Washington, March 25: A secret transcript of a conversation between former U.S. President Richard Nixon and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger from 1971 has surfaced. The transcript reveals that the U.S. declined to condemn military actions by Pakistan in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), despite warnings from its own diplomat about a potential “genocide.”
Recorded on March 28, 1971, the conversation shows Kissinger informing Nixon about a dissenting message from Archer Blood, the U.S. Consul in Dhaka, who reported on the massacre of civilians.
According to the transcript, Kissinger stated, “We received a message from our consul in Dhaka asking us to issue a statement condemning the actions of West Pakistan, but clearly, we will not consider this.”
Nixon reacted strongly, even invoking divine intervention, yet Kissinger dismissed the diplomat’s appeal. Nixon ordered action against Blood, saying, “Get rid of him. I want him removed from this position.”
Later in the call, Nixon remarked, “I will not issue a statement praising this, but we will not condemn it either.”
Kissinger warned that taking a public stance could incite anger, saying, “If we do this, there will be riots against America in West Pakistan.”
Historian Tom Wells recently published a book titled “The Kissinger Tapes,” which includes the discussed transcript. This book is based on hundreds of secretly recorded phone conversations from Kissinger’s time during Nixon’s administration between 1969 and 1974.
The material was declassified after extensive legal efforts led by the National Security Archive, resulting in the release of over 15,000 pages of transcripts in 2004.
According to Wells, this content provides a comprehensive view of the decisions and controversies during that era, including the U.S. response to human rights violations by allied governments.
Archer Blood’s dissent in 1971 represents one of the largest protests by American diplomats against government policy. Blood later became known for the “Blood Telegram,” urging Washington to take a moral stand against the killings in East Pakistan.
The events in East Pakistan in 1971 led to a humanitarian crisis and ultimately resulted in the creation of Bangladesh later that year, following military intervention by India. A significant number of civilians were killed during the conflict.
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