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.