Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–7, Documents on South Asia, 1969–1972

412. Memorandum From the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Haig) to President Nixon¹ ²

Washington, March 24, 1972

SUBJECT:

• The Facts on Our Humanitarian Relief for Bangladesh

In your Foreign Policy Report of February 9, you pointed out that we had provided two-thirds of the world’s emergency aid to East Bengal in 1971, that our relief effort would continue, but that “we would expect other nations to bear a proportionate share of that responsibility in the future.” On February 16 you approved for internal guidance the principle that the US share in the multilateral relief effort for Bangladesh should be 33 1/3% of the total, with our contribution to be paced so as to encourage contributions from others.

All of our contribution is being made through international agencies, and most of it is being made through the UN in response to the UN assessment of the requirements. There is no bilateral US program. Under this formula, we have made the following commitments, totaling about $100 million:

• —375,000 tons of wheat and rice to the UN Relief Operation;
• —50,000 tons of vegetable oil (valued at $22 million) to the UN:
• —$3 million to Catholic Relief Services for housing materials;
• —$650,000 to CARE for low cost housing projects;
• —$35.3 million to the UN to repair and expand the distribution system in Bangladesh (clearing harbors and improving internal transport);
• —$1.6 million to the International Rescue Committee (for a student rehabilitation project) and the Cholera Research Laboratory;
• —$15 million to the International Red Cross.

The rest of the world, according to UN calculations, has contributed about $280 million to the relief effort since the war. This includes pledges through the UN like ours, as well as direct bilateral commitments. The largest contributor is India which has provided or pledged $161 million in foodstuffs, relief commodities and logistical support directly to the Government of Bangladesh. The Soviets are the third largest contributor (after India and the US), with a reported, though not confirmed, pledge of $51.6 million in loans for rehabilitation and commodity aid. Other important contributors are Great Britain, Japan, Australia, Canada, Switzerland and France.

Because the war interrupted the flow of supplies in November, not everything that we committed to East Pakistan relief actually arrived. After the war, it was decided that we should start counting again from scratch. So some of the funds now being used—not all—are funds that we initially committed last fall. Senator Kennedy has accused us of double counting, but that charge cannot be justified because we have been careful in all our documents and statements to distinguish between what we committed and what was sent.

In sum, the US contribution to the international relief effort for Bangladesh has been timely and substantial without being out of proportion with the contributions of the rest of the world.

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 591, Country Files, Middle East, Bangladesh. No classification marking. Sent for information. A notation on the memorandum indicates the President saw it.
2. Haig detailed approximately $100 million in humanitarian assistance committed to Bangladesh by the United States through the United Nations and other international agencies.