Roedad Khan. The American Papers: Secret and Confdential -- Bangladesh Documents 1965-1973. Oxford, New York, and Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1999. Index $65.00, cloth, ISBN 978-0-19-579190-7.

Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb

Published on H-Diplo (November, 2000)

Perspectives on the Political Situation in the other senior American diplomats located in Islam‐ Subcontinent, 1965-1973: A Pakistani View from abad, Karachi, Dhaka, and Delhi. Also incorporat‐ American Archives ed are the minutes of some meetings held at the [Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein State Department in Washington, DC. are those of the reviewer and not of his employer Roedad Khan provides brief "Preface," and or any other federal agency.] "Acknowledgements," while a scholarly 23-page This massive compendium, published in "Introduction" written by Ambassador Jamsheed Karachi by Oxford University Press (Pakistan), Marker and dated March 1999, incorporates es‐ contains a rich set of nearly three hundred prima‐ sential background and a content analysis. ry documents selected from recently declassifed The papers selected for inclusion in this vol‐ papers dating from 1965 to 1973 that are present‐ ume focus on the 1965 war, the East Pakistan cri‐ ly housed in the National Archives and Records sis of 1971, the breakup of Pakistan, and the ini‐ Administration (NARA) in the Archives II facility tial two years of Zulfkar Ali Bhutto's rule. These in College Park, Maryland. The materials in The documents concern the policies and perceptions American Papers were selected and compiled by of the government on political and Roedad Khan, a former senior Pakistani civil ser‐ social activities in the Indian Subcontinent from vant. The volume contains secret and confdential 1965 to 1973, a period of monumental historical documents obtained from the fles of the Ameri‐ importance. The reports also document or sum‐ can State and Defense departments and include marize the positions held by Presidents, Prime dispatches (telegrams, memoranda of conversa‐ Ministers, Foreign Ministers, and senior diplomats tions, and confdential letters) sent to the State De‐ in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India as seen partment of the United States, in the main, by the through American eyes. The events during this United States Embassy in Pakistan. These dis‐ era continue to have repercussions even today in patches were prepared by U.S. Ambassadors and terms of national and international signifcance, H-Net Reviews and will assist Westerners in understanding the tion these issues because neither the compiler nor regional sociopolitical, religious, economic, and the author of the "Introduction" state any criteria military implications of American policy. In addi‐ for the selection of these documents and, hence, tion, the documents are of great importance to the exclusion of others. I shall consider subse‐ scholars, historians, political scientists, and spe‐ quently the possible of a pro-Pakistani biased se‐ cialists in international relations, as well as to the lection of documents versus a Bangladeshi per‐ general public, primarily in Pakistan, Bangladesh, spective. and India, but also to individuals now residing in Marker's "Introduction" contains three Western Europe and North America whose fami‐ caveats. The initial caveat is that these documents lies trace their ancestries to the Indian Subconti‐ relate, in the main, to the bilateral context of Pak‐ nent. It is important to note that papers dating to istani-United States relations and do not provide this era on the topics cited above are held by the depth of coverage in multilateral (United Nations) governments of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India activities or issues concerning Pakistan and third have not yet been made available to the public, so countries, notably India. A second caveat is that that there is a dependency on Western sources for the most sensitive of the documents retain their information. Therefore, The American Papers illu‐ classifed status and are likely to remain so for minates a vital historical era for citizens of the some time. Therefore, the entire corpus of diplo‐ Subcontinent. matic documents would not have been available Roedad Khan writes that the documents in for Mr. Khan's review. The third caveat is that the The American Papers were selected and compiled vast majority of the documents selected emanated "in 1998 in the course of several visits, spread from "the feld" and was transmitted to the State over the period of one year, although the vol‐ Department via American embassies and con‐ ume's "Introduction" by Ambassador Jamsheed sulates, so that the trafc was largely unidirec‐ Marker states that they were obtained "during the tional. As a result there are few documents that fall of 1998" by Roedad Khan during a period of refect the instructions sent from the State Depart‐ "enforced medical confnement." Nowhere is it ment in Washington to the Ambassadors, nor are stated if Roedad Khan had fnancial assistance there many documents on the decision-making from the publisher or any other source. The read‐ process in Washington that produced the instruc‐ er is left to assume that while Roedad Khan had tions that are transmitted to the diplomats in the the time to locate, select, and arrange these mate‐ embassies. rials because of his surgical convalescence, he ap‐ In 1965, the major issues considered are polit‐ parently also had the fnancial resources avail‐ ical and military actions related to the Rann of able personally or provided to him to copy the Kutch and to Kashmir. Notably, the American documents -- not an unsubstantial task if one arms embargo on the Subcontinent was hurting knows NARA's Archives II and the regulations in‐ Pakistan more than India. 's desperate volving document reproduction (photocopying, attempts to retain Pakistan's alliance with the scanning, and microflming). Your reviewer won‐ United States are documented, and Bhutto fgures ders what role(s) the publisher played in the prominently in the dispatches, prefguring the preparation of the documents for publishing. emerging Ayub and Bhutto rift. Marker comments Were these materials scanned electronically from on Bhutto's erratic behavior, histrionics, and photocopies, re-keyed from copies by a word pro‐ Machiavellian streaks (p. xxx). The United States cessing staf at Oxford University Press (Pakistan), views the Indo-Pakistani confict as damaging to or re-keyed with funds provided by the press or the American policy of containing communism. In the printer, New Sketch Graphics, Karachi. I men‐

