Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 017-100
Date: Sunday, December 26, 1971 at 11:45 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/017-100
National Archives Catalog: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/417191963 (NAID 417191963)

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:01] Hello.
[0:02] Dr. Kissinger, sir.
[0:03] Hello.
[0:06] Merry Christmas, Mr. President.
[0:07] Did you survive it?
[0:08] Oh, yes.
[0:09] Where are you, the big house?
[0:27] I'm in, now I'm in one of the villas at the... Well, that'll be better.
[0:32] You can get more service there.
[0:33] Exactly.
[0:34] Exactly.
[0:34] Yeah.
[0:34] Your children with you?
[0:36] They're with me.
[0:36] They love it.
[0:37] They've never been here.
[0:38] Tell me this.
[0:41] It's raining down there, though, isn't it?
[0:42] No.
[0:43] Well, it stopped?
[0:44] No.
[0:45] It's perfect weather.
[0:45] It's a little windy.
[0:47] They stopped.
[0:48] It rained yesterday because I called Edgar Hoover down there and it was raining.
[0:51] Yes, but it stopped raining yesterday afternoon, I'm told.
[0:54] It's perfect weather.
[0:55] Yeah.
[0:55] It's a little windy, but it's dying down by the hour.
[0:59] Well, you tell your kids to walk to the lighthouse, will you?
[1:02] Well, I think that's what they're planning to do.
[1:04] Well, I always did that when I stayed at the Key Biscayne.
[1:06] You know, they won't be bothered.
[1:08] It's a mile and a half walk.
[1:10] It's the best walk in the world.
[1:11] They can, you know, pick up shells.
[1:14] It's a great fun.
[1:15] It's beautiful.
[1:16] And they can do anything they want.
[1:17] And if the swimming is bad there, they can go over to the other side.
[1:21] They got a strike off last night, Mr. President.
[1:24] Oh, they did.
[1:25] That's why I was calling to see what kind of a one they get off.
[1:29] They had good weather and they got everything into the air.
[1:32] I haven't got the bomb damage assessment yet because they just stopped flying two hours ago.
[1:37] Yeah.
[1:38] Well, at least that's one day of it, huh?
[1:40] That's right.
[1:41] And they think they can get at least 48 hours and maybe as high as 72.
[1:46] Uh-huh.
[1:47] Well, I think it's a good time to do it, don't you?
[1:49] Yeah, to do it, Mr. President.
[1:51] But the other side violated it.
[1:52] They are stepping up the infiltration.
[1:57] Right.
[1:59] Well, I think your analysis may be correct.
[2:03] Who knows?
[2:03] They may be trying to get to a bargaining position.
[2:06] Well, Mr. President, they're seeing Bob Hope, for example.
[2:08] You know, it's a cheap ploy, but it's what they usually do.
[2:12] Yeah.
[2:15] That's right.
[2:16] And I don't think they'll let it get to the election without a negotiation.
[2:25] We're going to be awful hard to negotiate with, though, at this point.
[2:27] There's no reason to just go through that business of Paris again.
[2:31] I think, Mr. President, as we discussed a few weeks ago,
[2:36] towards the end of January.
[2:38] You might have to go public with the October plan and put it before then if it were a new plan.
[2:44] Say a little bit about what's gone before.
[2:46] I wouldn't give a long story.
[2:48] No, no, I agree.
[2:51] No, they aren't interested in who did what to whom.
[2:53] They're only interested in, well, you remember, now is the time to have the benefit of what we did in October of 69, 70.
[3:01] Just put out a new peace plan, and then it'll get a big play, and then they'll not answer it, and that's that.
[3:07] That's right, but it will get out a month or two.
[3:10] That's right.
[3:11] We can say a little bit about what went on during the summer.
[3:14] I would simply, without going into details, I would simply say we have had...
[3:21] 10 or 15 private meetings on this and that, and they've presented this all to them, and this is our offer.
[3:26] And it's a lie that they've been banned for the seven points.
[3:29] That's right.
[3:30] We've actually been negotiating it.
[3:31] Correct.
[3:32] But this is what we now put before the growth out of private and public meetings.
[3:38] This strike will probably not be played then in the papers until tomorrow.
[3:41] Well, not until... No, actually, with the papers the way they are, not until tomorrow.
[3:45] That's right.
[3:46] That's fine.
[3:46] That's good.
[3:48] Oh, that's good.
[3:50] But this is the one that hits mainly in the Mejia Pass area and that sort of place?
[3:54] Well, it hits the pass area.
[3:55] No, it hits all the storage areas along the coast, too, and we're going to wind up with hitting Vinh.
[4:01] Yeah.
[4:02] We're going to take out all the airfields.
[4:04] Well, the purpose for getting there, we figure you can get some planes, knock out some planes, as I understand it.
[4:10] And also, the way they ship this stuff is to send it down by boat to Vinh and Tong Hoi.
[4:16] And then they put it on trucks and they're hitting both of these transhipment ports.
[4:20] Yeah.
[4:22] And the major point is just to show them that there's still a sting lift.
[4:27] Yep.
[4:28] Yep.
[4:30] Yep.
[4:30] Okay.
[4:30] Nothing else in the world.
[4:32] I noticed that, you know, our Indian friends are having trouble, aren't they?
[4:36] They're now admitting that they've got to stay in.
[4:39] in Bangladesh for a few months, right?
[4:44] Oh, I think... And then also telling Bhutto that he can't claim it's part of Pakistan.
[4:48] Well, my God, I'd think Bhutto had screamed in the housetops about that, wouldn't you?
[4:53] That Bhutto can't do what?
[4:55] He said that Bhutto cannot, now that, you know, Bhutto has released Mujib and so forth, that he cannot claim that this is part of Pakistan anymore.
[5:02] Oh, yeah, yeah.
[5:03] In other words, he's really... Bhutto just ought to raise hell.
[5:07] I mean, is it part of India?
[5:09] We will look on this one.
[5:12] First of all, no one likes the Indians.
[5:14] And secondly, I think they're going to look worse and worse as time goes on.
[5:17] Well, don't you think a little of the fact that they've been terribly cruel and deceitful is beginning to get through?
[5:24] I have no doubt about it.
[5:26] Nelson called me yesterday and said about Christmas.
[5:31] And he said he thought that the Indians
[5:34] Indian situation is working in our favor basically with the public.
[5:40] Well, you know, the main thing, though, Henry, look at what they're doing.
[5:43] They're doing exactly what I certainly expected.
[5:45] They're occupying East Pakistan, and I don't think they're ever going to get out.
[5:50] Do you?
[5:50] They're occupying East Pakistan.
[5:51] There are more verified cases of atrocities under their rule than there were under the Pakistan rule.
[5:58] There were never any pictures of them.
[5:59] And, you know, now another lie comes out.
[6:02] They had to back down on the charge that the Pakistan army had slaughtered those intellectuals.
[6:07] It turns out to have been some religious sect.
[6:10] You notice that?
[6:11] Yeah, I notice that.
[6:12] Yeah.
[6:13] Anyway, fine.
[6:14] I hope you feel better and just take it easy and look out the window.
[6:19] Thank you.
[6:19] Okay, bye.
[6:20] Thank you for coming back.