Christopher Hitchens Trials of Kissinger p4

Based on a book by journalist Christopher Hitchens, The Trials of Henry Kissinger, a documentary by Eugene Jarecki, argues that the former U.S. Secretary of State and Nobel Peace Prize recipient should be tried for war crimes for his role in the overthrow of the democratically elected government in Chile in 1973, the secret bombing of Cambodia in 1969, and U.S. support for Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor, events that led to the slaughter of millions. Applying the same legal standards to which Pinochet and Milosevic have been held, Hitchens branded Dr. Kissinger as a war criminal who should be brought to justice for crimes against humanity. Narrated by actor Brian Cox, the documentary is presented in lively "60 Minutes" fashion using archival footage, background music, and a combination of interviews with Kissinger associates and journalists such as Seymour Hersh, William Safire, and Hitchens himself.

The film attempts to maintain a balanced tone but Dr. Kissinger's only defenders are former staff members William Shawcross and Alexander Haig and there are no interviews with Dr. Kissinger himself (who refused to be interviewed). A refugee from Nazi Germany, Kissinger. rose to prominence in American politics thanks to his realpolitik approach to improving America's power position in the world relative to Russia and China. One of the main contentions of the film is that Kissinger, as a member of the Johnson team at the Paris Peace Talks, was also a secret advisor to Richard Nixon's presidential campaign of 1968. In that double role, he torpedoed the Paris Peace Talks by persuading South Vietnam Premier Thiéu to back out of the talks in order to prevent the Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey from taking political advantage of a Vietnam settlement before the election.

Another supporting piece of evidence is that Kissinger bombed Cambodia without the knowledge of Congress, an action that led to the death of 500,000 Cambodians, the destabilization of the country and the rise of the bloody Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot. Jarecki also argues that Kissinger's clandestine support of Indonesia President Suharto's invasion of East Timor suppressed an independent movement and led to the deaths of 100,000 Timorese. Jarecki's case is built on a series of recently declassified documents that contradict Kissinger's written memoirs and show that Washington had supported Suharto using American weapons designed only for defensive purposes. They also indicate that Kissinger played a major role in Chile in the kidnapping and murder of General René Schneider and was deeply involved in the overthrow of the government of Salvador Allendé in Chile on September 11, 1973. Jarecki interviews Gen. Schneider's son who reveals that he is considering pressing charges against Kissinger for his part in the murder.

The Trials of Henry Kissinger is timely and the idea that statesman should be held accountable for their actions under International Law is a compelling issue that deserves to be debated in public forums.

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[prakkari]

Kissinger got the Nobel peace prize. Shows that that this prize is totally meaningless.

[croydonrudeness]

What a piece of shit. The day he dies I'll open a bottle of champagne.

[ZionistAreNazis1]

Henry Kissinger another Khararian kike doing what they do best LIES DECEIT CHEAT STEAL CREATE WARS KIDNAPPING GENOCIDE MASSACRE what else did he get in office for??

[jamesknox64]

@prakkari The brilliant Tom Lehrer said that poltical satire became obsolete when they gave Kissinger the peace prize.

[jmnage]

Obama got a Nobel Peace Prize too. lol

[unfad1ng]

@prakkari

or rather that i t lost its meaning when he got it

[SherlockHamlet]

Erm...

Maybe I haven't gotten there yet, but...where are the "war crimes" Kissinger is charged with here?

He's certainly guilty of shirking an attainable peace for more war and death in the name of power, but that seems more Machiavellian and political than utterly "evil"...to put it another way, it's certainly NOT something he should have gotten a Nobel Peace Prize for, and he deserves some fierce criticism, to be sure...but it's not like he had an Auschwitz going...? Have I misunderstood?

[TheEthanwashere]

Wow so more than a year before there could've been an end to the war.

[OzzyPatriot]

When you understand Kissinger from the point of view of a person in the employ of the armaments industry financiers of BOTH sides of the Vietnam conflict (Russian and American military industrial complex')

You instantly understand how and why his info was so 'golden' to the puppets being played in Washington and Vietnam. No wonder his info seamed so amazing.

He was directed by those that pulled the strings and made the real profits,while remaining invisible. Rothschild, Rockefeller etc.

[20MrBigmac]

I find that machiavellian strategies usually result in an increase in the individuals power in the system but inabitlity to get results outside of said system.

[TheGreatDeciever55]

"power is the ultimate afrodisiac" ---this is horribly true----women are attracted to power---biologically they cant resist it---thats why the alpha male always gets laid in the wild

[TheGreatDeciever55]

@prakkari ahah yeah---its like being a saint in the catholic church.....