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December 12, 1975 - Ford, Hugh Sidey of TIME Magazine
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1553322
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December 12, 1975 - Ford, Hugh Sidey of TIME Magazine
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Memoranda of Conversations (Nixon and Ford Administrations)
Ford Administration Memoranda of Conversations
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File scanned from the National Security Adviser's Memoranda of Conversation Collection at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
Ed
MEMORANDUM
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION
PARTICIPANTS:
President Gerald R. Ford
Hugh Sidey, TIME Magazine
Brent Scowcroft, Assistant to the President
for National Security Affairs
William I. Greener, Jr., Deputy Press Secretary
DATE AND TIME:
Friday, December 12, 1975
11:35 - 12:25
PLACE:
The Oval Office
The White House
Sidey: Has the world improved over the past year?
The President: I inherited a fine foundation. We had to build from there.
We had to convince our NATO allies I stood for American strength. Now
the Alliance is stronger and our relations bilaterally are better than ever.
Also it was time to solidify our relations with Japan. U.S. - Japanese
relations are now the best ever. My trip and the Emperor's trip here.
The Middle East -- the aftermath of the October war. We need to keep
moving. We were disappointed in March but we have it now and the sit-
uation is better. There were some problems in the UN. The Sinai
agreement lowered the danger threshold, but we can't rest.
In Southeast Asia, we have lost Indochina, but my trip in December was
very helpful in convincing them that the U.S. continues to be an Asian
power and we will resist expansion.
In Portugal, the situation is moving toward a solution. It is much better
than several months ago.
In Spain, there appears, with Juan Carlos and the new Cabinet, to be a
movement toward moderation. This will be a help in reentering Europe.
DECLASSIFIED
TOP
E.O. 12958, SEC. 3.5
GERACO
CLASSIFIED
DI:
NSC MEMO, 11/24/98, STATE DEPT. GUIDELINES
BY
We
1 NARA. DATE 6/4/OM
- 2 -
With the USSR we have a chance for a SALT II agreement. We made
headway in other areas. The five-year grain deal was good. There
are many exchanges. But we do have serious differences: Portugal,
Angola. Kissinger has spoken strongly on the Soviets in Angola and I
support him.
Sidey: Are the Soviets cheating on SALT?
The President: I don't believe they are cheating. There are ambiguities
and we have sent them to the SCC. There is an inevitable gray area.
Sidey: Is your relationship with Brezhnev good?
The President: I think it is a good candid working relationship.
Sidey: Does he have the people's interest at heart rather than just his
personal power?
The President: He appreciates the danger of confrontations with the
U.S. I think there is realization on both sides that we must try to find
a way to avoid confrontation.
Sidey: Are you encouraged by the attitude of the Western Alliance
leaders?
The President: Yes. They have their differences, but they are honest
ones.
Sidey: Now do you see the outcome of U.S. -Soviet competition other
than military?
The President: Aside from the military, I think our country can more than
hold its own in economic or other competition with our free system.
Sidey: What are your foreign policy nightmares?
The President: The danger of some miscalculation by some nuclear
power which could start a nuclear conflict.
Sidey: What if Israel should become a nuclear power to stabilize the
Middle East?
- 3 -
The President: It wouldn't be helpful.
Sidey: Won't nuclear weapons inevitably be used? Kennedy thought so.
The President: I am not pessimistic from the leaders I know; it doesn't
have to happen.
Sidey: Do you have enough power in foreign policy?
The President: There are frustrations. [Off the record] Angola is very
frustrating - - it is so useless.
Sidey: Your religion. What has all this power done to that?
The President: I still pray. I think there is a higher order of things.
Sidey: Where does the U.S. stand in terms of power?
The President: In economics, the U.S. has proven our system works.
Sidey: Do you use the Hot Line?
The President: We have good means without that. I haven't used it.
Sidey: Does our agriculture power give us a blue chip advantage?
The President: It is helpful for others to know we have these reserves
to help -- our friends and our opponents. I don't think we should use it
in a crass powerseeking way.
Sidey: Can you trust these foreign leaders?
The President: No one has violated my trust thus far.
Sidey: How about the third century?
The President: The fi rst hundred years stabilized the government
structure. The second gave us the industrial corporation. Now we
have new problems. Everything is big -- it tends to smother the
individual.
Sidey: Have the attacks on Kissinger been unfair?
- 4 -
The President: In many instances, unfair, inaccurate and harmful.
Sidey: You are hard to parse. You are conservative in budgetary terms,
yet pursue detente. How do you define yourself?
The President: I grew up in an isolationist, Fortress American environ-
ment. World War II showed us that the world was different. I became
convinced of the role of the U.S. in the world.
Sidey: Why this foreign policy revolt?
The President: I think it is an outgrowth of Vietnam.
Sidey: Why do you have to see these leaders personally?
The President: I think it very important to have a personal relationship
SO you know what the words mean, what the matters mean, etc.
Sidey: What is the most encouraging thing?
The President: The incidents: Vladivostok, Sinai, Mayaguez. Otherwise
the growth of personal relationships.
[The above are informal notes.]
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