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Conversation: 705-002

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Start Date: 10-Apr-1972 8:57 AM

End Date: 10-Apr-1972 9:55 AM

Participants:

Nixon, Richard M. (President)Kissinger, Henry A.Haig, Alexander M., Jr.

Recording Device: Oval Office

Full Tape Conversation Start Time: 00:19:15

Full Tape Conversation End Time: 01:17:51

705a.mp3

705b.mp3

705c.mp3

NARA Description:

On April 10, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:57 am to 9:55 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 705-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid:

Conversation No. 705-2

Date: April 10, 1972
Time: 8:57 am - 9:55 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Henry A. Kissinger.

     Vietnam
          -Military operations
                -Reports from Military Region One
                     -Tank battle
                           -Quang Tri
                           -North Vietnamese losses
                                -Tanks
                                      -Numbers
                                -Personnel
                                      -Numbers
                                -South Vietnamese claims
                -North Vietnamese attacks
                     -Coordination
                           -Problems
                           -Reports from US advisors
                                -Kissinger’s view
                     -Use of tanks
                           -Possible difficulties
                           -George S. Patton
                                             2

                          NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                                      Tape Subject Log
                                        (rev. 10/06)
                                                                      Conv. No. 705-2 (cont.)


                            -Performance comparisons
                                  -South Vietnamese artillery
                                  -Success
                      -South Vietnamese tanks
                            -Effectiveness
                 -Region One
                      -Casualties
                 -Press reports
           -The President's television speech
                 -Kissinger’s opposition
                      -Sense of crisis
                            -Kissinger’s upcoming conversation with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
           -Military operations
                 -Region Two
                      -B-52 strikes
                            -Status
           -Gen. Alexander M. Haig, Jr.’s presence at meeting
                 -The President’s plan
           -Military operations
                 -Vinh
                      -Air strikes
                            -B-52s
                 -B-52s
                      -Use in North Vietnam
                            -1968
                      -Impact
                            -Soviets
                            -The President's speech
                                  -Kissinger’s opposition
                                        -Administration’s proposed show of strength
           -Negotiations
                 -Domestic opinion
                      -Ground forces
                 -US policies
                      -Attrition
                      -President’s view

Alexander M. Haig, Jr. entered at 9:02 am.

           -Military operations
                 -Weather in Region One
                                   3

               NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                           Tape Subject Log
                             (rev. 10/06)
                                                            Conv. No. 705-2 (cont.)


      -Concentration of force
            -Gen. Creighton W. Abrams, Jr. and Gen. John W. Vogt, Jr.
      -Region Three
            -Saigon
      -Air strikes
            -Region One
                  -Timing
            -Scope of attacks
                  -US Air Force [USAF]
            -Weather
            -B-52s
                  -Bomb damage assessments
                  -Expanse in area
                        -Weather
                  -Increase in tonnage
                        -Abrams and Vogt
      -Need to concentrate force
            -President’s view
            -Improvements in strategy
                  -Compared with Lyndon B. Johnson
                        -The President’s instructions to Haig
-An loc
      -Situation of South Vietnamese division
      -Army of the Republic of Vietnam [ARVN] defections
            -News reports
                  -New York Times reporter in Paris
-Military operations
      -B-52s
            -Past use against North Vietnam
                  -Washington Post and New York Times reports
      -South Vietnamese performance
            -Ground forces
            -North Vietnamese tanks
                  -Destruction
            -Public relations value
            -Air strikes
            -First division
                  -Hue
      -Destroyers
            -Damage and casualties
      -Chance of South Vietnamese success
                                                4

                           NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                                       Tape Subject Log
                                         (rev. 10/06)
                                                                          Conv. No. 705-2 (cont.)


           -Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
                -Kissinger's conversation with Anatoliy F. Dobrynin

Haig left at 9:09 am.

           -Military operations
                 -Air strikes on Vinh
                       -Radar
                       -Accuracy
                       -Damage reports
                             -Effectiveness
                       -North Vietnam’s reaction
                       -Necessity
                             -Kissinger’s approval
                             -Melvin R. Laird and Abrams
                             -Psychological impact
                 -North Vietnamese offensive
                       -Chance of failure
                       -B-52 strikes
                             -Air field, truck parts
                 -Blockade
                       -Instruction to Adm. Thomas H. Moorer
                       -Establishment
                             -Hanoi
                 -Impact on negotiations
                       -USSR
                       -Dobrynin
                             -Conversation with Kissinger
                                   -The President’s view
           -Negotiations
                 -Private talks
                       -Possible USSR purpose
                             -The President’s instructions to Kissinger
                       -Possible settlement
                 -Advantages to US
                       -Kissinger’s view
                             -The President’s upcoming speech
                       -J. William Fulbright's criticism
                 -The President's speech
                       -Problems
                             -Kissinger’s concern
                                   5

               NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                          Tape Subject Log
                            (rev. 10/06)
                                                           Conv. No. 705-2 (cont.)


