Conversation 670-018

TapeTape 670StartMonday, February 14, 1972 at 3:05 PMEndMonday, February 14, 1972 at 3:45 PMTape start time04:02:32Tape end time04:43:08ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Goulli, Slaheddine El;  Kissinger, Henry A.;  Bull, Stephen B.;  Buckley, James L.;  Korologos, Thomas C.Recording deviceOval Office

President Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and Senator James L. Buckley met to discuss the geopolitical implications of the President's upcoming trip to the People's Republic of China and the broader execution of the Nixon Doctrine in Asia. Senator Buckley provided observations from his recent Far East tour, highlighting the need to reassure U.S. allies—particularly Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan—regarding American security commitments amidst changing strategic balances. The conversation also touched upon military operations in Vietnam, the potential for North Vietnamese offensives, and domestic policy issues, including federal housing and the ongoing conflict in Northern Ireland.

Nixon DoctrinePeople's Republic of ChinaVietnam WarForeign PolicyJapanUS-Soviet RelationsJames L. Buckley

On February 14, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Slaheddine El Goulli, Henry A. Kissinger, Stephen B. Bull, James L. Buckley, and Thomas C. Korologos met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:05 pm to 3:45 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 670-018 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 670-18

Date: February 14, 1972
Time: 3:05 pm - 3:45 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Slaheddine El Goulli and Henry A. Kissinger.
     Greetings

     Photograph opportunity

     Greetings to Habib Bourguiba
                                                               Conv. No. 670-23/671-1 (cont.)
     Kissinger
          -El Goulli

     People’s Republic of China [PRC] trip
          -Impact on world

El Goulli left at 3:06 pm.

     Vietnam
          -Message
          -Possible rejection
               -Action

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 3:06 pm.

     Thomas C. Korologos
         -Arrival

Bull left at an unknown time before 3:45 pm.

     Vietnam negotiations
          -The President’s peace proposal speech, January 25, 1972
          -Secret channel
               -Stories

James L. Buckley and Korologos entered at 3:07 pm.

     Seating arrangements

     Buckley’s Far East trip
          -Length
          -South Pole
          -Ceremony
               -Flag
          -Treaty
          -US territory
          -PRC trip
               -Return
               -Marshall Greene’s travels
                      -Anchorage
                      -Japan
                      -Korea
                      -Taiwan, Republic of China
                      -Indonesia
           -Australia
           -New Zealand
           -Thailand
     -Media
     -State Department
-Indonesia
-Thailand                                          Conv. No. 670-23/671-1 (cont.)
-Vietnam
-Taiwan
-South Korea
-Japan
-Indonesia
     -Conservative
           -Buckley’s previous visit
-US aid
     -Difficulties
           -Indonesia
                 -Military
                       -US Senate
-US
     -Buckley’s comments at National Press Club
     -Allaying leadership fears
           -Nixon Doctrine
           -Media
     -Nixon Doctrine
           -President’s news summary
     -Media
           -Effect
                 -Vietnam
                 -Thailand
                 -Indonesia
                 -South Korea
                 -Taiwan
     -J. William Fulbright
     -Media
           -Washington Post, New York Times, Time and Newsweek
     -Leadership
           -Chinese
                 -Possible Administration action
                 -Senators
     -United Nations [UN]
           -Support of Nixon Doctrine
           -South Korea
                 -Bilateral relations
                       -Treaty
                       -Unification of Korea
-Chinese
     -South Korea
           -The President’s forthcoming PRC trip
           -Position
                 -Japan
                     -Soviets
                          -North Korea
          -Japan
               -Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
               -Nuclear arms
                                                              Conv. No. 670-23/671-1 (cont.)
**************************************************************************

[Previous National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number
LPRN-T-MDR-2014-034. Segment declassified on 05/24/2019. Archivist: MM]
[National Security]
[670-018-w002]
[Duration: 1m 32s]

     James L. Buckley’s Far East trip
          -Japan
               -Nuclear arms
               -People’s Republic of China [PRC] and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
               [USSR]
                    -Interests
                          -Get US out of Japan
                          -Treaty with US
                    -Japan capabilities [?]