2 H-Net Reviews sum, the selected dispatches document a tense po‐ tion of East Pakistan. Ambassador Marker re‐ litical atmosphere and growing militarism, marks on Mujib's "garrulous ego" (xxxv) and com‐ Mr. Khan's selections for 1966 include numer‐ ments in detail on Secretary of State Rogers's ous papers related to the Tashkent Declaration, Memorandum for the President (February) in the roles of the and the United which the greater importance of India, Pakistan's States, and American concerns. Both Indian and unhappiness, and the foreign policy non-align‐ Pakistani delegates faced problems of "selling" the ment of Pakistan and India are discussed. Other Tashkent Declaration to their governments, pri‐ papers relate the Nixon- discussions marily because of a lack of resolution of the Kash‐ about limited arms supplies, free and fair elec‐ mir question. Military plots to assassinate Ayub tions in Yahya Khan's Pakistan, the domestic Pak‐ are detailed, as is Ayub's visit to Washington. In istani political picture, the Awami League in East the interim, East Pakistan maintained an indifer‐ Pakistan, Bhutto's PPP (Pakistan People's Party) ence to the Declaration. Several American docu‐ and his anti-American rhetoric, Mujibir Rehman's ments (short-, medium- and long-term plans) pro‐ "Six Points" demands, character profles and as‐ vide insights into alternative U.S. strategies, and sessments of Mujib and Bhutto, and Yahya Khan's Pakistan expressed initial concerns about India's visit to the People's Republic of and the in‐ growing nuclear programs. terest that China expressed in securing United Na‐ tions membership. For 1967, Mr. Khan selected ten documents. Alleged Ayub assassination plots, plans for an East The crucial year of 1971 includes materials on Pakistan coup d'etat, Memoranda of Conversa‐ political dissatisfaction, external political provo‐ tions with Bhutto and other politicians, and a let‐ cation, fervent political activities, evolving so‐ ter from Ambassador Locke addresses the prob‐ ciopolitical patterns, and the military crackdown lem of maintaining a balance between India and in East Pakistan in March. A May Memorandum to Pakistan, and preventing Pakistan's "drift" to‐ the President warns of a "possible Indo-Pakistan wards China. In 1968, there are reports of the ar‐ War." Notably, there are no records for the period rest of Mujibir Rehman and Bhutto, the American that covers the actual military operations in East concern about the Government of Pakistan creat‐ Pakistan, including Indian military intervention, ing a martyr in imprisoning Mujib, and the deteri‐ and the subsequent Indo-Pakistan war. Special Ac‐ orating political situation in East Pakistan. Mr. tion Group memoranda, numerous conversations Khan's 1969 selections contain few accounts of with political and military leaders, speculations events in Pakistan, but there are sets of telegrams about a United Nations role in the "East Pakistan which vaguely suggest CIA connections and refer problem," increasing tensions, mediations eforts to "the Yahya documents." Among the major top‐ by the Ceylon Prime Minister, and papers com‐ ics are the American Embassy's annual report, menting on the speed at which Bhutto solidifed "Current Pakistani Scene -- Comments," with as‐ his power after assuming control are included. sessments from Dacca, Karachi, , Pe‐ There are detailed quarterly assessment tele‐ shawar, and ; Memoranda of Conversa‐ grams that reveal American errors and miscalcu‐ tions between Sher Ali and Secretary of State lations, including, for example, the surprise of the Rogers, and the latter's concern about American- PPP-Bhutto success in the general election. Course Indian-Pakistani relations in the light of emerging of action memoranda, in depth evaluations of United States-China relations. Bhutto and his actions with Yahya Khan, Memo‐ randa for the President (26 May), anxieties about For 1970, Mr. Khan selected reports that docu‐ a Subcontinent war, measures taken in the United ment the cataclysmic events leading to the separa‐ Nations to resolve conficts, and Indira Gandhi's

