Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 22 › Conversation 022-119

Nixon, Kissinger & Bull on Vietnam War and Anatoliy Dobrynin

Wednesday, April 12, 1972 · 3:23 PM–3:26 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.; Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation022-119 on Tape 22 (tape position 04:37:19–04:39:54)StartWednesday, April 12, 1972 at 3:23 PMEndWednesday, April 12, 1972 at 3:26 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 022-119 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss diplomatic maneuvering regarding the Vietnam War, focusing on communication with Soviet Ambassador Anatoliy Dobrynin to influence Moscow ahead of the upcoming U.S.-Soviet summit. Kissinger reports on the Soviets' lackluster public support for Hanoi and the administration's strategic efforts to maintain leverage in diplomatic messaging. Additionally, the President finalizes logistics for an evening meeting with General Alexander Haig at Camp David to coordinate current policy objectives.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Secretary, and that's all it means.
Mr. President, talk to you soon.
Yeah, Henry.
Mr. President, I just wanted to give the word to Dobrynin so that we get the news of the strike.
He said that's the most cheerful news he's had all day.
I didn't even say you had agreed.
I just said that you were considering it seriously and you'd let me know finally tomorrow.
But that he was leaning towards it right now.
Good.
He said he'd pass it on to Moscow right away because he thinks it will affect their decisions in Poland.
That's what I think.
But I hope, and then you told him that I felt that you ought to go to discuss not only this, but the summit itself.
That must have, I think that's what will make a sale with them, too.
Oh, yes.
And how did he get, did that get through?
Oh, Mr. President, he was slobbering.
Then Brezhnev saw the Hanoi ambassador today and made a statement of support.
And I showed this to my Soviet expert who doesn't know a damn thing about Vietnam.
And I said, what do you think?
He said, if we made a statement like that about an ally, I would conclude that we are getting ready to screw him.
It's, you know, it's a sort of a mild, it says nothing.
That's why we got to keep the Russian thing in Canada.
What do you think?
Probably.
Yeah, yeah.
Almost certainly.
Well, we're working on it a little.
I'm changing it a little to get the rhythm a little bit, but we can decide it tomorrow.
And in the meantime, you get up there to the other, and we'll just hope to get this strike off.
Is the weather improving any?
Yes.
By tomorrow, we can make a massive... Would you have any objection if... Now, you'll get me back from New York if I had Hague,
I won't have a chance to see him, because I'm going to stay up there tomorrow until around noon.
Could I have Haig see me there, or do you want to, shall I, you and I see Haig together, or what?
No, I have no objection to your seeing.
You know what I mean.
I'd just like to get, I want Haig to have the feeling of how, or maybe he doesn't need it.
Good God, I guess not.
I think he knows your thinking, Mr. President.
I think he does, too.
If you were to see him, it'd be perhaps better tonight because tomorrow... Well, how about my doing this?
How about my taking him with me and up to Camp David and seeing him for an hour there tonight and then sending him back?
That would be fine.
Fine.
All right.
Tell him to be ready to go with me at 4.30 and that he can come back around 7 o'clock tonight.
Is that all right?
That would be fine, Mr. President.
Fine.
Okay.
He could cover here.
Good.
Good deal.
Marvelous.

NARA Description

On April 12, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 3:23 pm to 3:26 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 022-119 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 22-119

Date: April 12, 1972
Time: 3:23 pm - 3:26 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President conferred with Stephen B. Bull.

[See Conversation No. 330-40]

[End of conferral]

Henry A. Kissinger talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 330-40A]

     Vietnam
          -Message to Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
                -Dobrynin’s response
                -The President’s decision
                -Dobrynin’s message to Moscow
                -Forthcoming US-Soviet Summit
          -Leonid I. Brezhnev
                -Meeting with Hanoi ambassador
                      -Statement
                            -Response of Kissinger’s Soviet expert
          -Canada
                -The President’s remarks during forthcoming visit
          -Air strikes
                -Weather
                      -Improvements

     The President’s meeting with Gen. Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
          -Kissinger’s schedule

           -Camp David
                -Schedule
           -Location
           -Kissinger’s presence
           -Need for meeting
           -Camp David
                 -Haig’s presence
                      -Time

Also recorded on April 12, 1972

  • 022-118 3:20 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:20 pm.
  • 330-039 3:20 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 3:20 pm.
  • 330-040 3:20 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:20 pm and 3:26 pm.
  • 330-041 3:26 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:26 pm and 3:27 pm.
  • 330-042 3:26 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:26 pm and 3:27 pm.
  • 022-120 3:27 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:27 pm.
  • 022-121 3:27 PM · 51 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone from 3:27 pm to 3:28 pm.
  • 330-043 3:27 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:27 pm to 3:28 pm.

All 37 conversations from April 12, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 022-119, April 12, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/022-119 (accessed September 28, 2026).