THE NEW YORK TIMES, DECEMBER 5, 1971
DEAL WITH THE BASIC PROBLEM
For months, the U.S. resorted to ineffectual secret diplomacy that bypassed and served to paralyze the world organisation. The Nixon Administration adopted a public posture of mock even-handedness which had the effect of exacerbating the IndiaPakistan conflict. It ignored the fundamental threat to India posed by Yahya Khan’s harsh repression in East Pakistan.
The U.S. Government is still side-stepping this central issue and is responding with flagrant injustice in attempting to pin the “major responsibility for the present conflict on India.”
If the Security Council intervention is to have any chance of restoring peace between India and Pakistan, the U.S. and the U.N. must recognize and deal with the basic problem in East Pakistan.