In 1970, Blood arrived in Dhaka, East Pakistan, as U.S.
consul general. When the
Bangladesh genocide began, his consulate regularly reported events as they occurred to the
White House, but received no response due to America's alliance with
West Pakistan, fuelled in part by President Nixon's personal friendship with the then-President of Pakistan,
Yahya Khan, as well as by National Security Advisor
Henry Kissinger's desire to use Pakistan's cordial relationship with
China as a pathway to
resuming American relations with China. Although Blood's initial cables failed to elicit a response from his government, they caused a stir with the American public when they were leaked, prompting Pakistan's foreign ministry to complain to the American government. With tensions in East Pakistan rising, Blood saw the independence of Bangladesh as an inevitability, remarking that "the ominous prospect of a military crackdown is much more than a possibility, but it would only delay, and ensure, the independence of [sic.] Bangla Desh." After foreign journalists were rounded up and expelled from East Pakistan, Blood even sheltered a reporter who had sneaked away so that events could continue to be reported, in addition to sheltering Hindu Bengalis being targeted by the West Pakistani forces, despite being warned by the American government to refrain from doing so. Blood also played a role in the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, though this may not have been known in the United States at the time. A report suggests that one of the two triggers for the invasion was "
Amin’s reception of acting American Chargé d’Affaires Archer Blood on October 27" in 1979. Throughout his career, Blood shared several oral histories with the
Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.
The Blood Telegram The Blood Telegram (April 6, 1971), sent via the State Department's
Dissent Channel, was seen as the most strongly worded expression of dissent in the history of the U.S. Foreign Service. It was signed by 20 members of the diplomatic staff. The telegram stated: In an earlier telegram (March 27, 1971), Archer Blood wrote about American observations at Dhaka under the subject heading "Selective genocide": ==Aftermath==