**************************************************************************

     James L. Buckley’s Far East trip
          -Japan
               -PRC
               -Kissinger’s talks
                    -Japan
                          -Sense of destiny
               -Economy
               -Expansionism
                    -History
               -Treaty
                    -US and Japan
               -Soviets
               -Chinese
                    -South Korea
               -Malaysia
                    -Buckley’s possible meeting with Lee Kuan Yew

     The President’s forthcoming PRC trip
          -Return
               -Possible report to American people
                      -Mutual defense treaty
                      -Reassurances
                           -Détente
                           -Nixon Doctrine
                      -Congress

     The President’s forthcoming trip to the USSR
          -Timing

     Asia                                                      Conv. No. 670-23/671-1 (cont.)
            -Soviets
            -PRC
                 -Avoiding sophisticated weapons
            -Soviets
            -Chinese
                 -1964-65
                       -Ho Chi Minh
                            -Military assistance
            -USSR aid to Vietnam
                 -Tanks
                       -Laos
                       -Compared to those provided by US to South Vietnam
                 -Guns
            -Congress
                 -Disarmament
                       -Involvement
                 -Thailand
                 -Indonesia and Australia
                       -Domino Theory
                 -South Vietnam
            -Cambodia
                 -Prospects
                       -Buckley’s view
                            -Observations on recent trip
                       -Kissinger’s view
            -Laos
                 -Status

**************************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number LPRN-T-MDR-
2014-034. Segment exempt per Executive Order 13526, 3.3(b)(1) on 05/14/2019. Archivist: MM]
[National Security]
[670-018-w004]
[Duration: 21s]

     LAOS

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
**************************************************************************

    Vietnam
         -Military operations
               -Laos
                     -Long Tieng                     Conv. No. 670-23/671-1 (cont.)
                          -Timing
                          -Bombing
                          -Meo tribal forces
               -North Vietnamese
               -Laos
                     -Budget constraints
               -Lyndon B. Johnson
                     -1967, 1968
               -Bombing
               -Carriers
               -Saturation bombing
               -Possible offensive
                     -Timing
                          -1972 election
               -Election

    Buckley
         -Written summary of trip for Kissinger
              -Country by country analysis

    Buckley’s Far East trip
        -Hong Kong
               -PRC
         -State Department
               -Buckley meetings
               -The President’s travels abroad
         -Embassies

    The President’s forthcoming PRC trip
         -Possible impact on US allies
              -Need for reassurance
         -Possible impact on world
              -PRC, USSR
         -Chinese
              -Change
                     -Length of time
                     -Communism
         -Korea
              -Involvement
         -Vietnam
         -PRC
              -Nuclear power
              -US support
                     -Japan
                      -Thailand
                -Future
                      -PRC’s strength as a world leader
                      -The President
           -Soviet policy
                -Cuban Missile crisis
                      -US nuclear advantage                   Conv. No. 670-23/671-1 (cont.)
                -Moscow
           -Change in strategic balance
           -Risks
                -Changes
                      -Philosophy
                -Invitations to press
                      -Joseph C. Kraft
                      -William F. Buckley, Jr.

     Housing
          -Scattered housing
                -Federal government role

     Northern Ireland
          -The President’s previous conversation with John M. (“Jack”) Lynch
          -Edward R.G. Heath
          -History
                -Irish Republic
          -Heath
          -Lynch

     Kissinger’s background

Buckley, Kissinger, and Korologos left at 3:45 pm.

