Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 290 › Conversation 290-003

Nixon & Kissinger on Taiwan and Foreign Policy

Sunday, October 17, 1971 · 5:52 PM–6:09 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 11 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.; [Unknown person(s)]Conversation290-003 on Tape 290 (tape position 00:02:13–00:15:44)StartSunday, October 17, 1971 at 5:52 PMEndSunday, October 17, 1971 at 6:09 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 290-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss international diplomatic strategies and the necessity of securing support within Congress regarding the status of Taiwan. The conversation touches upon the importance of leveraging relationships with various nations, including Greece and Turkey, to bolster the administration's foreign policy goals. Nixon emphasizes the need for a coordinated effort among his staff and diplomatic envoys to ensure consistent backing for their objectives.

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Position in tape: 00:02:13 – 00:15:44

2:17

290a.mp3

NARA Description

On October 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:52 pm and 6:09 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 290-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 290-3

Date: October 17, 1971
Time: Unknown between 5:52 pm and 6:09 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

[See Conversation No. 11-103; two items have been withdrawn from the cross reference]

An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 5:52 pm.

     [Unintelligible]

The unknown person left at an unknown time before 6:09 pm.

[End of telephone conversation]

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah?
Hello, Henry?
Hello?
Yes, how's everything in the water?
Uh-huh.
Mm-hmm.
Nothing that new in the way your development?
During the day, I've been camping.
It may mean something.
It may mean that the meeting will go forward in the first room.
Mm-hmm.
I heard that the little crack we gave helped that shortage along the way.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well...
It hasn't been very heavy, yet.
Not much, not much.
What is the day you get back?
Uh huh.
Yeah.
What is the situation?
What does the situation play on?
I noticed a story with regard to Japan and the opposition to Sato were talking about the open island and trying to make an issue on that that might not improve.
That's what I meant.
I thought that we were really giving him everything he needed there.
I don't think we have to insist on that.
Yeah, that doesn't mean a thing to us.
Well, how are we, uh, yeah.
I'm just wondering how that affects the cognitive dissonance at all.
Yeah.
I know.
I see that though.
Does that do anything?
Certainly, neither of those things matter at all.
Certainly, I would hope they hadn't come.
But I guess they're, you know, working on their English.
So, India-Pakistan thing seems to be still recovering at 11.
I know.
Wow.
I just think we've got to be sure that the, the, the land keeps demolition.
I've been looking at the development of the, uh, I just looked today, I've been studying that paper on the, uh, the uncommitted nations on, uh,
on the Taiwan thing.
And it would seem to me that if Bush and Rogers were to make a list almost, you know, of people I don't know, like the ones who are matters above, at least half of those countries just haven't any goddamn business to be fooling around with them.
I was thinking, for example, I just looked at it over again now, now the Panamanians, now damn it, they just got a
The Panamanians, the certain people who spoke to the Israelis, it's ridiculous.
The Israelis can't expect us to stand with them and be the only one, and for them to desert us on this.
But Venezuela, we've helped them in their oil thing.
Now they've just got to play along here.
We'll remember that that's the kind of game that they ought to be playing.
I trust that that's what they are doing.
I think I'll...
It really made me tough.
One day, we went up to John, to John Morris, his brother, to take a talk, and he says, Ireland, I'm cleaning the other way.
And I said, well, for God's sake, and they're pitching because of that airline thing, you know.
Which seemed to me to be a, frankly, I don't see why we did that, but to, you know, sort of a,
I know, I don't, but I'm just not sure we should have.
But be that as it may, looking at the Irish, why the hell should they go with the English rather than us?
That's what it gets down to on this.
I'm going to get Haig, and get Haig, and Rodger, and Bush, and just the four of them, three of them, and then just go over and think about country women to see if they are actually doing what they need to do.
I'm not going to get involved, but I'm just certainly going to do it.
There are many reasons why some of these things can be pretty tough.
Don't you agree?
I mean, in terms of saying, when I went to Venezuela and Panama, but in those African countries, good God, Kenya and the rest, they have more reason to, Ghana, what the hell would Ghana be there?
But I think I can, this might indicate some ways that our people could be rather strong and get, and line up some votes
We just shouldn't lose some of those numbers.
Most of those on the list I saw, we have to be very certain.
Let me say this.
What's that?
But you look at Greece and Turkey in terms of the Congress.
Their only supporters in the Congress are supporters of Taiwan, you know.
Push that out tomorrow and just indicate that it will have a hell of an effect on their support in the Congress.
And it will.
There's no question about it.
But I know I want them to do it.
I want the state to get it.
And really twisting our arms.
Because it isn't, I mean, we've made all the public, and those writers, Bush made their public statements, and they've come out and now it's really a question of just privately going to these countries, not going to go with us when we're the other side.
Well, any of that.
We'll keep it going on some of these things.
The calories that Bush has counted is an accurate one, even if it is.
Someone out there telling him something and telling somebody else somebody else something.
The British are probably going to play it very hard the other way just to prove that, you know, they want to get the PT.
That's right.
I know they are.
I know they've been talking to Croner, but probably he's not doing too good.
Yeah.
They have to go that far.
They've got to look, for example, we've got to do everything from Rhodesian Crone to South Africa to everything else where we try to be nice to them.
And that's what that might be when this is something they do.
I think what it is, of course, is they're sort of trying to...
They look at us going to Beijing and I suppose they say, well, we get there first, huh?
Well, I know it.
I don't think they're going to get in with me in England.
No, I don't think so.
Well, we'll, uh, I'll, uh, I'll see you in England.
I have a problem going that way.
Okay, we'll take off for Guam tomorrow.
Good.
Okay, I probably won't be talking to you again.
You go on.
Have a good day at the meeting.

Also recorded on October 17, 1971

  • 290-001 5:46 PM · 1 min — 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 5:46 pm and 6:09 pm.
  • 290-002 5:46 PM · 36 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 5:46 pm and 5:52 pm.
  • 011-103 5:52 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 5:52 pm to 6:09 pm.
  • 011-104 6:09 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 6:09 pm to 6:13 pm.
  • 290-004 6:09 PM · 24 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 6:09 pm and 6:13 pm.
  • 011-105 6:13 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 6:13 pm to 6:26 pm.
  • 290-005 6:13 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:13 pm and 6:26 pm.
  • 290-006 6:26 PM · 3 min — 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 6:26 pm and 8:48 pm.

All 17 conversations from October 17, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 290-003, October 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/290-003 (accessed November 5, 2026).