                      -Opposition’s criticism
                             -Hubert H. Humphrey and Edmund S. Muskie
                             -Anthony Lewis's article in New York Times
                                   -Lewis
                             -Impact on public opinion
                                   -The President’s view
-Domestic opposition to war
     -The President’s trip to Philadelphia
          -Timing
     -The President's trip to Canada
          -Demonstrations
                -Press reports
     -The President's trip to Philadelphia
          -Demonstrations
                -Impact on Hanoi
                      -Kissinger’s opinion
     -Demonstrations
          -Kissinger’s message to Dobrynin
                -US stance
                      -Compared to Johnson
     -News reports
          -Alarmism
          -Abrams’s interview
                -Benefits and potential drawbacks
                      -Charles G. (“Bebe”) Rebozo’s opinion
-North Vietnamese offensive
     -The President's speech
          -Success of Vietnamization
          -Winston S. Churchill
          -Disadvantages
                -Sense of crisis
     -Compared with Laos operation
          -Haldeman's view
                -Previous support from Kissigner
          -Tchepone
     -Public opinion
          -People’s Republic of China [PRC] trip
                -Polls
          -Problems
          -Soviet summit
                -Impact of US success and failure
                               6

          NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                      Tape Subject Log
                        (rev. 10/06)
                                                         Conv. No. 705-2 (cont.)


                  -Polls
      -Polls
            -Soviet arms
                  -India
                  -Southeast Asia
-The President's speech
      -Soviet role in Vietnam
            -Use of latest technological equipment
      -Support of South Vietnam
            -Morale
      -US role
            -Air and naval power support
      -North Vietnamese success
            -Soviet role in Vietnam
            -Damage to US credibility
            -Encouragement to aggression
                  -Middle East
                  -The Americans
                  -Europe
      -Stakes of war
-William L. Safire
-State Department [?]
-Soviet role
      -Haig’s previous conversation with the President
            -Haig’s view
                  -W[illiam] Averell Harriman
      -Past interpretations
            -Henry Cabot lodge
                  -The President’s previous visits to Vietnam
                  -Lodge’s previous visits to Vietnam
                        -Compared to Kissinger
            -Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor
            -William J. Porter
      -Objectives
            -PRC
      -India-Pakistan War
            -William P. Rogers and State Department
      -Objectives
            -Jordan
                  -Syria
-The President's analysis
                               7

          NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                      Tape Subject Log
                        (rev. 10/06)
                                                         Conv. No. 705-2 (cont.)


     -Kissinger’s agreement
-Signing ceremony for the convention of chemical and biological weapons
     [CBW]
     -Timing
     -The President's remarks
            -Kissinger’s view
-The President's speech
     -Advantages and disadvantages
            -Negotiations
            -Domino theory
            -Soviet summit
            -News reports
                  -Kissinger’s attendance at gridiron dinner, April 9, 1972
                        -Possible opinions of the media and politicians
-Victories
     -Publicity
     -Military Region One
            -Stories in the New York Times and Washington Post
            -North Vietnamese advances
                  -Military Region One
     -Military Region Three
            -An loc
                  -Quality of ARVN division
                  -Chance of defeat
                        -Possible fall
-South Vietnamese strengths
     -Abrams’s and Ellsworth F. Bunker's assessments
-Current situation
     -Military Region One
            -Stabilization
            -Counterattack
                  -Tanks
                        -Destruction
                              -Number
     -Military Region Two
            -Intelligence reports
                  -Prisoners of war [POWs]
                  -North Vietnamese losses
                        -Air strikes
            -B-3
     -Military Region Three
                                     8

                NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                            Tape Subject Log
                              (rev. 10/06)
                                                                Conv. No. 705-2 (cont.)


                  -Reinforcements
                        -South Vietnamese divisions
           -Gen. Nguyen Van Thieu's assessment
                  -Airborne brigade
                  -Binh Long
                  -Bunker’s view
                  -Military Region Four
                        -Small unit actions
                  -Duration of offensive
                        -Interrogation of POWs
                  -North Vietnamese losses
                        -Tanks
                              -Numbers
                        -Casualties
                        -Withdrawals
                              -Cambodia
                              -North Vietnamese divisions
                                    -Military Region One
                              -Reorganization
                                    -Timing of military operations
                  -Air support
                  -Counterattacks
                        Abrams and Bunker
     -Reports
     -The President's handling of crisis
     -US bombing
           -US options
                  -Possible blockade
     -The President's speech
           -Kissinger’s opposition
                  -Future public appearances from the President
                        -Philadelphia
-Kissinger’s trip to Japan
     -Cancellation
           -Soviet response
                  -Possible blockade
-USSR
     -Kissinger’s conversation with Dobrynin
           -Johnson
           -US military action
                  -Timing
                                        9

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                               Tape Subject Log
                                 (rev. 10/06)
                                                             Conv. No. 705-2 (cont.)


