Ford Administration and Foreign Affairs
This collection offers online access to the microfilm series, “Gerald R. Ford and Foreign Affairs.” Included here are Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific and Presidential Correspondence and Conversations with Foreign Leaders. Many significant foreign policy events are covered here. Among these are the wars and their aftermath in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos; seizure of the Mayaguez and subsequent investigations into the administration’s handling of the incident; and the normalization process with the People’s Republic of China. Other major topics are U.S. military bases and the presence of American troops, especially in Thailand, Philippines, Diego Garcia, Republic of China (Taiwan) and Korea. General topics covered include trade, arms transfers, mutual defense agreements, and meetings between American and foreign leaders. Materials relating to Southeast Asia concern intelligence reports on the situation in Vietnam and Cambodia, the administration’s request of Congress for supplemental assistance, and contingency planning for the evacuation of Americans and refugees. After the fall of Saigon, the focus is on refugee resettlement, disposition of American military equipment left in Vietnam, and consideration of America’s policy interests and presence in the region under the new circumstances.