Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 024-013
Date: Monday, May 8, 1972 at 4:55 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.; [Unknown person(s)]
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/024-013

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] I have Dr. Kissinger for you, Mr. President.
[0:03] There you are.
[0:03] Mr. President.
[0:05] With regard to this text now, we have to wrap it up pretty soon.
[0:09] Right.
[0:09] I gave the changes to Rose.
[0:11] You did?
[0:13] Yeah.
[0:13] Just a second.
[0:14] What are, are there ones that...
[0:17] They just confirmed the operative paragraphs, Mr. President.
[0:21] The operative paragraph, right.
[0:22] Bring me, no, down there.
[0:26] Yeah.
[0:26] Okay.
[0:26] And I'll go up and just look through it very quickly to make sure there isn't anything else wrong.
[0:34] Let me ask two things.
[0:38] The line, we will stop all acts of force throughout Indochina, is not a good word.
[0:44] We need something better than that.
[0:46] All acts of force.
[0:48] Well, this is to permit us to continue reconnaissance.
[0:54] well I know but we will stop all acts of you see if you say war that stops reconnaissance too okay one other thing I think however that I believe in view of the fact that we have made the new offer it seems to me that we should take out
[1:14] they would allow negotiations on a political settlement that reflects the popular will.
[1:19] Nobody believes anything in the popular will or anything.
[1:22] You see what I mean?
[1:22] A political settlement, but we could say between the Vietnamese themselves.
[1:26] I know, but why say it at all?
[1:29] I mean, the point is that what we are saying is that we will have an internationally supervised ceasefire, and we will then...
[1:41] and POW.
[1:43] I mean, we made a very simple offer here, and then we would withdraw our forces, etc.
[1:49] Because for the foreign audiences, there has to be some prospect of how the political side is going to end.
[2:00] Well, okay, then let's change it.
[2:02] What is it they would allow?
[2:03] What negotiations on a political settlement?
[2:05] Between the Vietnamese themselves.
[2:10] between the Vietnamese themselves.