Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 184 › Conversation 184-012

Nixon phone call with Kissinger on Vietnam War and Operation Linebacker II

Monday, December 18, 1972 · 12:28 PM–12:30 PM ET · Camp David Study Desk · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation184-012 on Tape 184StartMonday, December 18, 1972 at 12:28 PMEndMonday, December 18, 1972 at 12:30 PMRecording deviceCamp David Study DeskSourceNixon Library record for 184-012 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417174985 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss the tactical implementation and operational pace of an ongoing bombing campaign, specifically addressing the frequency and targeting of strikes. The conversation centers on maintaining operational intensity and ensuring military effectiveness, with the President explicitly instructing Kissinger to persist with the current offensive strategy. They assess the technical challenges of target selection and the implications of potential collateral damage in populated areas.

Audio

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NARA Description

On December 18, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at Camp David from 12:28 pm to 12:30 pm. The Camp David Study Desk taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 184-012 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 184-12
                                                -13-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                         Conversation No. 184-12 (cont’d)

Date: December 18, 1972
Time: 12:28 pm - 12:30 pm
Location: Camp David Study Desk

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

       Vietnam War
            -US bombing of North Vietnam
                 -Reports
                       -Timing
                             -Targeting
                                   -Freeways
                 -Tactical Air [TACAIR] strikes
                       -B-52s
                             -Number
                 -Intensity
                 -Targets
                       -Damage
                             -Risks
                                   -Populated areas
                                        -Criticism
                 -Intensity
                 -Alternative

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 45% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Because that next race, we won't get a report after about two.
Oh, I see.
That's not going over the target.
I'm just, I'm listening.
Oh, is that the new one here?
That's the second one.
There's three of them.
Yeah, I got it.
That's the third one.
They'll be at five o'clock tonight.
Yeah.
I was just asking the balance of the time.
Then what they do is they do it in, uh, in our configuration.
And then they go back to back here.
I think it's time to keep up 100 for three days and then they'll go down to about 50.
Oh, it's gonna be, it's gonna be, it's gonna be, it's gonna be, it's gonna be, it's gonna be, it's gonna be, it's gonna be,
They probably didn't tie it together.
They didn't get the wood in there.
We just don't want them to drop it on the toolbox.
We want them to hit something.
But they must be having a lot of fun.
The other guy hit something just to make sure that they may make it to the populated area in which case it would be gorgeous.
They're working on it.
That always happens.
Well, the target could be far enough away so that they have some options.
We always go the other way, far enough away or not.
And we've improved in populated areas throughout the war.
And we've just got to take the lead on it.
But it's going to be, it's going to be enough.
And I'm not, I'm not going to give up any of this.
Right.
Because I totally agree with you.
Once you get tired, you can't look back either.
So, keep right on it.
Okay.
Right.
Thank you very much.

Also recorded on December 18, 1972

  • 034-126 1:14 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:14 pm and 1:15 pm.
  • 381-011 1:14 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:14 pm and 1:15 pm.
  • 034-127 1:15 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 1:15 pm to 1:16 pm.
  • 381-012 1:15 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:15 pm to 1:16 pm.
  • 034-128 1:17 PM · 1 min — Henry A. Kissinger and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 1:17 pm to 1:18 pm.
  • 381-013 1:17 PM · 1 min — Henry A. Kissinger and President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:17 pm to 1:18 pm.
  • 034-129 1:18 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 381-014 1:18 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 1:20 pm.

All 29 conversations from December 18, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 184-012, December 18, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417174985). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/184-012 (accessed November 3, 2026).