Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 8 › Conversation 008-053

Nixon phone call with Price on Vietnam War and Foreign policy

Wednesday, September 8, 1971 · 3:06 PM–3:08 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Price, Raymond K., Jr.Conversation008-053 on Tape 8 (tape position 01:42:25–01:44:33)StartWednesday, September 8, 1971 at 3:06 PMEndWednesday, September 8, 1971 at 3:08 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 008-053 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and speechwriter Raymond K. Price, Jr. discuss specific revisions to the foreign policy portion of an upcoming address to Congress. The primary concern is crafting language regarding the Vietnam War that accounts for sensitive ongoing negotiations in Paris. Nixon instructs Price to consult Henry Kissinger on two drafting options: one referencing the conclusion of the war and another focusing exclusively on a 'generation of peace' should the former be deemed too delicate.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Mr. President?

Yeah.

Mr. Price?

Ray, I talked to Henry about that foreign policy thing, and there is a technical problem we've got because of something that's going on in Paris at the moment.

I said we had changed the earlier language.

Let me suggest this.

Try this language on him.

I believe that as America now brings to a conclusion the longest and most difficult war in its history.

Mm-hmm.

We can look forward with confidence.

Try that out on him.

If that does not work, then we'll simply have to strike the... As a result of major nation-field foreign policy, we can look forward with confidence to a generation of peace.

You see, you could even leave out the war business altogether, see?

If so, if there's any problem, say that.

But if there is...

If there isn't, we might move it that way, but I'll decide it finally.

Try this language on Henry, though.

Yeah, try that language.

I believe that as America now brings to a conclusion the most longest and most difficult.

And then you'd be going back to the two things.

You'd have that and the other foreign policy line as you had originally?

The other foreign policy...

No, no, this is the same.

It's the same.

I'm working on the same text.

We have it now.

I believe that as America now completes, and I'm just saying, brings to a conclusion...

And so this would still have, as a result, very many initiatives, too.

Yeah.

There are two ways we can do it.

We can just write the sentence, if he feels that it's too sensitive to talk about the war at all, we can say, as a result of major initiatives in the field of foreign policy, we can look forward with confidence to a generation of peace.

It may be that that's just the best way to do it, rather than, what do you think, rather than raising the war thing at all.

I think if the war thing can be done, it's going to be in people's minds, and it probably strengthens it, but it's not necessary.

But it's not necessary.

But try that on him, okay?

But if there is a problem, we'll just leave it up.

Okay.

NARA Description

On September 8, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 3:06 pm to 3:08 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 008-053 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 8-53

Date: September 8, 1971
Time: 3:06 pm - 3:08 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Raymond K. Price, Jr.

[See Conversation No. 274-40]

     The President's forthcoming speech to Congress
          -Foreign policy section
               -Henry A. Kissinger's talk with the President
                      -Paris negotiations
               -Wording change
                      -Vietnam War
                            -Conclusion
                            -Kissinger
                      -Generation of peace
                      -Vietnam War
                      -Options summarized
                            -Kissinger
                            -Vietnam War
                            -Generation of peace
                            -Vietnam War
                            -Kissinger

Also recorded on September 8, 1971

274-039 3:04 PM · 5 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 3:04 pm and 3:06 pm.
008-052 3:05 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:05 pm.
274-040 3:06 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:06 pm to 3:08 pm.
008-054 3:08 PM · 41 sec — Raymond K. Price, Jr. and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 7:40 pm.
008-055 3:08 PM · 2 min — Raymond K. Price, Jr., White House operator, and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 7:40 pm.
008-056 3:08 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 7:40 pm.
274-041 3:08 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 3:08 pm and 3:26 pm.
274-042 3:08 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:26 pm.

All 34 conversations from September 8, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 008-053, September 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/008-053 (accessed October 23, 2026).