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

Thank you very much.
You might like a picture of this.
He's a great friend of ours.
He's one of the greatest men.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much for your question about that.
You know, thank you for being an edge and also a part of the case in general too, but it's not about the United States.
We don't know what's going on.
Well, I'm glad to have that personal comment.
You, Tom, and I will agree with you greatly.
And we wish you a success in your action and your endeavor with that.
Well, what a success it is to be able to create an economy in China, but at least to complete it.
Well, the world may be a little better off with the president for his time.
And that's all we can hope for.
Absolutely.
Well, my congratulations, Mr. President.
Thank you.
All right, it's time for our locust, who's been taking a few dollars.
We'll be here in a few seconds.
Coming in.
It's January 25th, U.S.
I promise you that this will be easy.
I don't think that they accept that we're both telling a story.
I don't think we're both learning.
I'm listening to you.
I'm listening to you.
I'm listening to you.
I'm listening to you.
I'm listening to you.
I'm listening to you.
And there you go.
So I have to heal, but I'm not very good at this.
I'm going to have to come out and get some fluid to fall out.
And this is for a dog.
Yeah, all right.
All right.
All right.
All right.
All right.
All right.
Good.
Thank you.
Chair?
When you used to be around.
You've gone, uh, back, between half a year and half a year, and it wasn't, uh, a top school or a homeroom.
It was a brotherhood, two school boards.
And so I actually spent about 12 days in the station, not the station.
It was a summer school.
And it wasn't your brotherhood.
It was a brotherhood.
Yeah, we've got a long time here.
Did we give that play to them?
Well, there's a lot of people who went through all the detentions together.
Well, that was a treaty that happened in our country.
I don't know.
We had a state territory of the land in some countries that had it.
They had it sometimes, but we didn't know a lot of it.
But in fact, I got to talk to them, and I was very much appreciated for the peace of the time, for the right of the time, and I took the message straight up through that I was not a cultured man.
I was a young man.
I mean, I had it a while.
I do have a very, very, very, very poor understanding of the situation.
But he told me one thing.
We have not announced this yet, but we wish to know.
But as we return here abroad, we will have a Marshall Wood Green, who is the assistant secretary, for that reason.
And I recommend that to you all.
Thank you very much.
and they will then travel to Japan, or India, or Taiwan, or Indonesia, or Turkey, or Brazil, or Thailand, because they're in an international deal.
Now, I would not suggest that those ones do all day, all their years, et cetera, et cetera, but we thought it was a good idea.
and so, you know, it's a little bit of a waste of time.
uh, they're, these countries are being informed now.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
I'm going to Indonesia, but .
In the Navy, it's very difficult because we just sent a Western helicopter.
We couldn't give them.
Actually, we were sent by the military to the aid if they wanted to.
We got mobs, we got security.
They didn't get as much as they wanted to get.
I know that we had a series of some of those episodes.
You know, it's been a devil of a time, which I hope you will talk about some time.
I've mentioned it very well today.
We've just had a terrible time.
We've had a lot of trouble.
uh so forth
In his case, I would hope that a few voices, particularly African-Americans, could be raised for the United States on the table here.
The so-called Mexican army is worthy.
It means that it must be a terrible army.
You can't have Americans get out.
and not replace it with .
Otherwise, we've got to save it, because these countries left with their own devices.
The reason for that, of course, is that we are not going to come to that.
If we leak it out, somebody else will stay in it.
I hope that didn't mirror your argument.
I would be hopeful.
I'm not opposed to it.
Because we, my guy in the previous statement, the two cases that we shared at some time.
I literally don't know if people take it in any way of a national effect as much as I have.
Right?
And I will be reiterating those if you take it or not.
I'm not saying it's not distressing.
It's a present event.
totally satisfied with what we've seen in the late years of the leadership and discussions as to whether or not Southern became the art of the digital piece.
I'm sure that the Nixon doctrine is certainly concerned with much text, and we're going to respond to it.
But let it read our headlines and see what happens in the session.
The other hand, can you just give any way of coming up with tangibles to show them that they're not going to get away with it?
When I saw this, I knew something.
So I saw it at a certain time.
I said, well, you know what I mean?
The point that I make is that
