Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 008-053
Date: Wednesday, September 8, 1971 at 3:06 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Price, Raymond K., Jr.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/008-053

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:02] Mr. President?
[0:03] Yeah.
[0:04] Mr. Price?
[0:05] 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.
[0:15] I said we had changed the earlier language.
[0:18] Let me suggest this.
[0:19] Try this language on him.
[0:21] I believe that as America now brings to a conclusion the longest and most difficult war in its history.
[0:30] Mm-hmm.
[0:31] We can look forward with confidence.
[0:32] Try that out on him.
[0:33] 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.
[0:43] You see, you could even leave out the war business altogether, see?
[0:46] If so, if there's any problem, say that.
[0:48] But if there is...
[0:51] If there isn't, we might move it that way, but I'll decide it finally.
[0:57] Try this language on Henry, though.
[0:59] Yeah, try that language.
[1:00] I believe that as America now brings to a conclusion the most longest and most difficult.
[1:07] And then you'd be going back to the two things.
[1:09] You'd have that and the other foreign policy line as you had originally?
[1:16] The other foreign policy...
[1:18] No, no, this is the same.
[1:20] It's the same.
[1:21] I'm working on the same text.
[1:23] We have it now.
[1:24] I believe that as America now completes, and I'm just saying, brings to a conclusion...
[1:29] And so this would still have, as a result, very many initiatives, too.
[1:32] Yeah.
[1:33] There are two ways we can do it.
[1:35] 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.
[1:47] 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.
[1:54] 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.
[2:01] But it's not necessary.
[2:02] But try that on him, okay?
[2:03] But if there is a problem, we'll just leave it up.
[2:06] Okay.