Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 31 › Conversation 031-051

Kissinger & Abrams on Vietnam War and Military diplomacy

Monday, October 16, 1972 · 9:33 AM–10:47 AM ET · White House Telephone · 49 sec

ParticipantsKissinger, Henry A.; Abrams, Creighton W., Jr. (Gen.)Conversation031-051 on Tape 31StartMonday, October 16, 1972 at 9:33 AMEndMonday, October 16, 1972 at 10:47 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 031-051 ↗

AI Summary

Henry Kissinger and General Creighton W. Abrams, Jr. coordinated a scheduling conflict regarding a proposed meeting with President Nixon. While the President requested an immediate discussion to confirm specific information previously raised by Kissinger, Abrams was unavailable due to a prior ceremony. Consequently, Alexander Haig was tasked with arranging a follow-up meeting for that afternoon to ensure the President could consult directly with the General.

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.1 MB

NARA Description

On October 16, 1972, Henry A. Kissinger and Gen. Creighton W. Abrams, Jr. talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:33 am and 10:47 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 031-051 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 31-51

Date: October 16, 1972
Time: Unknown between 9:33 am and 10:12 am
Location: White House Telephone

Henry A. Kissinger talked with Gen. Creighton W. Abrams, Jr.

[See conversation No. 799-9C]

        Abrams’s schedule
            -Meeting with the President and Kissinger
            -Kissinger's schedule
            -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
            -Forthcoming meeting with Kissinger in Saigon
            -Forthcoming meeting with the President

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

There you are.
Hello?
Yes, Abrams.
This is Henry Kissinger.
I'm here with the president and he was wondering whether you'd be able to drop over for a few minutes.
Well, I have this ceremony at 10.30.
Oh, well then it's probably not feasible.
Well, he'll catch you this afternoon.
I'm going off, but Haig will set it up then.
Very well, sir.
He just wanted to ask you the same question I asked you yesterday afternoon.
Yes, sir.
And hear it from you himself.
Yes, sir.
Good.
Well, I look forward to seeing you in Saigon, and the President will see you this afternoon.
Very good, sir.

Also recorded on October 16, 1972

  • 799-006 8:50 AM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:50 am to 9:29 am.
  • 799-007 9:29 AM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:29 am and 9:32 am.
  • 031-048 9:32 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:32 am.
  • 799-008 9:32 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 9:32 am.
  • 031-049 9:33 AM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:33 am and 10:12 am.
  • 031-050 9:33 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:33 am and 10:12 am.
  • 799-009 9:33 AM · 39 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, White House operator, Gen. Creighton W. Abrams, Jr., and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:33 am to 10:12 am.
  • 799-010 10:13 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:13 am to 10:19 am.

All 103 conversations from October 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 031-051, October 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/031-051 (accessed November 2, 2026).