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The Trial of Henry Kissinger

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The Trial of Henry Kissinger

By: Christopher Hitchens, Ariel Dorfman - introduction
Narrated by: Simon Prebble
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About this listen

"If the courts and lawyers of this country will not do their duty, we shall watch as the victims and survivors of this man pursue justice and vindication in their own dignified and painstaking way, and at their own expense, and we shall be put to shame." Forget Pinochet, Milosevic, Hussein, Kim Jong-il, or Gaddafi: America need look no further than its own lauded leaders for a war criminal whose offenses rival those of the most heinous dictators in recent history-Henry Kissinger.

Employing evidence based on firsthand testimony, unpublished documents, and new information uncovered by the Freedom of Information Act, and using only what would hold up in international courts of law, The Trial of Henry Kissinger outlines atrocities authorized by the former secretary of state in Indochina, Bangladesh, Chile, Cyprus, East Timor, and in the plight of the Iraqi Kurds, "including conspiracy to commit murder, kidnap, and torture."

With the precision and tenacity of a prosecutor, Hitchens offers an unrepentant portrait of a felonious diplomat who "maintained that laws were like cobwebs," and implores governments around the world, including our own, to bring him swiftly to justice.

©2012 Christopher Hitchens (P)2012 Audible Ltd Politicians Politics & Activism Law Middle East Latin America
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The wit alone makes it worth a listen, even if you're not super interested in the era of US history/politics.

So juicy

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This is Christopher Hitchens at his scathing best. He builds a very solid case stretching from the US election of 1968 and covers Vietnam, Pinochet, The Bangladesh Massacre, The East Timor Invasion, and a range of influence-peddling events through his private consulting firm. It is a well researched and well-written book that was a joy to read.

According to Hitchens, nothing was too sacred for Kissinger it seems. Not patriotism to his own country, the lives of countless innocents, or the democratic will of countries. Yet this imperial style of foreign affairs has become the model for many of those who came after him. In fact, in my own judgement, it could almost be said that Kissinger was the man who made the US a modern empire. So much so that he held a very close friendship with the Clintons, both the Bush Presidents and was honoured by President Obama in 2016.

I lived through a lot of these events and was not aware of Kissinger's hidden hand. It makes me seriously wonder what else is beyond the view of most people. As I write this Henry Kissinger is 98 years old. If he is guilty as Hitchens strongly believed, then he has slipped the noose, which is more than can be said about his many, many victims.

The man who created the American Empire

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very revealing. Why gas nothing veen done! Hitchens unveils the black heart of US foreign policy.

I never knew.

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