c. were friendly to an immediate American interest
Once tensions with the Soviet Union and China eased, Nixon's foreign policy entailed choosing allies based on practical rather than ideological considerations. Criticized both by conservatives for abandoning the fight against communism and by liberals for supporting autocratic regimes, Kissinger continued to support quiet interventions and covert operations to prop up any government that seemed friendly to an immediate American interest. The United States relied on regional allies such as Iran, Israel, Zaire, South Africa, and Japan to help stop the spread of communism but did not interfere in the domestic affairs of friendly nations.