These headlines really are devastating to us.
Like what, a few months ago, when, uh, you know, the, the, the, the Vietnam thing, where they cut the headlines.
We can't imagine what we have to do to reassure the people of the nation, you know.
It's, it's very, absolutely, the ties, the ties, practically, to other headlines are weak because of something that somebody says, something that,
The poor Indonesians, same thing.
Needless to say, the Karelas, I don't know if that's actually a problem, because that's sort of the staple of course there.
But I think they revealed that the Fulbright group, which is increasingly strong in the Senate, they mentioned the Karelas.
Did you deal with them?
Yeah, very good.
I did.
Also, we got a lot of years into it.
Yeah.
Well, of course.
But they also fear another thing.
They also, they must read our media.
And, uh, they read the Times, and the Newsweek, and the American Times, and the Washington Post.
That kind of certainly indicates that there is going to be a terrible thing going on.
In effect, the other girls from the participation
And there are, even though the leadership seems to be , there are others who inevitably try to knock their feet into the Chinese.
We will make the conversation here unfair.
And again, to the extent that we can cover that line, it's kind of to reiterate or to shuffle the question around in such a way that they say, here is a tangible truth.
And I want to create, because I'm very concerned about the fact that maybe it's down in the U.S.
I think, again, it's a kind of reassertion of what kind of a conversation that we're still having.
Iran has ran into this in Korea on the 8th of August, don't you think?
The Chinese have been able to manage several of them on the curve.
I'm totally surprised.
I stood up to the jury.
I didn't even know I was a citizen.
I tried to debate it.
It was very deceiving.
But U.N.K.
is a special body, Mr. President.
That in itself is not to say that it's a trivial success.
We can still maintain our position.
Even then, do we have two reasons that we're interested?
Even if the U.N. decided to get out, fortunately, well, I say fortunately, but really, we have a bilateral arrangement with Korea.
Correct.
As U.N.K.
is a group that was set up to report on the movements,
to bring about the unification of Korea, if that were something.
That could theoretically, I mean, we have our passion right now, but that could theoretically disappear.
But we want to read your specific narrative, and I wish you had the relevance to be there.
But in my sense, what it needs to remind me is that something has got to go forth, and that has got to be true, because it has got to be true officially.
It's the other thing you have to do.
I think you should know, and I think you would know,
We couldn't hold them back.
They're trying to be very convincing to the Chinese that they should take their position.
What I try to do, what I try to say is that we have great differences.
Now, we will have our differences.
We will talk about them.
Now, I think that's the, that's all that should be understood because the interpretation.
We should think weakly and strongly about Korea.
We should read up the Chinese people about it.
I have, I have the idea that Korea is the invasion route to China.
The Japanese came up through Korea, and also a variety of reasons.
They feel that the Russians let them down, and the North Koreans created a lot of questions in the country.
They should, for whatever the reasons may be, figure out if there are any problems or not.
It will have to be a very good difference between the two.
How about you, Billy?
Very quickly, they're not caught up there.
They're staying away from other people.
Yeah.
They want to get there first.
There they go to the second day.
That's what they might do.
They should be able to call back.
I know, I know.
It's very important.
If you look at it in one way or another, you see that it might be very much in the interest of the Chinese and the Russians, including from people like this, to read both of their indicators and their incentives, because the United States has power in Japan, and to give up our treaty, to give up our Japan, and deny it is important to all of us.
All right, let's put ourselves in the position of the Chinese and the Russians.
Would you rather have the Japanese
with your own music table book, or would you rather have them there, with a treaty with the Americans, or would you rather have them there?
I think this is a big one.
I think what the problem is, and I'm not sure if it does, but they're always trying to knock itself right in.
But the, uh, what the Chinese were most likely to read at hand, it seems to have said,
I can't take that, and I think it's unusual, and people are going to have to say that.
Well, Henry makes a point very strongly, of course, in the rule, but in his conversations, that the Japanese, with their sense of destiny, and their past history for us, are simply not going to sit there on our end.
They're going to be dead.
And they cannot, as the second most powerful economy in the world, or third in the European Union, they will not and cannot sit there and get even out of China.
