Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 16 › Conversation 016-015

Kissinger phone call on George H.W. Bush and United Nations

Monday, December 6, 1971 · 9:24 AM–9:37 AM ET · White House Telephone · 8 sec

ParticipantsKissinger, Henry A.; White House operatorConversation016-015 on Tape 16 (tape position 00:40:33–00:40:41)StartMonday, December 6, 1971 at 9:24 AMEndMonday, December 6, 1971 at 9:37 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 016-015 ↗

AI Summary

Henry A. Kissinger contacted the White House operator to facilitate an urgent communication with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations George H.W. Bush. The primary purpose of the brief exchange was to initiate a formal call to the Ambassador to discuss ongoing diplomatic matters. No further substantive details were captured in this short administrative segment of the recording.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yes, Mr. Kissinger, would you get me Ambassador Bush, please?
Yes, thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On December 6, 1971, Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:24 am and 9:37 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 016-015 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 16-15

Date: December 6, 1971
Time: Unknown between 9:24 am and 9:37 am
Location: White House Telephone

Henry A. Kissinger talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 629-6C]

     Request for a call to George H.W. Bush

Also recorded on December 6, 1971

  • 016-012 9:07 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 9:07 am to 9:09 am.
  • 629-005 9:07 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:07 am to 9:09 am.
  • 016-013 9:09 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:09 am and 9:19 am.
  • 629-006 9:09 AM · 59 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, White House operator, William P. Rogers, George H. W. Bush, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Ronald L. Ziegler, John D. Ehrlichman, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, and Wilbur D. Mills met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:09 am to 10:08 am.
  • 016-014 9:19 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 9:19 am to 9:24 am.
  • 016-133 9:24 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:24 am and 9:37 am.
  • 016-016 9:37 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and George H. W. Bush talked on the telephone from 9:37 am to 9:42 am.
  • 016-017 9:42 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:42 am and 10:01 am.

All 62 conversations from December 6, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 016-015, December 6, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/016-015 (accessed October 24, 2026).