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[[Category:International Political Figures]]

[[Category:International Political Figures]]

Suharto was a close ally of the United States during the [[Cold War]].  As a result, he became a bête noire of the far left, who compared his crimes to those of Cambodia's [[Pol Pot]]--though relative to population size and percent killed, Pol Pot's were at least 50 times worse.<ref>http://www.fair.org/extra/9809/suharto.html</ref>  In the wake of US defeat in the [[Vietnam War]], President Ford saw Indonesia as a vital American ally in Asia needed to preserve America's waning influence in that part of the world.

Suharto was a close ally of the United States during the [[Cold War]].  As a result, he became a bête noire of the far left, who compared his crimes to those of Cambodia's [[Pol Pot]]--though relative to population size and percent killed, Pol Pot's were about 300 times worse.<ref>http://www.fair.org/extra/9809/suharto.html</ref><ref>Assuming that Suharto killed .5% of all Indonesians during his reign, divide that figure by 32 to get his "annual percent killed."  Then divide this by Pol Pot's 7.5% killed annually.  Suharto was about 325 times less murderous.</ref>  In the wake of US defeat in the [[Vietnam War]], President Ford saw Indonesia as a vital American ally in Asia needed to preserve America's waning influence in that part of the world.

==Genocide in East Timor==

==Alleged Genocide in East Timor==

In 1975, Ford and Secretary of State [[Kissinger]] met with Suharto in Jakarta--as fate would have it, on the very day Indonesia decided to invade the tiny island of East Timor.  East Timor was in the midst of a low-level civil war that led to thousands of deaths and to a military takeover by a de facto Socialist dictatorship headed by the left-wing FRETILIN Party.  FRETILIN had waged a violent insurgency in East Timor to seize power and to force out Portuguese and later Indonesian "colonialists."  Widely perceived as Communist by the outside world, FRETILIN was feared in Washington and financed by Moscow.  Before FRETILIN could set up a stable government, Indonesia began preparing for non-violent solutions to the perceived problem of Timorese independence.  Indonesian leaders feared that allowing Timorese independence would inspire secessionist movements that could bring about the collapse of Indonesia.   

In 1975, Ford and Secretary of State [[Kissinger]] met with Suharto in Jakarta--as fate would have it, on the very day Indonesia decided to invade the tiny island of East Timor.  East Timor was in the midst of a low-level civil war that led to thousands of deaths and to a military takeover by a de facto Socialist dictatorship headed by the left-wing FRETILIN Party.  FRETILIN had waged a violent insurgency in East Timor to seize power and to force out Portuguese and later Indonesian "colonialists."  Widely perceived as Communist by the outside world, FRETILIN was feared in Washington and financed by Moscow.  Before FRETILIN could set up a stable government, Indonesia began preparing for non-violent solutions to the perceived problem of Timorese independence.  Indonesian leaders feared that allowing Timorese independence would inspire secessionist movements that could bring about the collapse of Indonesia.