Dirty Hands and Vicious Deeds: The US Government's Complicity in Crimes against Humanity and Genocide

This collection of original essays, edited by renowned genocide scholar Samuel Totten, shows how the United States government repeatedly aided certain regimes as they planned and then carried out crimes against humanity and genocide. Totten discusses the differences between these two terms and offers a critical assessment of U.S. foreign policy. Each chapter then explores a specific case of crimes against humanity or genocide. Cases include Indonesia, Bangladesh, Chile, East Timor, Argentina, Guatemala, and Rwanda.

What makes the book unique—and chilling—is the inclusion of actual declassified government documents such as memoranda, telegrams, letters, talking points, cables, reports, discussion papers, and situation reports. These documents provide very real insight into how the fate of human lives has been discussed at the highest levels of government.