Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 022-119
Date: Wednesday, April 12, 1972 at 3:23 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.; Kissinger, Henry A.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/022-119

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:01] Secretary, and that's all it means.
[0:04] Mr. President, talk to you soon.
[0:08] Yeah, Henry.
[0:09] Mr. President, I just wanted to give the word to Dobrynin so that we get the news of the strike.
[0:15] He said that's the most cheerful news he's had all day.
[0:18] I didn't even say you had agreed.
[0:20] I just said that you were considering it seriously and you'd let me know finally tomorrow.
[0:25] But that he was leaning towards it right now.
[0:28] Good.
[0:28] He said he'd pass it on to Moscow right away because he thinks it will affect their decisions in Poland.
[0:33] That's what I think.
[0:35] But I hope, and then you told him that I felt that you ought to go to discuss not only this, but the summit itself.
[0:41] That must have, I think that's what will make a sale with them, too.
[0:44] Oh, yes.
[0:45] And how did he get, did that get through?
[0:46] Oh, Mr. President, he was slobbering.
[0:48] Then Brezhnev saw the Hanoi ambassador today and made a statement of support.
[0:53] And I showed this to my Soviet expert who doesn't know a damn thing about Vietnam.
[0:59] And I said, what do you think?
[1:00] He said, if we made a statement like that about an ally, I would conclude that we are getting ready to screw him.
[1:07] It's, you know, it's a sort of a mild, it says nothing.
[1:11] That's why we got to keep the Russian thing in Canada.
[1:16] What do you think?
[1:18] Probably.
[1:19] Yeah, yeah.
[1:20] Almost certainly.
[1:20] Well, we're working on it a little.
[1:22] I'm changing it a little to get the rhythm a little bit, but we can decide it tomorrow.
[1:28] And in the meantime, you get up there to the other, and we'll just hope to get this strike off.
[1:32] Is the weather improving any?
[1:34] Yes.
[1:35] By tomorrow, we can make a massive... Would you have any objection if... Now, you'll get me back from New York if I had Hague,
[1:45] I won't have a chance to see him, because I'm going to stay up there tomorrow until around noon.
[1:50] Could I have Haig see me there, or do you want to, shall I, you and I see Haig together, or what?
[1:56] No, I have no objection to your seeing.
[1:59] You know what I mean.
[1:59] I'd just like to get, I want Haig to have the feeling of how, or maybe he doesn't need it.
[2:05] Good God, I guess not.
[2:06] I think he knows your thinking, Mr. President.
[2:08] I think he does, too.
[2:10] If you were to see him, it'd be perhaps better tonight because tomorrow... Well, how about my doing this?
[2:16] How about my taking him with me and up to Camp David and seeing him for an hour there tonight and then sending him back?
[2:22] That would be fine.
[2:23] Fine.
[2:23] All right.
[2:23] Tell him to be ready to go with me at 4.30 and that he can come back around 7 o'clock tonight.
[2:29] Is that all right?
[2:29] That would be fine, Mr. President.
[2:31] Fine.
[2:31] Okay.
[2:32] He could cover here.
[2:33] Good.
[2:33] Good deal.
[2:34] Marvelous.