For years the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (GRIID) used to have a media quiz at the beginning of its workshops that had a series of questions, both A and B questions on the same topic, but with a different focus. One of those questions on the quiz was about former president Gerald R. Ford. Question A: Which president was known for falling down a lot? Question B: Which President provided diplomatic and military support to Indonesia when it invaded East Timor in 1975? The answer to both questions was Ford. Most people knew answer A because of comedian Chevy Chase's clumsy imitation of Ford, but not question B, which tells us something about how the news media works in this country. Ford died on December 26th and it is not likely that much of what the corporate media tells the public will have any honest commentary on what Ford did as President of the United States.

WOOD TV 8 ran a 30-minute tribute to Ford that had nothing but glowing commentary on the Michigan native. WZZM 13 had a whole section devoted to the former president, one with these words as the opening comments "There was no epiphany, no defining moment in the early life of Gerald Ford that set him on a course to become the 20th century president most remembered for his character. Ford was the Republican president between Richard Nixon, one of the century's most vilified presidents, and Ronald Reagan, one of its most idolized." The December 27th edition of Mlive was devoted to the passing of Ford with the title of their commemoration called He Saved a Nation. Mlive Even the online journal Truthout (a psuedo Democratic Party site) had glowing words for Ford. They even went as far as to say he was not "an imperialist."

Probably the biggest reference being made to Ford now at his death and ever since he occupied the oval office was that he "healed the nation." Not surprising, this is the title of his memoirs, but what exactly does that mean when pundits and politicians say he healed the nation? It means that Ford pardoned Nixon, which is to say that he did not seek an indictment of Nixon for illegal activities during what is now known as the Watergate scandal. The Ford museum literature says that by pardoning Nixon, Ford helped restore confidence in the office of the presidency that negatively under the Nixon administration. Is this the reality or was it a way to sidestep any serious investigation of the illegal practices of the Nixon administration, which ultimately would lead people to see the very nature of the US Imperial Project? When Nixon's crimes are mentioned what most people think of was the wiretapping of the Democrats before the election. What is usually omitted from the official record are Nixon's war crimes in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. This is what "official historians" mean when they say Ford healed the nation, that the American public was protected from the ugly realities of US foreign policy. Well, what are we being protected from? Looking at the brief history of the Ford administration might help us to answer that question.

Ford became Nixon's Vice President in October of 1973 and was sworn in as President in August of 1974. He served as President until Carter took the oval office in January of 1977. Ford supported the repressive government in the Philippines in its counterinsurgency war against rebels. During the coup in Argentina in 1976, Ford supported the generals who took power and slaughtered thousands of dissidents. Under Ford the US provided millions of dollars in military aid to the right-wing movement in Angola known as UNITA. He negotiated military bases in Spain with the fascist dictator Franco. Ford maintained the illegal terror war and embargo against Cuba and was president during the final days of the US occupation of South Vietnam. But probably the foreign policy that best defines Ford was his support of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor.

Much has been written about what took place in the meeting between Ford, Henry Kissinger, and Indonesian President Suharto on December 5th and 6th in 1975, but it wasn't until December of 2001 when the National Security Archives finally obtained declassified documentation of what took place. What we now know is that Ford and Kissinger not only knew of the Indonesian plans to invade East Timor, but that they offered diplomatic and military support for the invasion, which became a multi-year and bloody genocidal campaign. Word of the invasion got out quickly. According to Chomsky's The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism, Ford and Kissinger were confronted by reporters when they landed in Hawaii later that day. Ford said "we'll talk about that later," but his press secretary Ron Nessen later gave a statement that read, "The United States is always concerned about the use of violence. The President hopes it can be resolved peacefully." (page 156) Ford's concern quickly led to more military support as the Indonesian Army massacred East Timorese peasants. Details of the slaughter were discussed earlier today on Democracy Now.

This is history that is omitted from much of the media and the academic elite in this country. Ford himself did much to limit government transparency during his presidency. With revelations of US abuses abroad through the CIA Ford attempted to pre-empt any serious investigation by creating his own committee headed up by Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. This did not set well with some members of Congress and an official investigation was headed up by Senator Frank Church. The Church Committee, as it became known, discovered that the US had been engaged in illegal activities such as assassinations and attempted assassinations of foreign heads of state. In his newest book Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA, National Security Archives staffer John Prados reveals that Ford tried to block the Church Committee hearings and then attempted to get members of Congress to not support the findings. In 1974, Congress amended the Freedom of Information Act over Ford's veto. "The new provisions took effect February 19, 1975 and obliged the Executive branch to disclose information of importance to public debate on national security issues," according to Graeme Mount, author of the book 895 Days That Changed the World: The Presidency of Gerald Ford.

So it seems that despite the efforts of some to investigate and challenge US foreign policy practices before and during Ford's administration, Grand Rapids' First Son tried to prevent the public from knowing what the US government was doing in its name. Not only is this important information on the role that Ford played as President, it continues to be crucial since we are currently confronted with an administration that takes pride in its illegal wars abroad.