Wednesday, October 22, 2003
The Trials of Henry Kissinger
Just watched the movie, The Trials of Henry Kissinger, based on the book of the same name by Chris Hitchens. Unlike the aggresive polemic in the book, the movie actually attempts to be fair to Kissinger by interviewing Kissinger-friendly folks like Alexander Haig and Brent Scowcroft, alongside Seymour Hersh and Rene Schneider Jr (the son of Gen Schneider). Nevertheless, it does occur to the viewer that if there were a uniform set of international human rights laws, Henry Kissinger would probably find himself in a lot of trouble based on his involvement in Vietnam, Cambodia, East Timor and of course, Chile.
However, I remain intrigued by Kissinger's long-held claim that the rules of morality between individuals cannot be applied to the interaction between states, especially when states have to choose between two evils. I guess I have not thought about it long enough or hard enough to make a final call on that. Nevertheless, a movie I would recommend to any Kissinger watcher.
However, I remain intrigued by Kissinger's long-held claim that the rules of morality between individuals cannot be applied to the interaction between states, especially when states have to choose between two evils. I guess I have not thought about it long enough or hard enough to make a final call on that. Nevertheless, a movie I would recommend to any Kissinger watcher.
