Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 32 › Conversation 032-162

Nixon phone call with Brooke on Vietnam War and Peace negotiations

Friday, November 3, 1972 · 9:12 AM–9:16 AM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Brooke, Edward W.Conversation032-162 on Tape 32StartFriday, November 3, 1972 at 9:12 AMEndFriday, November 3, 1972 at 9:16 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 032-162 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon briefed Senator Edward Brooke on the progress of peace negotiations regarding the Vietnam War, confirming that a significant breakthrough had been achieved on core issues such as a ceasefire, the return of POWs, and South Vietnamese self-determination. Nixon cautioned the Senator against speculating on the timing of a final agreement, indicating that negotiations would likely conclude after the upcoming election to ensure that technical details were properly settled. The President emphasized his commitment to securing a durable peace rather than rushing an imperfect settlement like the 1968 bombing halt.

Audio

Download MP3 · 3.8 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
We've, uh, you know, made this, uh, you can probably read between the lines, this significant, uh,
breakthrough on the negotiations.
There are still some things to work out, but I'm confident they will be.
Well, I appreciated that briefing last Sunday.
Is there any possibility that a meeting will be set up soon?
I would say this.
I wouldn't speculate about it, Ed, if I were you.
I wouldn't for this reason that we just can't say.
My own, my guess would be that, and I wouldn't want to be quoted on it, but my guess would be
We're probably going to wait until after the election now, you see.
It's fine with us.
But the major things, as was pointed out, have been worked out.
That's the important thing.
But he seems to be pressing, I presume he will tonight, you know, that it's falling apart.
It isn't.
I've been saying, you know, that we'll never let it.
You can be very confident.
You can be very confident on that point, as I was last night in my speech.
You say we have made a major breakthrough.
We have reached agreement on the major items, in other words, on a ceasefire, on the return of our POWs, on giving the South Vietnamese the opportunity to choose their own government without having a communist coalition imposed on them against their will.
Will there be a final meeting before the actual signing?
Oh, yes.
Yes, there has to be another meeting.
That's the whole point.
Work out the details, and details are terribly important.
As I pointed out, because we didn't work out the details in the bombing out in 1968,
is only a pause and not a halt.
So we want these details.
There will have to be another meeting.
But you can still be confident at that point.
I wouldn't say anything about the date.
I can only say that you can well see that they haven't rejected the idea.
And I'm very confident about it.
Are they still showing flexibility in that regard?
Oh, certainly, yeah.
They want it, certainly.
look at it as Haig probably said, the factors all run in that direction.
But we're confident we're going to have an agreement, but we're insisting that it be the right kind of agreement so that it'll last.

NARA Description

On November 3, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Edward W. Brooke talked on the telephone from 9:12 am to 9:16 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 032-162 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 032-162

Date: November 3, 1972
Time: 9:12 am - 9:16 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Edward W. Brooke.

[See Conversation No. 391-23]

        Greetings

******************************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 01/25/2018.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[032-162-w001]
[Duration: 59s]

       1972 election

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

               -Edward W. Brooke's strength in Massachusetts
                      -Impact on the President's campaign
               -The President's trips
                      -State races for Senate
                              -Massachusetts
               -Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon’s trip to Boston
                      -Hecklers
                      -Thomas A. Pappas
                      -Leslie (“Bob”) Hope
               -The President's campaign

******************************************************************************

        Vietnam
            -Break-through
            -Previous briefing for Brooke
            -Speculation on meetings
                -North Vietnam’s delays
                     -Timing with the election
            -Possible breakdown
            -Break-through
                -Brooke’s statements
                     -Ceasefire
                     -Prisoners of war [POWs]
                     -South Vietnam’s self-determination
                          -Coalition government
            -Final meeting before signing
                -Agreement on details
                     -1968 bombing halt
                -Date
            -North Vietnamese posture
                -The President’s response
                     -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

******************************************************************************

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 01/25/2018.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[032-162-w003]
[Duration: 15s]

       1972 election
              -Rhode Island vote
                     -Influence in Massachusetts
              -Brooke’s best wishes
                     -Victory

******************************************************************************

Also recorded on November 3, 1972

  • 391-020 8:46 AM · 37 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 8:46 am and 9:00 am.
  • 032-161 9:00 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:00 am and 9:12 am.
  • 391-021 9:00 AM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:00 am and 9:12 am.
  • 391-022 9:00 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:00 am and 9:12 am.
  • 391-023 9:12 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Edward W. Brooke met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:12 am to 9:16 am.
  • 032-163 9:22 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Clifford P. Case talked on the telephone from 9:22 am to 9:24 am.
  • 391-024 9:22 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Clifford P. Case met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:22 am to 9:24 am.
  • 391-025 9:24 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:24 am and 9:38 am.

All 54 conversations from November 3, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 032-162, November 3, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/032-162 (accessed October 12, 2026).