Nixon/Kissinger Saw India as "Soviet Stooge" in 1971 South Asia Crisis
New Documents Show White House Ignored Regional Nature of Crisis and Risked Confrontation with Moscow to Look Tough
For more information contact: William Burr - 202/994-7032 - wburr at gwu.edu
Washington, D.C., June 29, 2005 - President Nixon and his national security adviser Henry Kissinger saw India as a "Soviet stooge" during the South Asia crisis of 1971, downplayed reports of Pakistani genocide in what is now Bangladesh, and even suggested that China intervene militarily on Pakistan's side, according to startling new documentation from White House files and tapes contained in the State Department's Foreign Relations of the United States series and reposted today by the National Security Archive.
Earlier this week, the Office of the Historian at the State Department hosted a major conference on U.S. policy in South Asia focusing on the 1971 India-Pakistan war triggered by the crisis over Bangladesh. Much of the discussion focused on, and flowed from, a new volume of documentation edited by Louis J. Smith for the FRUS series. Besides including the usual cables and memoranda, the editors of this volume made significant use of the White House tapes and the transcripts of Henry Kissinger's telephone conversations. "This volume deserves the attention of the widest possible readership because of its fascinating, sometimes startling, revelations on Nixon administration policy. It gives the reader an unparalleled perspective on the inner workings of White House policy throughout the crisis," said Dr. William Burr, senior analyst at the National Security Archive, who attended the conference.
Please follow the link below for more on the new FRUS volume: