Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 22 › Conversation 022-103

Haldeman & Walters on CIA and Presidential travel

Tuesday, April 11, 1972 · 10:10 AM–10:49 AM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsHaldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); Walters, Vernon A.Conversation022-103 on Tape 22 (tape position 04:06:45–04:10:57)StartTuesday, April 11, 1972 at 10:10 AMEndTuesday, April 11, 1972 at 10:49 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 022-103 ↗

AI Summary

H. R. Haldeman contacts newly confirmed CIA Deputy Director Vernon A. Walters to seek logistical advice regarding an overnight stop during President Nixon's upcoming trip to the Soviet Union. The two discuss potential locations for the stop, weighing the security, weather, and diplomatic implications of using various military bases. They ultimately conclude that a U.S. base in Spain, specifically Rota, appears to be the most practical and convenient option for the President's itinerary.

Audio

Download MP3 · 5.8 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello?
Mr. Haldeman?
Yeah.
General Walters on the line.
Okay.
Mr. Haldeman, sir.
Sir?
Hi, this is Dick Walters.
Hi.
Congratulations.
You're legitimate now, huh?
Thank you very much.
Not yet.
I haven't been sworn in.
Oh, well, I think you'll pass that one, all right.
Yeah.
If you can get your hand up.
Yeah.
We've got a logistic problem.
I wanted to get your advice on the trip to Moscow.
We've got to stop someplace on the way to spend a night.
Yeah.
You know, and then to make the flight into Moscow.
Yeah.
I'm trying to think of whether there was a U.S. base somewhere in the Mediterranean or in the European area there that would be a suitable place to do that.
The only place I can think of offhand is Rota.
Rota?
In Spain, yeah.
Where is that?
What part of Spain?
Rota is down near Cadiz.
Is there anything in Mallorca?
No, no base.
No base in Mallorca?
No base in Mallorca.
There's a good airfield, but there's no base.
uh with the navy has something at siganella in sicily near catania c-a-t-a-n-i-a the navy has an airfield there with a base i mean with you know housing facilities there are ground-based people there yeah rota would be the best huh i think rota might be the best either one i don't think you know there's a terrible lot to choose one way or the other between them yeah
And either of them would be fairly pleasant at this time of the year and the chances of weather good.
Okay, it doesn't make it, other than just adequate flying weather, it doesn't matter because we get in there in the evening, spend the night, and leave the next morning.
Yeah, of course, we have a big installation in Naples, as you know.
Naples is a problem, though, on housing.
And also you've got the Italian screw-up.
Well, of course, that would be a problem with Sigonella, too.
Yeah.
In Sicily.
Yeah.
I would tend to fall back on Rota, which is, you know, a Navy base in southern Spain, away from the big cities.
Be that or else going into Switzerland or someplace and staying, you know, at commercial facilities.
Yeah.
What about Iceland?
Iceland's too far away.
Too far away.
It's too long a flight into Moscow, and then you've got all the time going against you.
We've got to get into Moscow at 4 o'clock.
Yeah.
Oh, I see.
So you have to have, you know, a relatively approximate place.
So we've got to be... That about knocks it down to either one of the bases in Germany or Roda.
Germany's a problem, too.
Yeah, because of a lot of psychological factors.
Yeah.
It looks to me like Roda.
Or the Azores.
The Azores is too far up.
Oh, the Azores is too far, too.
That's the same problem.
You're six hours out.
It looks to me like Rota.
And you've got a big time factor running against you.
You've got a three-hour time factor even from Rota running against you.
That's only two hours from Spain.
The time change I'm thinking of.
It's only two.
It's only two?
Yeah.
I thought Spain was on the same time as England.
And then Central Europe and Eastern Europe.
All of Europe is apparently only two hours off
of Moscow.
France, Switzerland, Austria.
That makes Rota perfectly tolerable.
It'd be what, about four hours flying time?
Yeah.
There's also an Air Force base up in Saragossa in northern Spain.
And there's another Air Force base in Seville at Moron, M-O-R-O-N.
So I don't know, those would seem to me to be the ones to explore.
One of the Spanish bases, okay.
Unless you want to stop in France somewhere, which is innocuous and wouldn't offend the Soviets.
Okay.
And might have to make a little money with Papadu.
Well, except that you'd have to meet with Papadu, and then you're meeting with one of your allies on the way in.
Yeah, true, true.
Okay, I guess you're driving back to the Spanish bases.
Middle of the NATO problem and all.
Yeah.
Okay.
Right.
Thanks, Dick.
You're welcome.
Bye.

NARA Description

On April 11, 1972, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and Vernon A. Walters talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:10 am and 10:49 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 022-103 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 22-103

Date: April 11, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:10 am and 10:49 am
Location: White House Telephone

H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with Lt. Gen. Vernon A. Walters.

[See Conversation No. 706-2C]

     Congratulations
         -Confirmation as Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]
               -Swearing in

     The President’s forthcoming trip to the Soviet Union
          -Overnight stop before arrival in Moscow
               -US Mediterranean Base
                      -Rota, Spain
                            -Location
                                  -Cadiz
                      -Majorca
                            -Air field
                      -Sicily
                            -Naval base at Sigonella
                                  -Catania
                      -Rota and Sicily compared
                            -Weather
                      -Naples
                            -Housing
                      -Sicily

                     -Rota
                            -Naval base
                -Switzerland
                      -Commercial facilities
                -Iceland
                      -Distance
                            -Arrival time in Moscow
                -Germany
                -Rota
                -Azores
                      -Distance
                -Time zones
                      -Spain
                      -England
                -Zaragoza, Spain
                      -Air Force base
                -Moron, Spain
                      -Seville
                      -Air Force base
                -France
                      -Georges J.R. Pompidou
                      -North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]

Also recorded on April 11, 1972

  • 706-001 9:41 AM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:41 am to 10:09 am.
  • 022-102 10:10 AM · 7 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:10 am and 10:49 am.
  • 022-104 10:10 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:10 am and 10:49 am.
  • 706-002 10:10 AM · 2 hr 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), White House operator, Vernon A. Walters, Henry A. Kissinger, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:10 am to 12:35 pm.
  • 329-014 10:31 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 10:31 am to 10:34 am.
  • 022-105 10:49 AM · 5 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:49 am and 10:54 am.
  • 329-015 12:35 PM · 18 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 12:35 pm and 12:37 pm.
  • 706-003 12:35 PM · 39 sec — United States Secret Service agents and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:35 pm and 2:56 pm.

All 29 conversations from April 11, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 022-103, April 11, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/022-103 (accessed October 1, 2026).