          -Role in North Vietnam
          -Speech
     -Diplomacy
          -Complexities
               -Rhetoric

US-PRC relations
    -Compatibility of interests
         -Short term interests
         -Long term interests
         -CBW
         -The President's Canadian speech
    -Speechwriting
         -George S. McGovern

Vietnam
     -William F., Jr. and James L. Buckley
           -Conversation with Kissinger
                 -Timing
                 -James Buckley
                       -Speechwriting
           -Support for the President on bombing
                 -B-52s
     -William Buckley
           -Conversation with Kissinger
                 -Location
           -Call to brother
           -Talk with Kissinger
                 -Conservatives
                       -Support for the President
                       -End to criticism of administration
     -William F. (“Billy”) Graham
           -Conversation with Kissinger
           -Support for the President
           -Call to other supporters
                 -Attitude towards the war
     -Stakes in war
           -Election
           -The President's speechwriters
                 -Raymond K. Price, Jr. and Lee W. Huebner
                 -Safire
                                   10

               NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                           Tape Subject Log
                             (rev. 10/06)
                                                             Conv. No. 705-2 (cont.)


                 -Work with Kissinger
           -Phrase, The Guns of April
                 -[Barbara Tuchman] and Guns of August
                       -Safire
     -Price
     -Safire
           -Price
-North Vietnamese offensive
     -Military situation
     -Reaction
           -The President’s effort
     -Press reports
           -Fear of South Vietnamese success
                 -Possible events on May 1, 1972
     -Withdrawals
     -An loc
     -Quang Tri and Kontum
     -The President's speech
           -Timing
           -Success of Vietnamization and Nixon Doctrine
           -Haldeman
           -Foreign policy
                 -Advantages
                       -American opinion
                 -Disadvantages
                       -Possible weakness in Administration’s stance
                             -Timing
                       -Impression on North Vietnam
           -Press
                 -Nuclear weapons
                       -Ronald L. Ziegler
           -Haldeman's judgment
           -Kissinger's judgment
           -Administration hawks
     -Weather
           -Air strikes
                 -Military Region One
                 -Impact
                 -Concentration of force
     -Negotiations
           -Possible settlement
                                    11

                NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                            Tape Subject Log
                              (rev. 10/06)
                                                     Conv. No. 705-2 (cont.)


           -Administrations possible tone
     -Kissinger's trip to Japan
           -Cancellation
     -The President’s schedule
           -Haldeman
     -Negotiations
           -Secret talks
                 -Timing
                 -The President’s report
-Negotiations
     -Porter
           -Public talks
                 -Role
           -Meeting with President
                 -Porter’s location
                       -Timing
           -Statements
                 -Edward M. Kennedy, et al.
                       -Possible Porter statement
                 -North Vietnamese reply
     -US conditions to the North Vietnamese
     -Baltimore Sun
     -Disclosure of secret talks
           -Potential effect
     -Porter
           -Statement
     -US offers
           -Timing
           -Porter's posture
                 -Rebozo's assessment
     -Resumption of talks
           -Timing
-North Vietnamese offensive
     -Areas of fighting
           -Saigon
                 -Attacks on US forces
     -Blockade
     -Losses
           -Chances of success
                 -US air power
                       -The President’s view
                                  12

               NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                          Tape Subject Log
                            (rev. 10/06)
                                                           Conv. No. 705-2 (cont.)


     -US counteractions
           -Concentration
           -The President's Soviet trip
     -North Vietnamese miscalculations
           -ARVN weakness
           -View of the President
                 -Harriman, Clark M. Clifford
                       -[Johnson]
     -Rogers and Laird
           -Handling of crisis
                 -Laird
                       -Toughness
     -US statements
           -Ziegler
     -Press reports
           -Robert B. Semple, Jr. report
           -Sense of crisis in White House
           -White House advisors
                 -Concern
                 -Statements to press
                       -Ziegler
                       -Max Frankel
                             -Assistance from Kissinger
-White House advisors
     -Semple
     -Cambodia and Laos
     -Kissinger, Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, Charles W. Colson
           -Strength of stance
     -Weaknesses
           -John D. Ehrlichman
           -George P. Shultz
           -Price and Patrick J. Buchanan
           -Cabinet
     -Presidential responsibility
-North Vietnamese offensive
     -Lack of support for US policy
     -Air strikes
           -B-52s
           -Hesitancy
     -Naval gunfire
           -Intensity
                                              13

                             NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

                                      Tape Subject Log
                                        (rev. 10/06)
                                                                  Conv. No. 705-2 (cont.)


                            -Manila
                 -US military
                      -Responsiveness to demands
                      -Destroyers and cruisers
                            -Panama Canal
                            -Soviets

     Kissinger's schedule
          -Washington Special Actions Group [WSAG]
          -Report to the President

Kissinger left at 9:55 am.