United States and the Indo-Pak War

THE discussion in the general assembly of the UN on the problem of Bangla Desh and the Indo-Pakistani crisis was notable for two reasons. It is rare indeed for the UN to bestir itself and take notice of a problem in the first place. The crisis in Northern Ireland or the British sell-out in Southern Rhodesia have found no echoes yet in the UN. Even in the case of Bangla Desh, the world body had no contribution to make for over eight months. As such, to not only consider a problem but to deliberate on it and pass a resolution all in 48 hours shows a devotion to duty very rarely matched m the past. (Similar alacrity was shown by the Security Council in the early sixties, when it passed a resolution on the Kashmir problem even before Krishna Menon had concluded his speech.) DEATH OF AMERICAN HEGEMONY The other notable aspect of the deliberations in the General Assembly was the massive vote (104) received by the US-supported resolution about ceasefire and the withdrawal of forces. When the question of China's representation was discussed in the UN only a few weeks back, the US gov ernment could muster only about 50 votes in the general assembly in support of its position and it was assumed by many, a trifle prematurely, that this signified an end of the American hegemony over the UN. Actually, as events show now, the earlier vote accurately indicated the limited extent of the US commitment to the Kuomin- tang cause in the world of the seventies. The present vote has clearly brought out the fact again that the US leverage over most of the "developing" countries of the third world is as undiminished as ever and that it can be employed when the occasion demands. What bad happened at the time of the debate on China's representation was merely shadow-boxing, staged for the benefit of the US home audience.