Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 004-066
Date: Tuesday, June 8, 1971 at 7:59 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.; Ehrlichman, John D.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/004-066

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Oh, well then.
[0:02] Hello?
[0:04] Yeah, I'd cut it some more then.
[0:06] Uh, Mr. President?
[0:08] Just a second.
[0:09] Do you want to do some cutting or want me to take another look at it?
[0:12] Maybe I'll take a look.
[0:13] I'll get it back to you.
[0:15] Oh, uh, maybe I'll read it more carefully the second time because I just thought of it last night.
[0:24] I just...
[0:24] This Amtrak thing, let me just make that goddamn brief, you know.
[0:28] That's a bunch of assholes.
[0:31] And they've got 30 minutes.
[0:34] That means an hour with that son of a bitch.
[0:40] Is it Spolti?
[0:41] Yes.
[0:41] You're not in on it, are you?
[0:44] Well, I understand that I was supposed to be, but I can't be.
[0:56] I have a conflict, so I'm probably there.
[0:56] Would you tell me?
[0:57] I mean, I think it's so weird.
[0:57] I don't like the conflict at all.
[0:58] I don't know.
[1:00] I don't know.
[1:00] I don't know.
[1:09] You can get that to me.
[1:11] Hello.
[1:12] What I was calling about on this Symington presentation on Laos, did we have anybody there that was trying to take up our side, or was there any preparation?
[1:28] Well, of course, this was a secret meeting.
[1:30] I understand.
[1:32] We had people on the floor to take up our side, and we had State put out a statement at noon
[1:38] It pointed out that this was an operation that had started, actually it started in March 64, but also dated back some of the other origins to a previous period.
[1:53] Well, the point is, they ask about the disclosure on Laos and so forth and so on.
[2:02] As a matter of fact, we disclosed the whole goddamn thing.
[2:05] That's right.
[2:05] We pointed that out, too.
[2:07] And you're not saying it was saying, oh, it calls upon the administration to disclose what we're doing.
[2:15] Oh, God damn it.
[2:16] We've disclosed it.
[2:17] I think to me that.
[2:21] When we got somebody that can take the offensive on the thing for us, what's been done on that?
[2:27] Who'd you talk to, Colson or who?
[2:29] I talked to Colson, Gregor, Lehman on my staff, who's been working there.
[2:34] I got together with Helms, Urban, and Laird.
[2:39] And Laird's strong recommendation was that yesterday we just put out what we did, and that today we counterattack.
[2:53] Well, there's a hell of a lot to do.
[2:54] What are you going to counterattack about, Henry?
[2:56] What are you going to say?
[2:57] Well, actually, it hasn't played so loudly.
[3:01] Except in the Post, I guess, and Times, yeah.
[3:04] On TV, it's disappeared.
[3:06] The airplane crash is a terrible thing, but they always dominate news, don't they?
[3:13] That's right.
[3:13] The other thing, did you get that final casualty figure, Henry?
[3:15] It's 19.
[3:16] It is 19.
[3:17] Right, Mr. President.
[3:18] And that's your... That is positive.
[3:20] Now, I want you to pass that.
[3:22] if you would, immediately to Scali.
[3:24] Right.
[3:25] And tell him to develop a plan as to how we can get maximum impact from that.
[3:31] They should say the president again proves right, you know, the casualty is the lowest.
[3:35] What did you say they were?
[3:36] October 25th, 1965.
[3:39] It really gets down, isn't it, for five and a half years.
[3:42] Because we might as well crow on one, don't you?
[3:45] This is the first time it's been in the below 20, isn't it?
[3:47] That's right.
[3:48] We had 116, but then they put in something in action that brought it up.
[3:52] Fine, Henry, thank you a lot.
[3:53] Mr. President, there's one problem I want to mention to you.
[3:55] Yeah, yeah.
[3:56] Layard is planning a trip to Asia.
[3:58] Yeah, yeah, we heard about it yesterday.
[4:00] And he's planning to be in Taiwan at the exact moment that I'm going to be in the other place.
[4:05] Yeah, yeah.
[4:06] And I began yesterday turning it off just in case he hits you.
[4:12] Yeah, yeah.
[4:12] Why don't we just say that I'd like for him to go a later time.
[4:15] It'll fit into something we're doing with the Russians or some damn thing.
[4:18] Well, and I put it also on the ground that you turned off Agnew.
[4:21] Yeah.
[4:22] And it would create very bad feelings.
[4:24] Okay, good.
[4:24] Right.
[4:25] Good.