On March 25, 1971, Washington (NationPress) revealed secret transcripts of a conversation between President Richard Nixon and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, highlighting the United States’ refusal to condemn Pakistan's military actions in East Pakistan, even after warnings from its own diplomat about potential genocide.

This exchange, documented on March 28, 1971, features Kissinger relaying a dissent cable from US Consul Archer Blood in Dacca, who reported extensive civilian casualties.

“We've received a troubling cable from our Consul in Dacca urging us to issue a statement condemning the actions of the West Pakistanis. However, we simply won't entertain that notion,” Kissinger stated, as captured in the transcript.

Nixon’s reaction was direct: “Oh for Christ’s sake.”

Kissinger then dismissed Blood's concerns, labeling him as “just one of these pansies.”

When Nixon questioned, “And he says ‘condemning them?’” Kissinger confirmed: “Yes, for genocide.”

Nixon subsequently ordered action against the consul, stating, “Well, now remove him. I want him out of the job.”

The dialogue underscores a conscious decision to refrain from publicly criticizing Pakistan's military actions. “I wouldn’t issue a statement praising it, but we’re not going to condemn it either,” Nixon remarked later during the conversation.

Kissinger cautioned that a public condemnation could provoke significant backlash. “If we do that, we’re going to face anti-American riots in West Pakistan,” he warned.

These transcripts are part of The Kissinger Tapes, a newly released book by historian Tom Wells, published in March, which compiles hundreds of secretly recorded conversations from Kissinger’s time in the Nixon administration between 1969 and 1974.

The book is based on thousands of pages of “telcons” that were declassified following a lengthy legal battle led by the National Security Archive, with over 15,000 pages released in 2004.

Wells notes that the material provides “a comprehensive view of his time in power” and illuminates pivotal decisions and controversies of that era, including the US's responses to human rights violations by allied governments.

The dissent expressed by Archer Blood in 1971, famously referred to as the Blood telegram, remains one of the most notable protests by US diplomats against official policy. Blood had implored Washington to take a moral stance against the atrocities occurring in East Pakistan.

The turmoil in East Pakistan during 1971 resulted in a humanitarian disaster, leading to the formation of Bangladesh after India's military intervention later that year. Estimates indicate that hundreds of thousands—and potentially millions—of civilians lost their lives during the conflict.