They're going to either have one way or the other.
Now, you know Japanese people better than me.
I think the Japanese-Americans
treated to that, but it's essential to, in this case, this is one place where everybody is, the Soviet Union, the Chinese Union, and I know every other Asian country, because Korea is a great academy, and the East is a great, deep ground so far.
Henry, one other time, you know, this year, I do think we ought to, I think we ought to see the economy,
You know, if he does, I'm not sure, but if he owes, you know, if he didn't, it wasn't magic.
I think it was the one who was sitting here a couple of times.
I mean, he was not sick, but he had to see the relationship.
I don't know.
...stressing the fact that... ...stressing the fact that... ...stressing the fact that...
And then, uh, in the department, people like me, in terms of writing, writing at home, I think it ended up really cool.
All of these people would be watching.
It was a real revelation.
And, uh, in that respect, it's a really good situation to be in.
It's not that it's helpful.
It's a good job.
It's a good job.
It's a good job.
It's a good job.
It's a good job.
It's a good job.
Well, I had anticipated some kind of report as we should be made on here.
It's buried right here.
And certainly if you cannot have a great, a great euphoria after this, I'm hoping some of that comes in May to sit down.
And, uh,
This is the time.
Amen.
I may notice that, Jack, that the Russians, particularly the Russians, there is a movement in that part of the world.
They're right.
The tanks that the Russians used, or the communists used on the ocean, that's what I hear.
They were very good tanks.
They were better than any.
They were better than any.
They were better than any.
They were better than any.
They were better than any.
They were better than any.
They were better than any.
Yeah, I see that.
Well, it's going to be interesting.
We have a conversation.
We have a conversation.
I don't think they want to hop out there.
I don't think they want to hop out there and be totally disarmed.
They may be on the wrong side of the issue.
What do you think?
I think they're right.
I think they're right.
I think they're right.
I think they're right.
and not to tie them to the streets of Alaska, Indonesia, or Australia.
But it needs to be, it needs to be, or it has to be underrated.
It needs to be underrated.
It may not be, it may not play out in the future, but it gets there.
and then they didn't just have to provide the formless documents like you saw in the past, but they saved two or three.
So you'll be moving on in a great way.
30 P.S.
I made a little conclusion today.
Don't get me started on that.
These are people who sometimes are willing or not to get out of their country.
Another answer from around the world.
Virginia.
They strongly agree with President Ray's question.
It wasn't followed until 16 or so years ago.
It was a very difficult matter.
It was a difficult matter of life.
to have Vietnam at great expense to their far eastern nations.
We remember over two years ago now, people told us that lunch was the maximum.
Now I have to do what I can.
Now if we can get two and a half more people and then we'll be safe again.
That's what we're saying.
If we live from tragedy to tragedy, that's what we're talking about.
That's what we're talking about in China.
That's what we're talking about in China.
But even there...
Six weeks ago, we had an early challenge to get rid of the very last piece of pumpkin.
There's been more damage.
And we were actually preparing in that time to attack the garden.
They said, we just drove too far south, we drove too far to New York, and there's nothing left.
But we put in a lot of air and it's held for six weeks longer than we thought.
And it shows also that the North Vietnamese have got the
And, well, it ain't not as much.
And I know that.
But I've seen these numbers in the air where it's a lot of the same.
And, in fact, only for the last year and a half, it's a great happening.
But we don't know.
We really don't know how great it is.
The only way that we could do for one year was to announce some good examples to each other and build a wall.
Fortunately, we managed to do it.
On the other side, it's sort of an exhaustive thing to do.
This is really a time for us to step up rather than come back.
You may have noticed these strikes over the last few days.
That's a different tendency for tree orchards.
And we noticed three more carriers, now we'll have four carriers in the pump.
If, uh, I'm wrong, it increases between two, five, three, uh, uh, two to five percent and so forth, more A1s and so forth.
All of this is for the purpose of, one thing, they're in control of the missing, but instead of just doing, you know, we don't knock around over the same targets,
What we've been reading about, rather than an enormous increase in surgeries, whatever it is we set them up, try something different.
Just take an area where they expect the exact problem to be relieved a year ago.
That's just everything.
Saturation.
