General Suharto, who came to power a decade earlier in a U.S.-backed military coup that slaughtered up to 1 million Indonesian workers and peasants, sought the go-ahead in a meeting with then-U.S. president Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The two U.S. officials had stopped in Jakarta December 6 on their way back from a conference in Beijing.

According to a secret State Department telegram, Suharto told the two U.S. officials that the National Front for the Independence of East Timor (Fretilin) had declared independence and that the former colonial master Portugal was "unable to control the situation."

The independence struggle gained momentum in 1974–75, as national liberation movements in Portugal's African colonies won their freedom and a democratic revolution had overthrown the dictatorship in Lisbon. The U.S. rulers, fresh from their defeat in Vietnam, also viewed the national liberation struggle in East Timor with anxiety.

Informing Ford and Kissinger of his plans for the military assault on East Timor, Suharto said, "We want your understanding if we deem it necessary to take rapid or drastic action."

Ford replied, "We will understand and will not press you on the issue."

Kissinger added, "It is important that whatever you do succeeds quickly. We would be able to influence the reaction in America if whatever happens, happens after we return. The president will be back on Monday, at 2:00 p.m. Jakarta time. We understand your problem and the need to move quickly, but I am only saying that it would be better if it were done after we returned."

"Our main concern is that whatever you do does not create a climate that discourages investment," added Kissinger, who had later denied that East Timor was discussed during the meeting. With Washington supplying up to 90 percent of Indonesia's weapons, he told Suharto that "the use of U.S.-made arms could create problems," but added, "it depends on how we construe it, whether it is in self-defense or is a foreign operation."

The next day, December 7, with Ford and Kissinger back in Washington, the Indonesian military launched its invasion. An estimated 200,000 people were killed in the onslaught. By the following year some 35,000 Indonesian troops were occupying East Timor.  
 
 
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