THE TRIALS OF HENRY KISSINGER Is Henry Kissinger a war criminal? Christoper Hitchins, author of the book of the said title, sems to think so. The august American statesman, former national security advisor, secretary of state during the Nixon and Ford administrations, and winner, with Le Duc Tho, of the 1973 Noble Peace Prize, has responded, both in humor and irritability, with disdain for Hitchins and his supporters. He contends that his actions were directed by national policy and response to international events.
Some of the crimes that Kissinger is alleged to have commited include:• the coup détat in Chile in 1973, which lead to the murder of democratically elected Salvador Allende Gossens,
• the illegal invasion of Cambodia and the slaughter of millions of innocent civilians,
•The firebombing of Hanoi and premeditated genocide of the Vietnamese.
The former Secretary of state has pointed out that, in the context of the Cold War, it was imperative that the U.S. go after terrorist-enemy sanctuaries, especially if the latter violated the neutrality of surrounding states, namely Cambodia and Laos, or that the American government had nothing to do with coup détats, nor was he personally responsible for covert CIA operations. Mr Hitchins, he contends, has spoken ill of the Pope, Mother Theresa, and anybody else that doesnt meet his anarchist agenda, that he ¨came out of a sewer pipe,¨and his reputation speaks for itself. The only reason he has achieved such international attention is the wide publicity the international media has permitted him.
Highlights of Kissinger´s diplomatic Career:
1. 1969 appointed by President Richard Nixon as his National Security Advisor.
2. Invasion of Cambodia is announced in april of 1970,
3. Nixon´s China game achieves fruition when the latter meets with Chairman Mao ZeDong on Feb.21, 1972.
4. America and the Soviet Union sign a bilateral Strategic Arms Limitations Agreement in May of 1972.
5. October 1972--Kissinger gives his famous ¨Peace is at hand¨ in Vietnam speech.
6. Nixon wins reelection by a landslide in November of 1972,
7. The so-called ¨Chistmas bombing¨ of Hanoi and Haiphong leades to the signing of the toutted Cease-Fire of January.27, 1973.
8. Nixon appoints Kissinger as secretary of state,
9. September 11, 1973, Salvador Allende of Chile is assassinated in a Coup dÉtat leading to the dictatorship of Agosto Pinochet Ugarte,
10. Resignation of President Nixon following Watergate scandals, in August, 1974, but successor Ford retains Kissinger as chief diplomat.
11.After many years of internecine civil war, South Vietnam falls to the Communist North in April, 1975.
12. Ford loses election to Carter in general election of 1976.
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