When Henry Kissinger finally died at 100 in late 2023, the world didn't just mourn or move on. Instead, the internet erupted. It was like a dormant volcano finally blowing its top, and at the center of that explosion was a ghost: Christopher Hitchens. If you've spent any time on social media or in political circles lately, you've definitely seen the name of Hitchens' most explosive work, The Trial of Henry Kissinger, pop up.
Honestly, it’s kinda weird how a book written in 2001—originally as a two-part series in Harper’s Magazine—still feels like the definitive prosecutorial brief against a man who spent decades as the darling of the D.C. cocktail circuit. Hitchens didn't just want to "unpack" Kissinger's legacy. He wanted him in a dock, wearing a jumpsuit, answering for the millions of lives lost in the shadows of "realpolitik."
Most people think of Kissinger as the guy with the gravelly voice who opened China. Hitchens saw something else. He saw a war criminal.
The Case That Hitchens Actually Built
Let’s be real: Hitchens wasn't just throwing around insults. He was a polemicist, sure, but he was also a damn good researcher when he wanted to be. He structured the book like a legal indictment. He focused on specific, documented events where he believed Kissinger had crossed the line from "tough diplomacy" into "indictable crimes."
The 1968 Peace Talk Sabotage
This is the big one. Hitchens argues that in 1968, while Kissinger was still an advisor to the Lyndon Johnson administration, he secretly funneled information to the Richard Nixon campaign. The goal? To tank the Paris Peace talks. Basically, Kissinger allegedly told the South Vietnamese to hold out, promising them a better deal under Nixon.
Think about that. If true—and declassified notes from H.R. Haldeman have since added serious weight to this—the Vietnam War was extended by four bloody years just to win an election. Thousands of Americans and millions of Indo-Chinese died in those extra years. For Hitchens, this wasn't just "dirty politics." It was treason and mass murder.
👉 See also: Who's the Next Pope: Why Most Predictions Are Basically Guesswork
The Secret Bombing of Cambodia
You can't talk about Kissinger without Cambodia. Operation Menu. Kissinger and Nixon bypassed Congress and the American public to drop 110,000 tons of bombs on a neutral country. Hitchens highlights how Kissinger personally approved the strike patterns. It wasn't just military strategy; it was a "massive bombing campaign" involving "anything that moves," as Kissinger once told his military assistant. This paved the way for the rise of the Khmer Rouge and a genocide that wiped out a quarter of Cambodia's population.
Why the "Trial" Never Happened in a Courtroom
It’s easy to wonder why, if the evidence was so "damning," Kissinger never actually saw a judge. Hitchens actually addresses this hypocrisy. He pointed out that the U.S. loves to point fingers at Balkan warlords or African dictators, but when it comes to "one of our own," the rules change.
- The "Realist" Shield: Kissinger’s defenders always argued that his actions were necessary to win the Cold War. They call it "Realism." Hitchens called it a "job description" for a sociopath.
- Diplomatic Immunity: Kissinger was a master of the system. He knew how to stay within the "gray zones" of international law.
- The 9/11 Effect: Hitchens released his book right before the Twin Towers fell. Suddenly, the world's focus shifted. Hunting down an old Secretary of State for 1970s crimes didn't seem as pressing as the "War on Terror."
The "Smoking Guns" and Chile
In the 1970s, Chile democratically elected a Marxist named Salvador Allende. Kissinger famously said, "I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people."
Hitchens meticulously tracks the CIA-backed coup that followed. He specifically points to the kidnapping and murder of General René Schneider, a Chilean officer who refused to support a military takeover. Hitchens produces evidence that Kissinger authorized the weapons and the money for the group that carried out the hit.
In 2001, while Kissinger was at the Ritz in Paris, a French judge actually served him with a summons to testify about the "disappearances" of French citizens in Chile. Kissinger didn't stick around to answer. He fled the hotel and left the country. That's the closest he ever came to a "trial."
✨ Don't miss: Recent Obituaries in Charlottesville VA: What Most People Get Wrong
Bangladesh and the "Blood Telegram"
One of the darkest chapters in Hitchens' book involves the 1971 genocide in what is now Bangladesh. The Pakistani military was slaughtering Bengali Hindus by the hundreds of thousands.
The U.S. Consul General in Dhaka, Archer Blood, sent a frantic telegram—now known as the "Blood Telegram"—pleading for the U.S. to stop the massacre. What did Kissinger do? He mocked the people who "bleed" for the "dying Bengalis." He and Nixon continued to ship weapons to the Pakistani military because they were using Pakistan as a back channel to reach China.
Hitchens uses this to show that for Kissinger, human life was just a rounding error in a larger geopolitical equation.
What You Can Actually Do With This Information
If you're reading this, you’re probably either a history buff or someone who’s tired of the "sanitized" versions of history we get in school. Hitchens’ work isn't just a book; it’s a manual on how to hold power accountable.
1. Read the Declassified Documents
Don't take Hitchens' word for it. Go to the National Security Archive at George Washington University. They have thousands of Kissinger’s own "Telcons" (telephone transcripts). Reading them is chilling. You can see the casual way he discusses the fate of entire nations.
🔗 Read more: Trump New Gun Laws: What Most People Get Wrong
2. Watch the Documentary
If you don’t have time for the 160-page book, there’s a 2002 documentary also called The Trial of Henry Kissinger. It features Hitchens himself and provides a visual map of the places mentioned.
3. Understand "Universal Jurisdiction"
This is a legal concept Hitchens leaned on heavily. It’s the idea that some crimes—genocide, torture, crimes against humanity—are so heinous that any country can prosecute the perpetrator, regardless of where the crime happened. It’s why Pinochet was arrested in London. It’s the tool Hitchens hoped would eventually catch Kissinger.
The Verdict That History Left Behind
Henry Kissinger lived to be 100. He died in his own bed, surrounded by the prestige he spent a lifetime cultivating. In that sense, Hitchens failed. There was no handcuffs, no courtroom drama, no final "guilty" verdict.
But look at the cultural landscape in 2026. The fact that "war criminal" is the first thing many people think of when they hear his name is entirely due to the groundwork Hitchens laid. He moved the conversation from the elite boardrooms to the public square.
Hitchens’ book changed the "Kissinger Myth" from one of a brilliant strategist to one of a man who treated the world like a chessboard and the people on it like disposable pawns.
Start by checking out the National Security Archive’s "Kissinger Declassified" collection to see the raw evidence for yourself. Once you read the transcripts, the "realism" starts to look a lot more like a rap sheet.