Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 17 › Conversation 017-151

Nixon phone call with Kissinger on POW/MIA and Vietnam War

Sunday, January 2, 1972 · 7:09 PM–7:12 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation017-151 on Tape 17 (tape position 05:53:10–05:55:28)StartSunday, January 2, 1972 at 7:09 PMEndSunday, January 2, 1972 at 7:12 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 017-151 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417192065 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discussed strategies for managing public and media pressure regarding the administration's Vietnam policy, specifically concerns raised by POW wives. They analyzed potential interview questions from journalists like Dan Rather and Mike Wallace, who were questioning whether recent U.S. bombing campaigns and military actions in Laos were impeding the release of prisoners. Nixon decided to affirmatively state that he would continue to raise the POW issue with international leaders, including those from the USSR and China, to reinforce his commitment to their return.

Audio

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NARA Description

On January 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 7:09 pm to 7:12 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-151 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 17-151

Date: January 2, 1972
Time: 7:09 pm - 7:12 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Henry A. Kissinger talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 311-56]

     Prisoner of War [POW] wives
          -Kissinger unable to get in touch with Maj. Gen. James D. Hughes
          -Deadline for US withdrawal from Vietnam
          -Kissinger's dealings with POW wives
          -US bombing of Vietnam
                -Mike Wallace
          -Dan Rather
          -Laos
          -Questions Rather might ask
                -President to discuss POW issue with Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
                      [USSR] and People’s Republic of China [PRC]
                      -President's response
          -Release of POW discussed by
                -Kissinger
                -Chou En-Lai
                -President
                -Andrei A. Gromyko

                -Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
                -Josip Broz Tito

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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Hello.
Mr. President.
Yeah.
Dr. Kissinger.
All right.
Hello.
Mr. President.
Yeah, Henry.
I haven't been able to get views, but from the report, these are the standard questions with which these ladies always begin.
They always have the idea that if we only set a deadline, and that somehow we just aren't doing enough.
And I have in the past always been able to turn them around on it.
I have not noticed.
I'm in correspondence with the board of directors, and I was in correspondence with them as late as two weeks ago.
But this has nothing to do with that, Henry.
This has to do with the relationship with the bombing, you see.
Yeah.
See, that's what his questions were about.
Yeah.
And that's what...
I'm just speaking about their general mood.
Uh-huh.
Yeah, well, you see, that was before the bombing, and that's what Wallace was gigging them on, that the bombing delays.
See, the theme, it's a very subtle question and pretty effective that...
Well, by reason of the bombing, that's going to make them more intransigent.
You know, the same thing on Laos, that kind of argument, see?
Yeah, well... And then they may get through with some of them on that point.
Well, Mr. President, I believe that the sort of line you took to the ladies, I think the average person doesn't understand what the details are.
If they see a president who is dedicated to bringing them back, he can make all these others look like cheap shot artists.
Yeah.
With regard to the idea of saying now, if he says, will you take it up with the Soviet and the Chinese?
Is that a safe thing to say yes?
Yes.
I mean, is that not going to put them on a spot where they come down and... Well, they may come back and say no, but then that's another way of taking it up.
That's right.
I think it's perfectly all right.
What the hell?
I would say yes.
We have already taken it up, and we will continue to take it up.
You mentioned it to Joe and I, did you?
Absolutely, on each occasion.
Good.
All right.
And I mentioned it, of course, to the other characters.
I mentioned it to Gromyko, and I've mentioned it to Green in a dozen times.
Oh, and Tito.
That's right.
That's right.
Okay, thank you.

Also recorded on January 2, 1972

  • 017-150 6:35 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 6:35 pm to 6:44 pm.
  • 311-054 6:35 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:35 pm to 6:44 pm.
  • 311-055 6:44 PM · 38 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 6:44 pm and 7:09 pm.
  • 311-056 7:09 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:09 pm to 7:12 pm.
  • 311-057 7:12 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:12 pm and 8:35 pm.
  • 311-058 7:12 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:12 pm and 8:35 pm.
  • 311-059 7:12 PM · 55 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 7:12 pm and 8:35 pm.
  • 642-001 9:07 PM · 1 hr 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Mark I. Goode, William H. Carruthers, Donald W. Richardson, Robert Wussler, Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins, Dan Rather, Gordon Manning, William A. Leonard, II, and Gerald L. Warren met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:07 pm and 11:59 pm.

All 60 conversations from January 2, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 017-151, January 2, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417192065). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/017-151 (accessed November 2, 2026).