The Trials of Henry Kissinger (2002) is another Eugene Jarecki film (see post on Why We Fight and is based on journalist Christopher Hitchens's book about Kissinger's deeds and how they constitute war crimes. For those who need it, it provides an excellent shock about the depth of secrecy and deceit practiced by small components of executive government to carry out aims that they know will result in the deaths of thousands of innocent people.
The Vietnam War era: the greatest crime here was perhaps the secret bombing of Cambodia (more bombs than were dropped on Japan during all of WWII), the utter annihilation of towns, villages, and hamlets full of innocent people that was carried out secretly, illegally, by the White House, without Congressional knowledge. This was Kissinger's idea, done because the North Vietnamese were staging attacks from there. The 3600 bombing raids were logged as raids on areas of South Vietnam to hide them even from the wider military. Incredible. Cambodia was officially neutral. Eventually the US invaded Cambodia. A million died. When they couldn't get the head of state's cooperation, Kissinger arranged a CIA-backed coup to depose him, effectively delivering the country into the hands of the rising Khmer Rouge, who butchered 3 million more.
Chile: the violent, US-arranged coup of 1973 that replaced democratically elected president Allende with the bloodthirsty psychopath Pinochet, who went on a campaign of political persecution, kidnapping, torture, and murder to cement his position of power. Why? US corporate interests of ITT (copper industry) and Pepsi were threatened by Allende's promises to nationalize certain Chilean industries for the benefit of the whole Chilean population. Basically, Allende was rebelling against economic colonialism, the same way Americans did against the British in the 1770s. Even the CIA determined there was no security threat to the US (just like Iraq). Kissinger orchestrated the coup, ensuring that the hand of the US was well hidden. This is shown in documents and by eyewitness testimony. It began by the "paving the way" for Pinochet in the military by murdering Army Commander Rene Schneider. The guns were packaged in Washington itself and mailed directly to Santiago "by usual courier to avoid undue attention." Unsavory locals were recruited by Chilean proxies (who had been recruited by the CIA) to do the killing. This is a common method for hiding the hand of a foreign government.
East Timor, 1975. The regime of Indonesian dictator Suharto, who was starving his own people, was an ally of the US because it wasn't communist and because Indonesia has oil and coal. East Timor was still a Portuguese colony in the midst of Indonesia. Naturally the people were seeking independence. When a political group who promised to deliver it were branded "Marxist" by the US, Kissinger and Ford gave the green light to Suharto to invade and take the land for Indonesia, using US weapons and logistical support. This was patently illegal because the US Congress had sold Indonesia weapons on the condition that they were for defense only. Kissinger was quoted in documents explaining how to "construe" the invasion as "self-defense" against a communist state in its midst (East Timor hadn't even won independence yet!). The invasion was bloody and the killing indiscriminate -- thousands walled up in buildings and burned alive, herded into fields and machine-gunned. 100,000 dead. Kissinger later said he knew it was going to happen but there was nothing he could've done about it.
The man himself is portrayed as brilliant, yet bent on the acquisition of personal power, and preferring to act unilaterally and in secrecy. He's one who used Machiavellian tactics of ingratiation, flattery, and adulation of the powerful to gain power himself. He even began hiring staff for his gov't position before the 1968 election because he had buttered up both sides and was sure he'd get a job no matter who won. Amazing.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, ostensibly for a role in ending the Vietnam war, which didn't actually end until 1975, and was probably prolonged for years because of his machinations.
Although it's not mentioned, Rumsfeld got his political start in the executive branch of the Nixon administration and hired Cheney as a personal assistant. They were both well ensconced by the Ford administration. Nixon called on Rumsfeld for dirty work on occasion, calling him "a ruthless little bastard." We think of "ruthless" as meaning "tough" or "stop-at-nothing." It actually means "without pity or compassion, cruel, merciless," in other words, immoral, and possibly psychopathic.
Kissinger has sealed all his papers from his time in government and won't allow access to them until five years after his death.
