stated that "we had threatened to go to nuclear war with the Russians." [fn 20] These remarks most
probably refer to this December 12 meeting, and the actions it set into motion.
Navy Task Force 74 was ordered to proceed through the Straits of Malacca and into the Indian
Ocean, and it attracted the attention of the world media in so doing the following day. Task Force
74 was now on wartime alert.
At 11:30 AM local time, Kissinger and Haid sent the Kremlin a message over the Hot Line. This
was the first use of the Hot Line during the Nixon administration, and apparently the only time it
was used during the Nixon years with the exception of the October 1973 Middle East War.
According to Kissinger, this Hot Line message contained the ultimatum that the Soviets respond to
earlier American demands; otherwise Nixon would order Bush to "set in train certain moves " in theUN Security Council that would be irreversible. But is this all the message said? Kissinger
comments in his memoirs a few pages later: "Our fleet passed through the Strait of Malacca into the
Bay of Bengal and attracted much media attention. Were we threatening India? Were we seeking to
defend East Pakistan? Had we lost our minds? It was in fact sober calculation. We had some
seventy-two hours to bring the war to a conclusion before West Pakistan would be swept into themaelstrom. It would take India that long to shift its forces and mount an assault. Once Pakistan's air (^)
force and army were destroyed, its impotence would guarantee the country's eventual
disintegration... We had to give the Soviets a warning that matters might get out of control on our
side too. We had to be ready to back up the Chinese if at the last moment they came in after all, our
UN initiative having failed. [...] Hother side could not be sure; it might not be willing to accept even the minor risk that we might actowever unlikely an American military move against India, the (^)
irrationally." [fn 21]
These comments by Kissinger lead to the conclusion that the Hot Line message of December 12
was part of a calculated exercise in thermonuclear blackmail and brinksmanship. Kissinger'sreference to acting irrationally recalls the infamous RAND Corporation theories of thermonculear (^)
confrontations as chicken games in which it is useful to hint to the opposition that one is insane. If
your adversary thinks you are crazy, then he is more likely to back down, the argument goes.
Whatever threats were made by Kissinger and Haig that day in their Hot Line message are likely to
have been of that variety. All evidence points to the conclusion that on December 12, 1971, tworld was indeed close to the brink of thermonuclear confrontation. he
And where was George? He was acting as the willing mouthpiece for madmen. Late in the evening
December 12, Bush delivered the following remarks to the Security Council, which are recorded in
Kissinger's memoirs:
"The question now arises as to India's further intentions. For example, does India intend to use the
present situation to destroy the Pakistan army in the West? Does India intend to use as a pretext the
Pakistani counterattacks in the West to annex territory in West Pakistan? Is its aim to take parts of
Pakistan-controlled Kashmir contrary to the Security CouncIf this is not India's intention, then a prompt disavowal is required. The world has a right to know:il resolutions of 1948, 1949, and 1950?
What are India's intentions? Pakistan's aims have become clear: It has accepted the General
Assembly's resolution passed by a vote of 104 to 11. My government has asked this question of the
Indian Government several times in the last week. I regret to inform the Council that India's replies
have been unsatisfactory and not reassuring."
"In view of India's defiance of world opinion expressed by such an overwhelming majority, the
United States is now returning the issue to the Security Council. With East Pakistan virtually
occupied by Indian troops, a continuation of the war would take on increasingly the character of
armed attack on the very existence of a Member State of the United Nations." [fn 22]