough, consider that one to two million Vietnamese who died during that period, or the auto-genocide of the Khmer Rouge, attributed in large portion to the horrific B-52 carpet bombing that Kissinger orchestrated. His hand in the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende, as well as the murder of General René Schneider, which occurred, ironically in retrospect, on September 11, has also been fairly well known, particularly since the fall of the Pinochet regime, and the release of Chilean government papers on this CIA conducted coup. The less well known crimes, at least to me, but certainly not to the victims, were Kissinger's actions involving Bangladesh, Cyprus and East Timor, and only serve to pile more brimstones into that 10th circle.

I read all the 1 and 2-star reviews, searching for some sort of refutation to the charges, and found none. I only found excuses, and rationalizations, such as others have been as bad, like Stalin and Mobuto, or that the presidents are also responsible. And then there was the classic cover for all crimes made by people who had never experienced a B-52 strike, the old stand-by, with shrug, "you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs." Even Kissinger himself, as included in the appendix, does not provide refutations, only dissimulations, in the infamous style of the "doctor" who still nourishes his foreign accent... a la Strangelove?

Overall, Hitchens has provided a strict legal brief, examining Kissinger's actions by the standards that the United States has held others, primarily defeated military powers. Hitchens engages in the more that occasional rhetorical flourish however, which I would consider hard not to do, and is probably better than a deadpan bureaucratic document. He has shown considerable courage for taking on a subject that the mainstream media, still showing the Doctor immense deference, would consider "too hot to handle." But there is a major postscript that has been omitted from this book, and that is the transformation of Hitchens himself, from a contrarian gadfly of the establishment outlook to a major promoter of right-wing Islamophobia. That story, however, as they used to say in college is "beyond the scope of this course," (or, in this case, the particular merits of this book, which deserves a solid 5-stars).

Siegfried Sassoon's famous poem, "Base Details," concerning the scarlet majors at the base (who were more prosaically known at REMF's in Vietnam) concluded with the line: "And when the war is done, and the youth stone dead, I'll toddle safely home- and die in bed." Another architect of the wars, Robert McNamara, who at least showed partial remorse, has already safely exited via his bed, at a ripe old age, as no doubt will Kissinger. But he almost certainly will pass without even the partial remorse.

My standard quip remains, which denotes the possibility of the most unlikely events: "In a world in which Henry Kissinger can win the Nobel Peace Prize, anything is possible."

(Note: Review first published at Amazon, USA, on January 18, 2010)

This book is hard hittting and to the point. It is essentially a 150 page indictment of Kissinger for crimes, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and it makes compelling reading. Particularly in these days of 'Iraq has weapons of mass destruction' and 'Iran is waging a proxy war against us' this book gives us insight into the terrible and murky world of realpolitik and the murderous capacity of unscrupulous politicians in powerful nations, liberal or otherwise. One of the gems about this gem of a book is it opens up many new planes of investigation for those interested in further examining the claims he makes therein. Credit therefore to the author for substantiating his claims with clear sources and referenced materials. It is a refreshing, no-frills read; necessary reading for the counter-hegemonic.

After the character assassinations of Mother Theresa and the Clintons, Christopher Hitchens aims his sights at the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Richard Nixon's Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. As always, Hitchens refuses to pull his punches, and you are confronted with a barrage of vitriol from the outset - almost the first description of Kissinger is as "an odious schlump who made war gladly".

Indeed, this seems to be an accurate summary of Hitchens' overall position in 'The Trial of Henry Kissinger'; though he does bring wit and style to what actually amounts to a legal indictment of Kissinger for various war crimes. Following the Pinochet case, it seems that Hitchens is determined to see more international figures brought to justice for their actions. His main claim is that Kissinger deliberately prolonged the Vietnam War so that he could gain favour with Nixon and help to get the Republicans elected in 1968. As with the other claims, this is serious stuff that is being alleged and Hitchens uses all of his investigative powers to try and make his case.

All of the allegations are very intricately researched and detailed, often legalistic in the level of information and analysis that is provided. Although Hitchens never proves definitively that Kissinger is guilty of multiple war crimes, it is hard not to come away from reading this book with the conclusion that there were many atrocities committed by the American government in the name of 'realpolitik' during the late 1960's and early 1970's. There are too many awkward facts, mysterious documents and unanswered questions for this to be simply dismissed as an attack on a right-wing statesman by a political opponent.

If we ever see an active and effective international criminal court, Christopher Hitchens has provided enough material here to warrant Henry Kissinger appearing before it. And what's more, he's done so with verve and passion.