Ed's Reviews > The Trial of Henry Kissinger

As I edge into Hitchens' deeper political writing I find myself a little out of my league when it comes to assessing the veracity of his claims. The Trial of Henry Kissinger unequivocally lambastes Kissinger's involvement, malfeasance, and outright criminality in American foreign policy decisions from Vietnam to Indonesia, Chile, Yugoslavia, and Cyprus - claims that if true, would certainly indict him on numerous counts as a war criminal. The writing is fervent and spirited in the usual Hitchens style, although I am troubled at times by the frequent presumption of guilt by tangential association, and of assuming motives and making moral judgement, rather than sticking clearly to the facts. The book paints a condemning picture overall, however I can't help but wonder if some parts may be somewhat overstated. As a skeptically-minded person, I cannot accept the totality of these arguments at face value (which is entirely a product of my own ignorance on the subject), however Hitchens has certainly taught me to approach the topic of Kissinger with a very large dose of cynicism.