Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 016-064
Date: Wednesday, December 8, 1971 at 8:03 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/016-064

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Hello.
[0:16] Mr. President.
[0:17] He thinks he should go to China, you know.
[0:21] I know, and there's something to be said for it, Mr. President.
[0:23] Well, I'm not going to mention anybody, don't you.
[0:26] What I'm going to do is to just
[0:28] take a look at the list, and at the last, I'll strike some aid, you know, or a military guy just may have to go.
[0:35] Because basically, I mean, maybe every day we just may have to be worked over.
[0:41] But this may be the toughest workout, such a difficult thing, and having to be constantly on your toes.
[0:51] Right.
[0:52] Any of us will ever have it.
[0:53] It'll be good for you, it'll be good for me.
[0:54] We've all got to be up.
[0:56] Also, he could be a fellow that could do other things.
[1:02] He could do the press.
[1:03] He's great.
[1:19] What I was thinking of with regard to the options, and I want you to know that I'm supposed to work with him now.
[1:27] Maybe we have to really put it to the Russians and say that we feel that under the circumstances that we have to cancel the plan.
[1:40] No, I wouldn't do that, no.
[1:41] No?
[1:41] That's too drastic a decision.
[1:41] Well, I think that depends.
[1:43] I don't want you to know I'm prepared.
[1:45] Because these people are, it's a, we've got to, we've got to look down the road.
[1:51] The things that we've got, you got a minute now?
[1:53] Yeah.
[1:54] The things that we've got to consider are these, one,
[1:59] the cost of this, of letting this go down the drain.
[2:03] All right, that'll be great.
[2:04] And then doing the other things.
[2:05] Then on the other hand, we've got to figure that if we play this out, the fact that we may not be around after the election.
[2:16] We have to just figure something out.
[2:17] And it's a tough goddamn decision.
[2:18] Yet on the other hand,
[2:20] being around after the election if everything is down the drain doesn't make any difference if you just let it go down the drain
[2:46] We might say this, for example, and I'll do the note to express it myself, but my thought is to say that I was very pleased with Secretary Stanton's conversations.
[3:12] I was very pleased with the conversations he had regarding the East's belief in progress and salt.
[3:16] It's hard for me to understand that all of this could be jeopardized by this area of the world.
[3:35] But it is being jeopardized.
[3:36] And under the circumstances, I think we have to take a look at it.
[3:37] We have to choose as to what we want to do here.
[3:38] But that's what we've already attempted to face.
[3:39] And I don't believe that the president should make a problem now if the Russians retain their respect for him.
[3:42] If they're going to play it into an absolute showdown, then the summit looks good anyway.
[3:49] If they want to relax with us, we can give them plenty of way down.
[3:54] Now, with regard to the ways out, though, the missing thing here is what we want as a way out.
[4:02] In other words, what do we say to them?
[4:06] What is the method of settlement?
[4:08] We can't say go back to the status quo and say,
[4:11] We can say, well, get the hell out of West Pakistan, leave it alone, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
[4:32] At this stage, we have to prevent an Indian attack on the West Pakistan.
[4:33] Right.
[4:33] That is the matrix.
[4:34] Right.
[4:34] We have to maintain the position of withdrawal from all of Pakistan.
[4:35] But that's something that will get watered down as the Fed occupies the country.
[4:37] Right.
[4:38] But we have to prevent Westpac itself.
[4:59] We've got to say that we have a treaty, we can say.
[5:00] But it's a little premature yet to make people who have said us, they still owe you and ask us to do it.
[5:02] And therefore, we have to hold it up a bit.
[5:03] But...
[5:06] But I think, I believe that if we can come out of this, if they maintain their respect for us, even if we lose, we still come out all right.
[6:44] Well, don't underestimate the fact that if by good chance the Congress gets out this week and we smack North Vietnam pretty strongly, that'll be somewhat of a message to these people.
[7:07] That's right.
[7:07] Huh?
[7:08] That's right.
[7:08] Although we ought to time it if we send a message to the Chinese.
[7:10] i think the message of the soviets
[8:48] Well, you'll have the, what time do you want to be ready to talk?
[9:00] I have the, you won't have to be there.
[9:07] I mean, I've let Waller speak.
[9:07] I have a message for you.
[9:08] Well, if Waller's in my hand.
[9:09] I could do it, I'm staying constantly at 11.
[9:09] I could do it any time.
[9:10] Well, I'll be finished.
[9:14] Good.