Of course, Kissinger is tight with the current Bush administration, dropping by the White House about once per month, so they say, giving advice. Can you imagine what he's advocating? Bush and Cheney sing his praises, so if they've carried out any Kissinger advice in the prosecution of the Iraq war, I'd wager that, on top of the horrors we already know, there are distasteful machinations that we may never discover.
The Vietnam War era: the greatest crime here was perhaps the secret bombing of Cambodia (more bombs than were dropped on Japan during all of WWII), the utter annihilation of towns, villages, and hamlets full of innocent people that was carried out secretly, illegally, by the White House, without Congressional knowledge. This was Kissinger's idea, done because the North Vietnamese were staging attacks from there. The 3600 bombing raids were logged as raids on areas of South Vietnam to hide them even from the wider military. Incredible. Cambodia was officially neutral. Eventually the US invaded Cambodia. A million died. When they couldn't get the head of state's cooperation, Kissinger arranged a CIA-backed coup to depose him, effectively delivering the country into the hands of the rising Khmer Rouge, who butchered 3 million more.
Chile: the violent, US-arranged coup of 1973 that replaced democratically elected president Allende with the bloodthirsty psychopath Pinochet, who went on a campaign of political persecution, kidnapping, torture, and murder to cement his position of power. Why? US corporate interests of ITT (copper industry) and Pepsi were threatened by Allende's promises to nationalize certain Chilean industries for the benefit of the whole Chilean population. Basically, Allende was rebelling against economic colonialism, the same way Americans did against the British in the 1770s. Even the CIA determined there was no security threat to the US (just like Iraq). Kissinger orchestrated the coup, ensuring that the hand of the US was well hidden. This is shown in documents and by eyewitness testimony. It began by the "paving the way" for Pinochet in the military by murdering Army Commander Rene Schneider. The guns were packaged in Washington itself and mailed directly to Santiago "by usual courier to avoid undue attention." Unsavory locals were recruited by Chilean proxies (who had been recruited by the CIA) to do the killing. This is a common method for hiding the hand of a foreign government.
East Timor, 1975. The regime of Indonesian dictator Suharto, who was starving his own people, was an ally of the US because it wasn't communist and because Indonesia has oil and coal. East Timor was still a Portuguese colony in the midst of Indonesia. Naturally the people were seeking independence. When a political group who promised to deliver it were branded "Marxist" by the US, Kissinger and Ford gave the green light to Suharto to invade and take the land for Indonesia, using US weapons and logistical support. This was patently illegal because the US Congress had sold Indonesia weapons on the condition that they were for defense only. Kissinger was quoted in documents explaining how to "construe" the invasion as "self-defense" against a communist state in its midst (East Timor hadn't even won independence yet!). The invasion was bloody and the killing indiscriminate -- thousands walled up in buildings and burned alive, herded into fields and machine-gunned. 100,000 dead. Kissinger later said he knew it was going to happen but there was nothing he could've done about it.
The man himself is portrayed as brilliant, yet bent on the acquisition of personal power, and preferring to act unilaterally and in secrecy. He's one who used Machiavellian tactics of ingratiation, flattery, and adulation of the powerful to gain power himself. He even began hiring staff for his gov't position before the 1968 election because he had buttered up both sides and was sure he'd get a job no matter who won. Amazing.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, ostensibly for a role in ending the Vietnam war, which didn't actually end until 1975, and was probably prolonged for years because of his machinations.
Although it's not mentioned, Rumsfeld got his political start in the executive branch of the Nixon administration and hired Cheney as a personal assistant. They were both well ensconced by the Ford administration. Nixon called on Rumsfeld for dirty work on occasion, calling him "a ruthless little bastard." We think of "ruthless" as meaning "tough" or "stop-at-nothing." It actually means "without pity or compassion, cruel, merciless," in other words, immoral, and possibly psychopathic.
Kissinger has sealed all his papers from his time in government and won't allow access to them until five years after his death.
Of course, Kissinger is tight with the current Bush administration, dropping by the White House about once per month, so they say, giving advice. Can you imagine what he's advocating? Bush and Cheney sing his praises, so if they've carried out any Kissinger advice in the prosecution of the Iraq war, I'd wager that, on top of the horrors we already know, there are distasteful machinations that we may never discover.