Conversation 041-036

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Hello?

Speaker Albert, sir.

Yeah.

Hello?

Mr. President.

I hope I didn't bother you, Carly.

Oh, no, I was on the road, but from home in the office.

We were in late last night.

Oh, goodness, that's a shame.

I just wanted to take a... Have you got a minute now?

Yes, sir.

Fine.

I just wanted to take a minute with you today, with you on the phone.

Yes, sir.

I know that...

I was talking to Jerry and some boys, and you've got this real tough...

vote on Monday, and I want you to just to know my feeling about it, because I know you would want to know, and I've talked to you, except I've got to take this fellow out to California this afternoon.

We have a very good agreement today at noon, incidentally.

The agreement today at noon is very significant, and it's a very good one.

I think you'll like it.

It'll help with some of your, shall we say, the

a democratic study group people.

You know, that's a trouble with some of us who are on this thing.

First, let me tell you in the greatest of confidence that naturally I have talked to this fellow about Southeast Asia.

I'm going to have a further talk with him out there, and he's very helpful.

Second, we have reason to believe because we're also...

The second point, both the talk with him and the talk with the Chinese, is only encompassing the two of us.

That the Chinese, we've been in consultation with them on the Cambodian situation.

Now, as far as we're concerned, as you know, there's nothing I would like to do better than to cut off all military action in Cambodia like yesterday.

And at the present time, as a matter of fact, we could cut back or

even discontinue B-52 raids, but we need to continue at least tactical air support at this time for the purpose until we get a settlement.

Now, I can't tell you that it's going to come tomorrow or next week or next month, but I can tell you that we have every reason to think that we can get one provided we don't let everything go down the tube, everything that we've done out there for 10 years go down the tube at this point.

That's really the problem.

I mean, that's the only reason that we've had to fight for this, knowing, of course, what the Senate thinks, knowing what a majority of the House has voted for.

Now, what I am calling about is not to suggest, which is I know you couldn't, to change the position already taken by the House in the supplemental, but rather to help prevent the House from going as far as the Senate went, any further.

And this, I can... Let me tell you, this can be very much in the national interest.

Now, if it...

If they move in the other direction, and I'm only doing this threatening, if it moves in the other direction, I would have to, of course, veto whatever.

And you know what I mean.

I hate to do that on this particular issue.

And also, if it moves in the other direction, the responsibility for what happens, Carl, has to be taken by...

by the Congress.

I don't mean the House, fellows like yourself, but you know, by the Congress.

But I just wanted you to know that whether it's on this thing or the continuing authority, which I understand you may have a problem on, that this is not just one of those another votes and end the war and all the rest.

But it's very important at this time to wrap this thing up.

Now, incidentally, I just looked at the morning report.

The ceasefire is the lowest number of violations that we have had in South Vietnam since the whole darn thing began.

The Laotian people are, in their slow but apparently inevitable way, are coming to a settlement.

Cambodia is difficult because the Chinese are involved as well as what they call Khmer Rouge and the present government.

But we are trying to pull them all together, and we're working with the Russians, with the Chinese, and

of course, with the Cambodians.

But this is a critical stage.

And if we could just, if the House could hold on this, it could be a great service to the country.

So I just wanted you to know how I felt about it.

And understand I, gosh, I know to have you take all this, well, the pressures are tremendous.

But look, let me put it this way.

If

If you hadn't resisted, and I put it quite bluntly, if you hadn't resisted some of these pressures in November and October of last year, those POWs would still be in that stinkin' cell.

Now, that's how it all happened, and someday I'm going to say that, because these people that have, you know, the bug-outers, let's understand it, if they'd had their way, we would never got them back.

And right now, we're trying to just keep the peace and not let the war break out again.

So I just want to say that now.

I appreciate your calling.

And wish you the best.

Thank you.