Christopher Hitchens 1949 – 2011
Alex Hern highlights the courage and conviction of Christopher Hitchens who died yesterday
Christopher Hitchens has died at the age of 62. He was a man who made his decisions based on what he believed the evidence showed rather than following perceived wisdom or adopting off-the-peg ideologies.
This led to his outspoken support of the Iraq war, but also his equally passionate condemnation of torture, and firm belief that waterboarding falls in that category.
He was so determined in his quest for understanding that he even underwent waterboarding himself in an “effort to understand the human cost of America’s use of harsh tactics at Guantánamo and elsewhere.”
His courage and integrity were a lesson to all journalists, and he will be missed.
See also:
• How the 9/11 response changed Britain – Ben Mitchell, September 11th 2011
• Here’s to Reagan: his kind light up our political world – Anthony Painter, July 4th 2011
• How Cameron is already undermining his NHS pledges – Trevor Cheeseman, June 7th 2011
• George W Bush is wrong – waterboarding only helps our enemies – George Readings, November 10th 2010
• Today give platform to climate denier – Joss Garman, September 16th 2009
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