Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 034-138
Date: Tuesday, December 19, 1972 at 8:18 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/034-138

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Yeah.
[0:01] Mr. President, I have Dr. Kissinger.
[0:04] Aye.
[0:05] Go ahead, please.
[0:06] Hey, Henry.
[0:07] Mr. President.
[0:08] Aye.
[0:09] I just wanted to tell you that the third wave of B-52s cut out and no planes sat down.
[0:16] Good.
[0:17] So out of 90 today, we only had one damaged and that returned to the base.
[0:21] Good.
[0:23] Do you hear anything?
[0:25] Well, Radio Hanoi has been off the air for 10 hours.
[0:29] All right.
[0:30] Good.
[0:30] And that is bound to create havoc up there.
[0:34] Good.
[0:34] Because they rely on that radio, and also it's the radio on which all the guerrillas rely for news and instructions.
[0:45] Right.
[0:47] So I think we're giving them a message they won't forget so easily.
[0:53] Right.
[0:54] Actually, when one reads one tweet statement today, it's reasonably restrained.
[1:02] So they may go tough on us tomorrow.
[1:08] Well, if they do, they do, right?
[1:11] I think, Mr. President, it's the only right cause.
[1:15] Sure.
[1:15] Well, you know, it's interesting that that fellow Sullivan, who, of course, is basically play the winners—
[1:22] But you really think that he honestly thinks we did the right thing, or do you think he's just playing the games?
[1:28] He wants to be ambassador to the Philippines, which is nice.
[1:31] He hardly plays the game, but...
[1:34] He didn't think we'd do it, huh?
[1:36] Oh, no.
[1:37] I told him in Paris that when we left, he said, well, the president is caught between the two Vietnamese parties.
[1:47] I said, the worst mistake anyone can make is to think this president lets himself be caught
[1:52] I said, I have no idea what he's going to do, but my guess is that he'll turn on both of them.
[2:00] Right.
[2:00] And I think if we now get the agreement, it makes it enforceable.
[2:09] Sure.
[2:09] That's the point, isn't it?
[2:11] Exactly.
[2:13] Now we've got their attention.
[2:16] Yeah.
[2:18] Well, as a matter of fact, the whole business about the bombing, it hasn't raised all that much hell yet.
[2:22] No, it's amazing.
[2:23] It has raised very little hell.
[2:25] People don't give a damn whether it's a B-52 or a DC-3.
[2:29] That's right.
[2:31] And the part is that they realize that we've got to do something.
[2:36] We just can't sit here.
[2:37] And, of course, that little handicap because they do annoy putting anything out.
[2:44] They don't know what the line is.
[2:46] That's right.
[2:47] They've been off the air now for, well, for ten hours.
[2:52] Good.
[2:52] Now when are you going to hear from Haig?
[2:54] Well, Haig is seeing Thieu again tomorrow, so I should hear by noon.
[3:00] But he already saw Lone Noel.
[3:02] Lone Noel thinks that Thieu is crazy.
[3:05] He doesn't understand why he doesn't jump at it.
[3:08] He does?
[3:08] Yeah.
[3:09] Good.
[3:10] He's convinced him at least.
[3:11] Oh, yeah.
[3:12] Oh, no, we'll come out of this, if we get an agreement now, we'll come out a lot stronger.
[3:20] Well, the main thing is we got a few chips we didn't have any before.
[3:25] Now we got some at a very great cost, but to hell with it.
[3:28] Well, Mr. President, if it works, it's going to be like May 8th.
[3:32] Yeah, and if it doesn't work, we've still got an option.
[3:36] Well, if it doesn't work, we, A, got an option,
[3:39] we are no worse off than, we are even then better off than having done nothing.
[3:43] That's right.
[3:45] Because the other thing had a much better chance of not working.
[3:49] Because Bill Sullivan told me how they stonewalled us in the technical meeting.
[3:53] Yeah, yeah.
[3:58] Okay.
[3:59] Right, Mr. President.
[4:00] Well, Sullivan's earned the Philippines as a result of this.
[4:03] Yeah, he certainly has.
[4:05] And we'll put him there.
[4:06] And then I also told all of them today we'll put Marshall Green in Australia.
[4:11] Good.
[4:11] Excellent.
[4:12] Get him held in up with a businessman.
[4:14] A businessman, believe me, in Indonesia.
[4:16] Right.
[4:17] Yeah, one of our men.
[4:19] Absolutely.
[4:20] Okay?
[4:20] Right.
[4:21] Absolutely.
[4:22] Bye, Henry.
[4:23] Bye, Mr. President.
[4:27] Bye.