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Conversation 030-017

TapeTape 30StartThursday, September 21, 1972 at 7:42 PMEndThursday, September 21, 1972 at 7:43 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Kissinger, Henry A.Recording deviceWhite House Telephone
AI Summary

President Nixon expressed strong dissatisfaction to Henry Kissinger regarding the State Department’s passive response to political violence in Uganda and Burundi. Decrying what he perceived as a double standard in dealing with African regimes, Nixon ordered the immediate evacuation of all Americans from Uganda and demanded the recall of U.S. Ambassador Thomas Patrick Melady. He further directed that the Burundi ambassador be expelled, signaling a shift toward more aggressive diplomatic actions in the region.

UgandaBurundiThomas Patrick MeladyEvacuationForeign PolicyDiplomatic Relations
AudioNARA Description

On September 21, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 7:42 pm to 7:43 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 030-017 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 30-17

Date: September 21, 1972
Time: 7:42 pm - 7:43 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

       Uganda
             -State Department
             -Thomas Patrick Melady
                     -The President’s view
             -Evacuation
                     -Americans
                     -The President’s instructions

       Burundi
             -Ambassador
             -State Department African division
             -Violence

       Melady
             -Ugandan violence
                   -Arrests
                   -British casualties
             -Schedule
Transcript (AI-Generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

Hello.
Hello.
Mr. President.
Oh, Henry, I don't want to irritate your evening, but I was not satisfied with the report on Uganda, which came from State.
Right.
Now, the man we have there is Milady, who is a sweet guy.
He's a great supporter of ours, but totally African, all African, doesn't understand.
Now, I know him, Tom Milady, know him well.
Second point,
I want harder action taken.
I want everybody from America evacuated as soon as possible.
I want hard action.
And second, I want to get that Burundi ambassador's ass out of there right now.
And that's an order.
I think you would agree, Henry, we have really had a double standard on this thing.
And the African division, you know, I mean, do we care when they kill a poor goddamn Pakistani?
Do we care when these damn Africans eat 100,000 people?
I mean, it's really gone too far.
What do you think?
I couldn't agree more.
All right.
You get out of the Talmud.
Now, M'lady's report saying, well, no, he said, well, no Americans have been arrested, and there are a few U.K.s that have been killed.
Well, God damn it, if a Britisher is killed, I mean, call M'lady back for instructions.
Let's call him right back.
How about that?
We can do both of those.
All right.
You get M'lady's ass right back here.
Right.
Okay.
Right.
All right.
Bye.
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