Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 11 › Conversation 011-095

Nixon phone call with Kissinger on Strategic Arms Limitation Talks

Thursday, October 14, 1971 · 9:14 AM–6:06 PM ET · White House Telephone · 9 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation011-095 on Tape 11 (tape position 02:27:17–02:35:48)StartThursday, October 14, 1971 at 9:14 AMEndThursday, October 14, 1971 at 6:06 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 011-095 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss a successful meeting with senators and coordinate on various foreign policy and administrative issues. They deliberate on potential diplomatic assignments, including a proposed trip to Japan and Vietnam by John Connally, and express frustration regarding the conduct of Gerard C. Smith at the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT). Additionally, they evaluate administrative strategy regarding UN voting, specifically aiming to pressure countries like Panama and Venezuela to support U.S. positions.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 5 minutes of this recording (about 57% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello, how'd you get along with the Senators?
Oh, I think it was a very good meeting.
They were all there.
There's only about seven of them there.
That's enough.
That's enough.
Their truck's not niggling around anymore, Mr. President.
This is an English truck.
Like, uh, it was a piece of cake.
It was, I was on the attack of it.
I mean, it started nagging just a little bit about the laws and can't vote here.
We don't need all that money.
I said, yeah.
You know, Mr. President.
Mm-hmm.
Good.
Good.
Well, you've done your... Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, incidentally, you heard what Harriman did, didn't you?
He said, he goes and told me he had a statement to the effect that it was, that these, the two summits are just election year gimmicks and they mean nothing else.
Think of that.
There he was squealing about not having a Russian thing, you know, he's called it, he really is a,
Incidentally, I hear Life is probably going to bust the DM thing on him next, in two weeks.
But not on him, just his.
Apparently they've got some dope on what he did.
And what is, what they said about the drastic red that they would help support your election in North Carolina?
Yeah.
You know, O. Harriman was one of the chief actors in the media.
Yeah, well, apparently they've got the story.
Looking around, moseying around on the police.
Well, let him go.
Let him have it.
Just let him have it.
Well, I tell you, he's really showing his colors.
He's just a total partisan.
They have got a thing to say.
That's a good evening.
I can't make the best come out of this with a tall degree.
What are they going to do?
They're going to let you get next to the next doctor in the office.
You know, getting back to Salton, Smith's attitude is really pretty cheap.
Jesus Christ, what the hell does he think he's there for, for himself?
Yeah, really, I'm glad you put it to him, because we're not going to let him get away with this kind of thing.
that, first of all, of course the president gets the credit for the work that's done in his administration.
He's the only one that gets elected.
But in his case, he didn't do the work.
Well, in any event, I approved it all, so that's fine.
Well, he did more than approve it.
We broke the call that long out of here.
Sure.
I don't know what the hell he's talking about.
Yeah, yeah.
Do we have anything, anybody on his...
group that we could trust, I don't suppose so, except the general.
No, no, no, on the delegation.
Not even the Air Force fellow.
Yeah.
Well, let's just keep them.
Just be sure to bring him those.
You're not going to make any kind of a deal with them.
I've got that fixed.
Good.
I'm having dinner with Patrice.
Good.
Good.
You know, I think this Conley move is a very good one.
I think it's a tremendous move.
And we've got a perfect cover for it.
He ought to go to Japan.
And I think the way of handling it is how to announce it is so important.
I just don't want to have it announced he's going to Vietnam alone.
I don't think that should be the first announcement.
We've got to put it out there.
Well, that's good.
But he's a good soldier.
He's going to go out there.
He knows what the stakes are.
He says, honestly, I'd like to go.
He's willing to do what's right.
And he knows what he owes his president and what he owes his country.
Well, I think that's true, Jan.
He isn't just thinking, well, maybe he's going to get muddied up with...
But the funny thing is, the people who stand up come out of their heads as opposed to those who try to play all the angles.
I think so.
Well, okay.
Just keep Smith in line.
I'm not going to have him get out of line.
Do you have any further feelings on NATO?
I don't know.
I don't want to send
you'll find some version.
On the U.N., Mr. President, what I have approved for you is a statement that is sent out at the State Department table which states that it's fully reflective of the views of the President.
So they can't even use a paper with your name on it.
But nevertheless, it has your full support.
You think you can go that far?
That's about the absolute maximum.
What is the maximum?
Yeah, I wonder if we can go that far.
And he said we have to be very careful not to send it to many countries.
This one went to Ireland.
It didn't happen.
But I'd be very careful.
I'm not going to say a word about it.
I'm not going to do it anymore.
Because I have done mine.
I did it deliberately to get it out of the way.
Now I am thrilled.
Now we'll just let them work on it.
It's their job.
Right.
They ought to be able to handle places like Panama and Venezuela.
They ought to just be able to just go to them and say, now look, come along boys, don't pull around here.
They can get more votes than they think if they work on it that way.
That way.
You know, just on the basis of what's important to us.
So let's vote.
Well, maybe we ought to send Smith to NATO.
Can't take him out of this.
Yeah, he's coming in to play his line.
He's giving the chance.
I don't want him.
He's too close to the establishment.
He's going to have to go to the establishment.
He's been burned by Yost.
Come on.
That's really what you come down to.
Every time that guy opens his mouth, he's not going to do it.
Uh-huh.
He probably connived with them.
Hmm.
That will stick prematurely.
Okay.

NARA Description

On October 14, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 6:06 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 011-095 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 011-095

 Date: October 14, 1971
 Time: Unknown between 9:14 am and 6:06 pm
 Location: White House Telephone

 The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.
      Kissinger's schedule
            -Senators
                  -Meeting
                  -James W. Symington
                        -Laos, Cambodia
                  -J. William Fulbright
                  -George D. Aiken
                  -William E. Timmons
                  -Murrey Marder

      W. Averill Harriman

Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

                -Activities
                     -Charles W. Colson
                     -Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
                     -Life magazine
                            -Ngo Dinh Diem

        Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]
              -Gerard C. Smith
                   -Attitude
                   -Staff
              -Negotiations
                   -[Unintelligible name]
                   -Paul H. Nitze
              -Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
                   -Kissinger's schedule

        John B. Connally
             -Possible trip
                  -Japan
                  -Vietnam
                  -Public announcement

        Smith

        North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]
             -Possible appointment
                  -Walter J. Stoessel, Jr.

        United Nations [UN]
             -Administration statement
             -State Department
             -Ireland
             -George H.W. Bush
                   -William P. Rogers

Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

              -Panama
              -Venezuela
              -Forthcoming vote

        NATO appointments
           -Smith
           -Stoessel
           -Charles W. Yost

        [Forename unknown] Brimmer

Also recorded on October 14, 1971

  • 011-088 9:14 AM · 6 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 6:06 pm.
  • 011-089 9:14 AM · 23 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 6:06 pm.
  • 011-090 9:14 AM · 1 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 6:06 pm.
  • 011-091 9:14 AM · 5 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 6:06 pm.
  • 011-092 9:14 AM · 14 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 6:06 pm.
  • 011-093 9:14 AM · 36 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and Gerard C. Smith talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 6:06 pm.
  • 011-094 9:14 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 6:06 pm.
  • 592-003 9:14 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:14 am and 9:32 am.

All 42 conversations from October 14, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 011-095, October 14, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/011-095 (accessed October 23, 2026).