---
aliases:
- Gerald Ford
born: 1913-07-14
category: Intelligence & Government
died: 2006-12-26
location: Omaha, Nebraska
summary: In late 1976, at the end of his tenure as President, Henry A.
tags:
- Person
- Politician
- Israel
- Diplomat
- Military
---

Gerald R. Ford was the 38th President of the [United States](/places/united-states/), serving from 1974 to 1977. His administration, along with that of [Richard Nixon](/people/richard-nixon/), maintained a warm relationship with [Israel](/places/israel/), a stark contrast to the later approach of the [Carter](/people/jimmy-carter/) administration. Ford's precedent was to tightly restrict access to high-quality [KH-11](/concepts/kh-11/) imagery, even to close allies like Great Britain.[^1]

In late 1976, at the end of his tenure as President, [Henry A. Kissinger](/people/henry-a-kissinger/) casually mentioned to [Hermann F. Eilts](/people/hermann-f-eilts/), the American ambassador to [Egypt](/places/egypt/), a concern that the Israelis might go nuclear if they didn't receive military equipment quickly. This occurred during a final meeting where Kissinger brought up the 1973 [Yom Kippur War](/events/yom-kippur-war/) again.[^2]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 1.
[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 17.