We've done that.
But also, it's helpful to be silent.
That's very good.
Again, you can't be sure, but the offensive, which we expected, 10 days ago, wasn't quite that good.
You know that we're not getting what we expected.
Some people are expecting that, um, the little election.
Oh, and I told them.
Why?
When does it really start?
Well, they could do it in October, and I'm sure.
The rest of the business would be risky business if they didn't do it.
Yeah, so we're going to see.
Either way, if we are going to win or lose, if you're president after the election, you're going to want to go out and discuss it.
We'll do that.
President, I've been reading about it.
I want to say that it's a really good .
It's just a random suggestion, but both my and Laura's two lead papers have been reported by from the country, by the country .
So how is the two goals that I'm looking at ?
That would be .
I always just insist on that when I travel abroad.
I mean, when I was out of office, as a senator, you should insist on that.
Always, if there's something that you want to understand, you just rather go along with it.
But you can't do very much.
Because it does listen to my son.
And it will tell you soon enough.
I get that.
It's exactly right.
Most of the un-deceived are un-deceived.
Let me say it.
I go un-deceived without saying a word myself.
That's the truth.
Well, I tell you, it's a long...
I would be less intended if I were not to set the tree.
We knew we were going to soak that wood.
But it was started that day.
We said it would cause problems with our friends.
And we had this little trap of a tree.
We had a trap of a tree before.
We had a trap of a tree a few years ago.
The second day, I had a good idea.
Thank you.
By the end of May, Russia invades Ukraine, and it will be evaluated.
I can't be sure that there will be an effort, if it's possible.
The only part is an opportunity.
Very good.
It can change.
Honestly, during the years,
What is friction?
What is friction?
What is friction?
What is friction?
What is friction?
policy would be viable.
I don't think it would be viable for a long period of time with the Chinese leader not growing, growing, growing, growing.
And thus, we say, we'll support Japan in a completely regular way around the time of the start of the China crisis.
To then come down, this is something
Come today.
Take your time.
and that kind of occurs, they decide to, for whatever reason, press a correction because the large expansionist policy, which they're currently doing now, they might fall into a position to decide to make a move.
In that event, whether a mayor or president sitting here 20 years from now,
And actually, we do have a facility policy law, for instance, in the present time.
Years ago, when the Cuban Missile Confrontation was in place, there was a Cape Walker, and he received a million dollars in prison.
It was only about a ten-to-one.
And the Russians, they were involved in it.
But now that age has changed, it has changed so that there is a balance.
There is a balance.
But our mood is seriously under, and so is Eric's.
So we look at what is on the same line, and the way it is.
So how do we do that?
And so I think it's taking some risks now, with our eyes wide open, and knowing that we can do it.
I didn't change philosophy, I didn't change it.
The summary is now, in order to reduce what might be on the surface of the earth,
Well, anyway, you can take a look at that.
And I'm going to try to go see if it doesn't help.
Or tell us if you want to keep it.
I'm very excited.
And let her know if it doesn't help.
There's the heart.
He's waiting straight for it.
You'll love this.
He decided to have two dogs.
So, uh, who do you suppose are taking it right now?
So these are, these are entities, all right?
Well, let me say it first.
Scattered housing.
I'm against it, period.
I do not believe that the federal government should ever impose housing on a local community that does not want to part.
And, of course, the other side of that crime is the federal government should not put a low-cost housing project in a community that discriminates so that the community should have a choice.
The other one is that the
I have also talked to Keith about it.
In other words, we've discussed the matter.
As you know from having studied Irish history and history, A, the environment was Irish.
The Irish problem with Brickchester was one of the very, just unbelievable ones.
It just brought down our rich families and everything else.
But the point is now is that you have a problem, but you have a fault in my opinion.
And he was a decent man.
for Trump, who would like to try to find an answer to it, and then let you know it's a very first-class man, who doesn't satisfy the interests.
And I think, I believe, that according to some of the things you said, we're here, we're home, we can touch on it, and it's a good thing.
And our partner, of course, cannot be to send in what we're doing.
We would do, we would help, but everybody, you know, we don't anticipate that.
It's a terrible problem, it's just a...
What do you do?
Where do you get that?
Oh, my friend.