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"long, rambling" letter (p. xxxix) to President Yaqub Khan as Pakistan's Ambassador to the Unit‐ Nixon are among the papers. There is an absence ed States. of materials on the secret visit of Henry Kissinger Unfortunately, this massive tome -- already in to Peking (Beijing) in July 1971 because there a second impression 2000 -- has been printed on were communications on this matter between the acidic paper rather than bufered or alkaline pa‐ State Department and the American Embassy in per and, therefore, would not conform to the Pakistan. Ambassador Marker writes that "two of ANSI/NISO Standard Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of the principal characters, Bhutto and Mujib, mega‐ Paper). In a few short years it will become embrit‐ lomanical political opponents each ruthlessly im‐ tled and be a candidate for preservation micro‐ pelled by their singular quest for power, are gen‐ flming. There is one notable typo (p. xiv, line 16): erally regarded as the principal protagonists who the year cited as 1977 should be 1971. There are chose to clash rather than compromise" (p, xi), several unanswered questions that should be ad‐ and notes their violent deaths -- akin to a Greek dressed. The criteria for the selection of the docu‐ tragedy. ments are not stated, nor are the NARA record For 1972, the papers include Bhutto's at‐ groups identifed, which would be standard tempts to restore hope and pride to a demoralized archival practice and proper historical research, nation, his moves to strengthen American-Pak‐ even though Roedad Khan mentions that these istan ties. The dismissals of senior military of‐ were "unorganized materials" (p. xxiv). I would be cers, the arrests of army ofcers accused of plot‐ interested in Dr. Milton Gustafen's reaction (he is ting a coup, America's strong support for Pak‐ Senior Specialist, Civilian Record Textual Archives istan's economic development, the unconditional Services Division at NARA) who introduced Khan release of Mujibur Rehman, and the ofcial Amer‐ to the archives (p. xxv). This might suggest a po‐ ican position of "watchful reserve" are among the tential bias in Mr. Khan's selection of documents, contents of these dispatches. The internal situa‐ but the major issue is what American documents tion in Pakistan is the subject of several docu‐ yet remain classifed. Does the volume represent a ments, and the State Department's (undated) tele‐ full and unbiased account of this signifcant era in gram to the Embassy in New Delhi (repeated to the history of the Subcontinent? the Embassy in Islamabad and Consulate General Roedad Khan is, of course, a born and bred in Dacca) involving the withdrawal of Indian Pakistani and selected documents with that per‐ troops from Bangladesh are among other reports. spective in mind. Therefore, I would like to The role of China as a frm supporter of Pakistan present the Bangladeshi perspective for balance. and China's Security Council veto on the admis‐ Enayetur Rahim, a Georgetown University (Wash‐ sion of Bangladesh to the United Nations are re‐ ington, DC) history professor who also holds a ported. doctorate from Georgetown University, has writ‐ Lastly, for 1973, the activities of President ten extensively on Bengal and Bangladesh (for ex‐ Bhutto, his capabilities and inadequacies, Pak‐ ample 1981, 1986), and edited three volumes of istani foreign policy changes, the adoption of the the fortnightly reports of the Governor of Bengal constitution, the shipment of Soviet-made to the Viceroy and Governor-General of India and weapons to the Iraqi Embassy in Islambad (a Sovi‐ their replies (Rahim and Rahim 1996-1999), and et-Indian conspiracy?), and divergent American edited a collection of selected papers from the and Pakistan views on security threat perceptions 1996 Georgetown University Bengal Studies Con‐ are considered. The papers end with the docu‐ ference (Rahim and Schwarz 1998). ments concerning the appointment of Sahabzada

