Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 005-050
Date: Sunday, June 13, 1971 at 12:18 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/005-050

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:02] Hello.
[0:03] General Haig, sir.
[0:04] Hello.
[0:05] Yes, sir.
[0:06] Hi, Al.
[0:07] What about the casualties last week?
[0:08] You got the figure yet?
[0:10] No, sir, but I think it's going to be quite low.
[0:13] It should be as last week or better.
[0:15] Yeah, it should be less than 20.
[0:18] 20, I would think, yeah.
[0:20] When do you get that?
[0:21] Do you, would you know?
[0:22] We don't get it officially until Monday afternoon, but we can get a reading on it.
[0:27] Right, well, Monday afternoon, officially.
[0:29] Well, let's wait till then.
[0:30] Fine.
[0:31] Okay.
[0:32] Nothing else of interest in the world?
[0:34] Yes, sir.
[0:34] Very significant, this goddamn New York Times expose of the most highly classified documents of the war.
[0:43] Oh, that.
[0:44] I see.
[0:45] I didn't read the story, but you mean that was leaked out of the Pentagon?
[0:50] Sir, the whole study that was done for McNamara and then carried on after McNamara left by Clifford and the peaceniks over there, this is a devastating security breach of
[1:05] of the greatest magnitude of anything I've ever seen.
[1:08] Well, what's being done about it then?
[1:09] I mean, I didn't... Did we know this was coming out?
[1:12] No, we did not, sir.
[1:14] Yeah.
[1:14] There are just a few copies of this.
[1:17] But what about the... Volume report.
[1:18] But what about the... Let me ask you this, though.
[1:23] What about Laird?
[1:24] What's he going to do about it?
[1:25] Now, I'd just start right at the top and fire some people.
[1:29] I mean, whatever department it came out of, I'd fire the top guy.
[1:33] Well, I'm sure it came from defense, and I'm sure it was stolen at the time of the turnover of the administration.
[1:40] Oh, it's two years old then.
[1:41] I'm sure it is, and they've been holding it for a juicy time, and I think they've thrown it out to affect Hatfield McGovern.
[1:47] That's my own estimate.
[1:49] But it's something that is a mixed bag.
[1:52] It's a tough attack on Kennedy.
[1:55] It shows that the genesis of the war really occurred.
[1:59] Yeah, that's Clifford.
[2:01] I see.
[2:02] And it's brutal on President Johnson.
[2:05] They're going to end up in a massive gut fight in the Democratic Party on this thing.
[2:09] Are they?
[2:12] But also massive against the war.
[2:14] Against the war.
[2:16] But it's a Pentagon study, huh?