How Henry Kissinger Failed to 'Deter' India During 1971 Pakistan War

How Henry Kissinger Failed to 'Deter' India During 1971 Pakistan War?

Henry Kissinger's involvement in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War gained attention as he recently died at 100

[{"selector":"#anim-e3e3877e-3e64-4ef1-b244-88b1257b3ee2","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d206db85-a2b9-4fd6-adcb-d92f72a8634b","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-118.95425%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-98620f74-e59c-4cb6-bec2-b50e6c23b861 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(35.22890619018638%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}]

Henry Kissinger was the US NSA and Secretary of State under Nixon and Ford

[{"selector":"#anim-93ebf91a-7185-4fa1-ba00-658fe728a215","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}]

The 1971 conflict was sparked when Pakistan's military rulers unleashed terror on East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), causing millions to flee to India, which then aided Bangladesh in its fight for freedom

[{"selector":"#anim-f9222643-ef27-4581-9a93-8f6910814c59","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-bd03106c-27fb-4622-aafc-30b2e2bf9a69","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.3333333333333333)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c21cde82-724a-439f-9114-4cb3b4b00b07 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(31.408473452071604%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}]

When Pakistan attacked Indian airbases on December 3, 1971, the situation quickly spiralled out of control and turned into a full-fledged war. India won the two-week conflict handily

[{"selector":"#anim-a847b444-0b07-4154-a258-9133cff9bc37","keyframes":{"opacity":[1,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2337c42a-f619-4e78-8914-502128228b2e","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(3)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}]

US President Nixon and NSA Kissinger attempted to scare India by supporting Chinese action, while underestimating India's military capability and international support

[{"selector":"#anim-edd8d185-6eb2-4fa5-8fb2-ebab49887a79","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-aa979dd3-7019-42d0-b684-ff0d3193740b","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -323.18376%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Initially sceptical about Chinese backing, Kissinger eventually recommended deploying the US aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal in the hopes of convincing China to take action against India

[{"selector":"#anim-e42659b5-18f2-4547-9ffb-2d1eee6d9f39 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-46.89227972544583%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f0762cfc-30a2-4001-9baa-98926276388a","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.14195%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d9e0b57a-57ce-49fc-901b-5cc89d7d9263","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-4e58753a-a5e8-4e3b-8826-3ec3704e2d83","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}]

Despite Kissinger's efforts, including sharing satellite intelligence with China, Beijing remained uninvolved, partly due to India's treaty with the USSR and global perception

[{"selector":"#anim-0f8ccb05-991d-4b30-b3bd-cb192bb590a2","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-9de07777-e998-4dce-bad7-7e53953e2780","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 134.20237%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Facing global criticism for Pakistan's actions and doubtful of the Enterprise's impact, Kissinger redirected the carrier to Sri Lanka, avoiding direct confrontation in Indian waters

[{"selector":"#anim-59beca4b-9845-4940-8d50-cd5445c97190","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-114.8265%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-efb49749-515e-477a-821b-f3cb023e770c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-bd926cde-486a-4504-bc5b-539e10aea9c4","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}]