The Foreign Service Journal, June 2014

82 JUNE 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL to flee into India in a span of less than one year. Princeton professor Gary J. Bass gives us an authoritative, yet highly readable account of U.S. policy during this period in The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger and a Forgotten Genocide . His title refer- ences the dissent cable Archer Blood, then the U.S. consul general in Dhaka, sent to protest Washington’s mute reac- tion to the bloodshed. Bass focuses on the refusal of Presi- dent Richard Nixon and National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger to rein in Paki- stani strongman General Yahya Khan, who was helping them lay the groundwork for Nixon’s 1972 trip to China. The pair not only ignored Blood’s analysis, but rebuffed domestic and international calls to act. Whereas Blood’s own memoir, The Cruel Birth of Bangladesh , provides an understated chronicle of events from his consulate’s perspective, Bass has been able to draw on declassified diplomatic traffic between Washington, Islamabad and New Delhi, as well as audio- tapes of Nixon and Kissing- er’s most frank conversations. The result is to place in even more stark relief the courage and professionalism of Archer Blood and his team. Despite physical danger and career risk, Blood and his staff continued to provide detailed reporting of events on the ground and solid analysis of the stakes for U.S. policy throughout the war. When the injustice they witnessed—and the silence fromWashington—became too much to bear, first-tour political officer Scott Butcher worked with his colleagues to draft the first cable to use the State Department’s Dissent Channel (which had been created with Vietnam policy in mind). Although he was not one to rock the boat, Blood endorsed the cable, which decried the U.S. government’s “moral bankruptcy” in the face of genocide. The message attracted supporters fromwithin the State Department and, once it leaked, from Senator Ted Kennedy and others, but it had no effect on U.S. policy. The bloodshed continued in Bangladesh, and Blood was quietly replaced with someone considered more dependable. Although Blood eventually became deputy chief of mission in New Delhi, his Foreign Service career never recovered. When Bass spoke at the State Depart- ment’s Ralph Bunche Library in Feb- ruary, he implored State Department personnel to do more to honor the cour- age and professionalism of Blood, Butcher and their colleagues. He is more restrained in his book, which is a pity. As policymakers debate the peril of over-reliance on high-tech intelligence and social media out- reach, his reflections on the value of old-fashioned, loafers-on-the-ground diplomacy would have planted the book firmly in the mid- dle of today’s foreign policy discussions. Similarly, readers would have ben- efited had Bass—who has written a good deal elsewhere about humanitarian inter- vention and foreign policy—had shared his thoughts on this episode’s relevance today. He does make passing reference to the ongoing crisis in Syria, but stops short of drawing lessons relevant to America’s 21st-century diplomatic challenges. Nevertheless, The Blood Telegram is an invaluable primer about a regrettably obscure period in U.S. diplomacy—and, just as important, an inspiring account of Foreign Service officers at their best. n Clinton S. “Tad” Brown began his Foreign Service career in 2000 as a consular officer in Dhaka. He later served in Nairobi, Yaoundé and Kolkata, and is currently a senior watch officer in the Operations Center in Washing- ton, D.C. When the injustice they witnessed—and the silence fromWashington—became too much to bear, the consulate sent the first cable to use the State Department’s Dissent Channel. You Are Our Eyes & Ears! Dear Readers: In order to produce a high-quality product, the FSJ depends on the revenue it earns from advertising. You can help with this. Please let us know the names of companies that have provided good service to you — a hotel, insurance company, auto dealership, or other concern. A referral from our readers is the best entrée! Ed Miltenberger Advertising & Circulation Manager Tel: (202) 944-5507 E-mail: miltenberger@afsa.org