Posted on 11/11/2011 11:20:49 AM PST by ravager
NEW DELHI: A set of freshly declassified top secret papers on the 1971 war show that US hostility towards India during the war with Pakistan was far more intense than known until now.
The documents reveal that Indira Gandhi went ahead with her plan to liberate Bangladesh despite inputs that the Nixon Administration had kept three battalions of Marines on standby to deter India, and that the American aircraft carrier USS Enterprise had orders to target Indian Army facilities
The bold leadership that the former PM showed during the 1971 war is well known. But the declassified documents further burnish the portrait of her courageous defiance.
The documents show how Americans held back communication regarding Pakistan's desire to surrender in Dhaka by almost a day.
That the American establishment had mobilized their 7th Fleet to the Bay of Bengal, ostensibly to evacuate US nationals, is public knowledge. But the declassified papers show Washington had planned to use the 7th Fleet to attack the Indian Army.
They also show that Nixon administration kept arming Pakistan despite having imposed an embargo on providing both Islamabad and New Delhi military hardware and support.
They suggest that India, exasperated by continuing flow of American arms and ammunition, had considered intercepting three Pakistani vessels carrying war stores months before the war. The plan was dropped against the backdrop of the Indian foreign ministry's assessment that the interception could trigger hostilities.
The pro-Pak bias of the then US President Richard Nixon and his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is vividly brought out by their decision to keep three battalions of Marines on standby: a decision which has so far not found mention in any record of the 1971 war.
Documents blame Richard Nixon for Pakistan tilt
A six-page note prepared by India's foreign ministry holds then American president Richard Nixon responsible for the pro-Pakistan tilt during India's 1971 war with her neighbour.
"The assessment of our embassy reveal (sic) that the decision to brand India as an 'aggressor' and to send the 7th Fleet to the Bay of Bengal was taken personally by Nixon," says the note. The note further says, the Indian embassy: "feel (sic) that the bomber force aboard the Enterprise had the US President's authority to undertake bombing of Indian Army's communications, if necessary." As early as June 1971, New Delhi weighed the possibility of intercepting three Pakistani ships loaded with US weapons. This leaves only two other courses regarding interception: That India may intercept the ships before they reach Karachi, or impose a blockade of the Bay of Bengal. Either of these might involve the use of force and would be treated as acts of war, wrote the director (legal and treaties) of MEA.
On December 14, Gen A A K Niazi, Pakistan's military commander for erstwhile East Pakistan, told the American consul-general in Dhaka that he was willing to surrender. The message was relayed to Washington, but it took the US 19 hours to relay it to New Delhi. Files suggest senior Indian diplomats suspected the delay was because Washington was possibly contemplating military action against India.
The past 60 years the USA has had this strange history of enabling corrupt Muslim States, where the result also NEVER turns out as we hope or intend.
the reasons for such interventionas are always different, but the result is always the same.
I remember those days! East Pakistan revolted against West Pakistan’s authority. The fight was brutal with mass murders taking place.
India, got arms from Russia, Pakistan got arms from the US.
India then invades East Pakistan to help drive out the West Pakistanis. Due to upsetting the ballance of power in the area,the US sided with West Pakistan.
Our local paper, Tulsa Tribune or World had photos of tied civilians being bayonetted by the Indian troops. there was also a photo of an Indian soldier stomping to death a teen who tried to protect a family member. One letter to the editor called these photos “Pornography”.
West Pakistan is driven from the east and Banglidesh (Republic of Bengal) is formed. As one letter to the editor put it, “The world now has another beggar nation”.
My how things have changed in 40 years. The US and Pakistan are at loggerheads, and India is now our friend.
It is worth keeping in mind that, at that time, India was practically a client state of the USSR despite their claims of being “non-aligned.” That’s why they still have piles of Soviet and Russian hardware.
And liberation worked out soooooo well for Bangladesh didn’t it?
From 1945-1991, it was a single-minded mission: Anything to oppose the USSR. Since then, it's called "follow the money."
There is a story about Kissinger calling all of the department heads at State into his office. He had a globe on his desk and asked each one to point out his country. The guy that had the China desk pointed to China, The guy with the Yemen Desk pointed to Yemen. The same with all the other countries. Kissinger told them they were all wrong, pointed to the US and said "That is your country and you had better not forget it!"
Other than events with Israel-Could someone list the battles/wars/events where the US was on the side of a majority non-muslim nation vs a muslim one? Not saying there weren’t any, just curious as to which ones they were.
India didnt invade Pakistan but provided covert support the the Mukhti Bahini freedom fighters of Bangladesh. Pakistan initates the war by bombing Indian air bases in Western sectors.
“World had photos of tied civilians being bayonetted by the Indian troops. there was also a photo of an Indian soldier stomping to death a teen who tried to protect a family member.”
Nonsense. Pakistan army massacred 3 million Bengalis on the Eastern front in one of the world's worst post WWII genocide. Henry Kissinger and Nixon were arming and supporting Gen Yahya Khan and Gen Tikka Khan in their genocide of Bengalis.
““The world now has another beggar nation”.”
Even with poverty Bangladesh is a million times better then Pakistan of today.
It actually did. They are doing WAY better then Pakistan.
“India was practically a client state of the USSR despite their claims of being “non-aligned.” “
Consider this a good thing that common sense prevailed on US side and they didn't attack India. In that picture you see above, it may well have been an American general signing the instrument of surrender and defeat along with the Pakistani.
It only makes sense to get the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largest democracy to work together.
And speaking of women leaders, Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher & Golda Meir were all tough as nails.
You had morons working at your local newspaper. The pictures you saw were of Pakistani troops.
India did really well in that war after getting its butt handed to it by Pakistan the first time around. They re-organized and retrained then whipped Pakistan mercilessly. I don’t think an attack on India would have turned out that well for us. I’m glad we didn’t do it.
I’m also glad to hear that I’m wrong about Bangladesh. Its nice when something like that works out.
You remember seeing them! Great! Thanks for the correction!
Do you think they'd be better off still under Pakistani control? Their grievances were real, and when they tried to make their case, the Pakistanis came down on them like a ton of bricks. The estimates of Bangladeshis massacred before India intervened run to the millions.
Nope, that never happened either. Pakistan had a slight edge in the air warfare but it still got it's ass whooped on the ground.....but nothing like 1971. Pakistan army was 700,000 strong and it took only 18 days for them to collapse against India.
“I’m also glad to hear that I’m wrong about Bangladesh. Its nice when something like that works out.”
As poor as Bangladesh is, its still not a terrorist infested nest or a WMD producing shit-hole. Any Bangladeshi Muslim will tell you how grateful they are to India and how the separation from Pakistan was the best thing that ever happened to them.
“India did really well in that war after getting its butt handed to it by Pakistan the first time around.”
The first war between India and Pakistan was in 1948. India and Pakistan scrambled for Kashmir. India ended up with 2/3 of Kashmir and Pakistan got less then a quarter of Kashmir.
In the second war in 1965, Pakistan was far better equipped and well prepared. The still lost the war. India managed to occupy some valuable real estate on Western front. Pakistanis even agreed to Soviet mediation at Tashkent something they would have never agreed to if they had won.
The third war 1971 was complete defeat for Pakistan. They lost more then 2/3 of their military strength and half their country.
The events of 1971 Pakistan army genocide in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) has been extensively researched and documented by media sources from around the world. The information is all out there.
Thank you!
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