In all the talk on television today about Gerald Ford, I haven’t heard Henry Kissinger mentioned. Of course, Kissinger was his Secretary of State and he pretty much dictated Ford’s godawful foreign policies. It’s instructive to actually read some of the declassified material from Kissinger’s reign. For example, check out his attitude towards Teddy Kennedy’s effort to cut off military aid to Pinochet (.pdf). Or read about Ford and Kissinger’s approval of Indonesia’s criminal invasion of East Timor.
It natural for people to focus on Cheney and Rumsfeld since they have dominated U.S. foreign policy for the last six years, but back in Ford’s day it was Kissinger that dominated.
Of course, here’s a little tid bit about Rumsfeld from a January 2, 1977 Washington Post article by Bob Woodward: IBEX: Deadly Symbol of U.S. Arms Sales Problems; IBEX: a $500 Million Nerve-Wracker. The choicest line in the article comes from Air Force General Hassan Toufanian, who was the vice minister of war in Iran and the Shah’s point man in all weapons procurements.
“Toufanian asked what kind of man was present Secretary of Defense and then answered his own question by saying that it was his impression that he was political, forceful, shallow, immature, inexperienced in the defense matters of his job.
Gerald Ford’s greatest faults lied in his weakness on matters of foreign policy. That was most glaringly evidenced in his debate with Carter when he insisted that the Soviet Bloc didn’t really exist. And then, as now, deeply immoral and incompetent men stepped into the breach to set our policies.
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Democratic leader Tip O’Neill
≈ Cross-posted from diary by Intrepid Liberal Journal —
The Mixed Legacy of Gerald R. Ford ≈
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Thanks: We can’t allow another “Reagan-funeral” national amnesia fest. Don’t forget, too, Ford’s utterly reactionary voting record in Congress from the Cold War through McCarthyism to Vietnam. Don’t forget how he shielded the NSA from Congressional oversight. As President: don’t forget Angola; don’t forget vetoes against every piece of progressive social legislation. We’ll be beating the drum on these subjects all week (or as long as “The Ford Funeral” is wall-to-wall on CNN) at T.P.S.M., your skeptical daily look…
http://pagansciencemonitor.typepad.com/
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gave West Papua to Indonesia, a former colony of the Netherlands.
The US in particular wanted to mend relations with Indonesia, which had been deteriorating through the 1950s because of US support for regional rebellions in Sumatra and North Sulawesi. Indonesia was also buying arms from the Soviet Union and from Eastern European countries.
John F. Kennedy, who became US President in 1961, sent his brother Robert, US Attorney-General, to visit both the Netherlands and Indonesia. The Australian government, which had been a firm supporter of the Dutch position, completely reversed its policy on West New Guinea in 1962.
Berlepsch’s Six-wired Bird of Paradise :: A ‘Lost World’
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."They only did this with the understanding that West Papuans could vote on their independence in 1968. Both Kennedys were dead when their independence was denied. The West Papuans continue to fight for their rights there. West Papua is home to the world’s largest goldmine, owned and operated by Freeport McMoRan. I wrote about this over at my http://www.realhistoryarchives.com site – search “freeport” there – no time to link.
Oh gosh – that’s what happens when I hurry. Let me clarify.
The Kennedys brokered the transfer of West Irian/Irian Jaya/West Papua to Indonesia as a way to avoid Dutch colonization, and as a way to open the door to more peaceful relations with the Indonesians. It was the UN that mandated a 1969 vote, not a 1968 vote. The Kennedys were supportive of eventual vote for independence, but few involved believed the Papuans would be capable of self-governance. They were, at that time, a very “primitive” people, by Western definition.
The problem is the gold mine. West Papua contains the world’s largest goldmine. It was initially buried under a mountain called ‘Copper Mountain’ because it was so rich in copper and nickel. It was already valuable when Freeport Sulphur, now Freeport McMoRan bought it. But the gold made it so much more valuable.
Even Megawati Sukarno, daughter of the Indonesian leader Sukarno, refused to give West Papua a vote for independence. In 2000, separatists declared their own independence, but it was short lived. Today and for years, the Indonesian military is heavily enmeshed with Freeports efforts. The company provides funding, the military protects the property. No one protects the people. It’s a horrible state of affairs, but the Kennedys are not the ones to blame for this fiasco.
While the Kennedys reached out to attempt an accommodation with Sukarno, the CIA had been trying to kill him. They eventually helped rig his ouster through a “countercoup” – a fake coup was staged against Sukarno, which Suharto then came in and put down to “protect” Sukarno. But in reality, that was just Suharto’s road to power, and he quickly displaced Sukarno.
Really tragic history there.