Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 12 › Conversation 012-117

Nixon phone call with Haig on Laos and United Nations

Monday, October 25, 1971 · 3:12 PM–3:15 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation012-117 on Tape 12 (tape position 05:05:58–05:09:02)StartMonday, October 25, 1971 at 3:12 PMEndMonday, October 25, 1971 at 3:15 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 012-117 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig coordinated the President’s upcoming schedule, including meetings with Marshal Tito and Indira Gandhi. They also discussed a diplomatic strategy regarding Laos and the United Nations vote on the People’s Republic of China. Nixon directed Haig to deliver an oral message to Souvanna Phouma through G. McMurtie Godley, emphasizing that a vote against the U.S. position could jeopardize future congressional support for Laos.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
Mr. President, I have General Haig calling you.
All right.
Mr. President, sir.
Yes.
Hello.
Hello, Mr. President.
Yeah, Al.
Yes, sir.
We can do this, move the Tito meeting till Friday from Saturday.
Would you do that then?
It'll at least give me an option in case I want to take Saturday off.
Right, sir.
So we'll proceed that way and also set up the second meeting for Madam Gandy on Friday.
Right.
We have one thing, sir, that I wanted to check with you.
The Secretary wants to send a letter from you to Savannah Fuma in Laos.
He feels that this could be a very crucial vote at this point.
Yeah.
And he really wants to come down hard on it with a personal letter from you to Savannah.
I have no objection to that.
All right.
Do you?
No, I don't, sir.
Damn it, he ought to be with us.
He should be with us.
My only fear is that...
It'll leak out to the Chinese?
It'll get to the Chinese.
But we have some evidence of their mischief-making, too.
Well, the Chinese are playing that.
He thinks a personal letter, well...
If we could be sure that it was not left with him and read to him...
by Godley.
Why don't you try that?
I would feel more comfortable.
Why don't you have an oral message?
Or is that not satisfied?
Well, as long as it's written in the first person, I think that's tantamount to leaving a letter.
Why don't you have an oral message where Godley goes and talks to him and says that their vote may be the critical one?
And I just put it this way, that it now appears that their vote may be the critical one that will determine this issue.
that under the circumstances that, leaving all other issues aside, that if the Congress can point to the fact that their vote resulted in the expulsion of Taiwan, it would, in my opinion, it would seriously jeopardize their congressional support that I am fighting for.
How about putting it that way?
I think that's the better way to... Just right like that.
Yes, sir.
The congressional support that I'm fighting for and that I deeply believe in.
Right, sir.
But that we, and I would therefore, in order that I can continue to maintain congressional support for the effort in Laos, I would, on a personal basis, would strongly urge that in the interest of...
of that goal that he would vote with us on this.
Fine, sir.
I think that's a better way to do it.
That indications are that Louse's vote may be the determining vote.
Yes, sir.
And that this would spotlight.
Okay?
Very good, sir.
Good deal.
Fine.

NARA Description

On October 25, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 3:12 pm to 3:15 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-117 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 012-117

Date: October 25, 1971
Time: 3:12 pm- 3:15 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 304-10]

     Telephone call from Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

President talked with Haig.

     The President's schedule
          -Marshal Josip Broz Tito
          -Mrs. Indira Gandhi

     US foreign relations
          -William P. Rogers
                -Laos
                      -Souvanna Phouma
                           -Message from the President
                           -United Nations [UN] vote on China
                                 -People's Republic of China [PRC]
                           -G. McMurtie Godley
                           -Wording of message

Also recorded on October 25, 1971

  • 012-116 3:01 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 3:01 pm to 3:11 pm.
  • 304-009 3:01 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:01 pm to 3:11 pm.
  • 304-010 3:12 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:12 pm to 3:15 pm.
  • 012-118 3:15 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:15 pm and 3:29 pm.
  • 304-011 3:15 PM · 1 min — 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 3:15 pm and 3:29 pm.
  • 304-012 3:15 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:15 pm and 3:29 pm.
  • 304-013 3:15 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:15 pm and 3:29 pm.
  • 304-014 3:15 PM · 7 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 3:15 pm and 3:29 pm.

All 50 conversations from October 25, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 012-117, October 25, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/012-117 (accessed October 9, 2026).