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Dr. Rahim's objective is to prepare a compre‐ placed persons and the one million casualties as hensive assessment of White House policy in the the result of genocide and atrocities (Chaudhuri Bangladesh confict. This is, of course, the period 1972; Hossain 1983; Mascarenhas 1996; and Paust during which Henry Kissinger was quietly visiting and Blaustein 1973). A web site also documents the People's Republic of China (PPC) and used these events, "Liberation War Museum Online: Pakistan as a stepping stone in the negotiations Bangladesh" ( http://www.liberationmuseum.org/ leading to the United States diplomatic recogni‐ ). Useful specialized studies include a military as‐ tion of the PPC. The Nixon administration sup‐ sessment and study Indo-Pakistani relations (Tel‐ ported Pakistan during the 1971 war in order to lis 1997), United States-Indian relations (Kux 1992, protect this conduit between Washington-Islam‐ Thornton 1992, Van Hollen 1998), and United abad-Beijing, and at the same time the White States-Bangladesh relations (Hossain 1983). House while proclaiming "neutrality" in the con‐ Nonetheless, I await the publication of White fict was pro-Pakistan (Yahya Khan) and anti-India House Documents and the Bangladesh Liberation (Indira Gandhi). Rahim's would be the frst schol‐ War, 1971 by professional historian Enayetur arly research on the role of the United States in Rahim which will provide selection criteria for the Bangladesh Liberation War. He has assembled these documents and analysis of the nine-month 170 relevant documents and prepared 14 accom‐ Liberation War from the Bangladeshi perspective. panying essays placing these documents in histor‐ It will be interesting to see which documents ap‐ ical context. In this research he has examined the pear in Dr. Rahim's volume and in Mr. Khan's quality and relevance of these documents, and compilation. presented the initial result of his research at the References Cited Bengal Studies Conference in May 1999, but his White House Documents and the Bangladesh Lib‐ Bindra, Sukhawant Singh 1988 Determinants eration War, 1971 containing the documents and of Pakistan's Foreign Policy . New Delhi, India: essays is due to be published later this year. Deep & Deep Publications. Pakistan's foreign relations, government, and Brown, William Norman 1972 The United politics are characterized by Bindra (1988), R.A.F. States and India, Pakistan, [and] Bangladesh , 3rd Khan (1992), and Singh (1970), while the Pakistani ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. perspective of the 1971 revolution is described by Chaudhuri, Kalyan 1972 Genocide in Husain (1996). There are a number of volumes on Bangladesh . Bombay, India: Orient Longman. the history of Bangladesh (A.A. Khan 1996; Costa, Benedict 1972 Dismemberment of Pak‐ Nicholas and Oldenberg 1972; Zaheer 1994) and istan . Ludhiana: Kalyani Publishers, distributed Bangladeshi foreign relations (Matin 1990 and by Lyall Book Depot. Siddiqui 1995). The Bangladesh Liberation War of Ghosh, Sucheta 1979 The Role of India in the 1971 is reviewed adequately by Costa (1972) and Emergence of Bangladesh . Calcutta, India: Miner‐ Zaheer (1994), but probably the best single vol‐ va Associates. [Revision of the author's doctoral ume on the 1971 revolution and secession is Sis‐ thesis, Jadavpur University, 1979.] son and Rose 1990. India's foreign relations and role in the 1971 event are seen in Ghosh (1979) Gustafson, W. Eric 1976 Pakistan and and Matin (1990), while Hossain (1978) elaborates Bangladesh: Bibliographic Essays in Social Sci‐ Indian-Bangladeshi foreign relations, and Rah‐ ence . Islamabad, Pakistan: University of Islam‐ man (1984) elucidates foreign relations and the abad Press. [A collection of essays from the Na‐ roles of the US, India, and China in the confict. tional Seminar on Pakistan and Bangladesh, Much has been written about to 10 million dis‐ Southern Asian Institute, 1970.]

