During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 , American citizens led by the Consul General in Dacca , Archer K Blood , sent a series of telegrams detailing atrocities committed by the Pakistani military against Bengali civilians , students and intellectuals . They dissented with the Nixon administration ’s policy of ignoring genocide due to the close American alliance with the Pakistani military junta . Within the US , public opinion also turned against Nixon for his policy on Bangladesh . Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers , including Ted Kennedy , Frank Church and William B. Saxbe , denounced the Nixon White House for its silence on the " systematic oppression " in East Pakistan . American cultural figures like the poet Allen Ginsberg ( who wrote '' September on Jessore Road '' ) and the singer Joan Baez promoted awareness of the Bangladesh War . The Concert for Bangladesh was organized in New York City by British , American and Indian musicians ; and featured American icons like Bob Dylan . The U. S. Congress imposed an arms embargo on Pakistan ; but despite that , the Nixon White House sent secret arms shipments to the junta . When India intervened in December 1971 , the White House dispatched an aircraft carrier to the Bay on Bengal . Peace activists blocked arms shipments in several northeastern American ports . Bengali diplomats at the Pakistani embassy in Washington DC defected and operated a mission of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh
genocide
1971 Bangladesh genocide
Bangladesh–United States relations