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Hossain, Ishtiaq 1978 India and the War of tion: A Handbook of Background Information and Liberation in Bangladesh . Dacca, Bangladesh: Fo‐ Documentary Sources . Madras, India: M. Se‐ rum for International Afairs, Occasional Papers shachalam. 2. [Part of the author's M.A. thesis, Carleton Uni‐ Paust, Jordan J. and Albert P. Blaustein 1973 versity, 1977.] Human Rights and the Bangladesh Trials: A Legal Hossain, Ishtiaq 1983 Bangladesh-United Memorandum to the People's Republic of States Relations: The First Decade. Asian Profle Bangladesh on International Crime and Due [Asian Research Service, Hong Kong] 10:475-485 Process (with Supporting Documents) . New York: (October). Editorial Correspondents. Husain, Syed Sajjad 1996 The Wastes of Time: Rahim, Enayetur 1981 Provincial Autonomy Refections on the Decline and Fall of East Pak‐ in Bengal, 1937-1943 . Rajashahi, Bangladesh: Ra‐ istan . Lahore, Pakistan: Institute of Islamic Cul‐ jashahi University, Institute of Bangladesh Stud‐ ture. ies. [A revision of the author's 1973 doctoral dis‐ Jacques, Kathryn 1999 Bangladesh, India, and sertation, Georgetown University, Washington, Pakistan: International Relations and Regional DC, 1973.] Tensions in South Asia . New York: St. Martin's Rahim, Enayetur 1999 The Bangladesh Liber‐ Press, International Political Economy Series. ation War, 1971 and the Nixon White House: A Khan, Akbar Ali 1996 Discovery of Case Study of Surreptitious Diplomacy. Paper pre‐ Bangladesh: Explorations into Dynamics of a Hid‐ sented at the Bengal Studies Conference, Universi‐ den Nation . Dhaka, Bangladesh: University Press ty of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, May 1999. Ltd. Rahim, Enayetur 2000 White House Docu‐ Khan, Rao Farman Ali 1992 How Pakistan Got ments and the Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971 Divided . Lahore, Pakistan: Jang Publishers. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Pustaka. In press. Khan, Roedad 1997 Pakistan: A Dream Gone Rahim, Enayetur and Joyce L. Rahim 1986 Sour . Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press. Bangladesh: A Selected Bibliography of English Language Periodical Literature, 1971-1986 . Dha‐ Kux, Dennis 1992 India and the United States: ka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Estranged Democracies, 1941-1991 . Washington, CD: National Defense University. Rahim, Enayetur and Joyce L. Rahim (editors) 1996-1999 Bengal Politics: Documents of the Raj , Lengyel, Emil 1961 The Subcontinent of India: 3 volumes (1936-1939, 1940-1943, 1944-1947). Dha‐ An Introduction to the History, Geography, Cul‐ ka, Bangladesh: University Press Limited. ture, Politics, and Contemporary Life of India, Pakistan, and Ceylon . New York: Scholastic Book Rahim, Enayetur and Henry Schwartz (edi‐ Services. tors) 1998 Contributions to Bengal Studies: An In‐ terdisciplinary and International Approach . Dha‐ Mascarenhas, Anthony 1996 Bangladesh: A ka, Bangladesh: Pustaka. Legacy of Blood . London: Hodder & Stoughton. Rahman, Matiur 1984 The Role of India and Matin, Abdul (editor) 1990 Bangladesh Liber‐ the Big Powers in the East Pakistan Crisis of 1971 ation Struggle, 1971: The Role of USA, China, Sovi‐ . London: R. Rahman. et Union, and India . London: Radical Asia Publi‐ cations. (48 pp.) Singh, Sangat 1970 Pakistan's Foreign Policy: An Appraisal . London and New York: Asia House. Nicholas, Marta R. and Philip Oldenberg (compilers) 1972 Bangladesh: The Birth of a Na‐

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Siddiqui, Rezwan 1995 Cultural Colonization: India-Bangladesh Issues . Dhaka, Bangladesh: Par‐ ma Prakashani. Sisson, Richard and Leo E. Rose 1990 War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh . Berkeley: University of California Press. Tellis, Ashley J. 1997 Stability in South Asia . Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, Arroyo Cen‐ ter. [Study prepared for the U.S. Army.] Thornton, Thomas. 1992 U.S.-Indian Relations in the Nixon and Ford Years. In The Hope and the Reality: U.S.-Indian Relations from Roosevelt to Reagan , edited by Harold A. Gould and Sumit Ganguly, 91-119. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Van Hollen, Christopher 1998 The Tilt Policy Revisited: Nixon-Kissinger Geopolitics and South Asia. Asian Survey [University of California, Berkeley, Institute of International Studies] 38:339-361 (April). Zaheer, Hasan 1994 The Separation of East Pakistan: The Rise and Realization of Bengali Muslim Nationalism . Karachi and New York: Ox‐ ford University Press. Copyright (c) 2000 by H-Net, all rights re‐ served. This work may be copied for non-proft educational use if proper credit is given to the au‐ thor and the list. For other permission, please con‐ tact [email protected].

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Citation: Charles C. Kolb. Review of Khan, Roedad. The American Papers: Secret and Confdential India- Pakistan-Bangladesh Documents 1965-1973. H-Diplo, H-Net Reviews. November, 2000.

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