Conversation 043-066

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Hello.

Hello, Mr. President.

I just told Steve that, uh, that, uh,

Don't let that thing interfere with you.

You ought to go on with George.

I think I will.

We're trying to talk.

I looked at that media.

That's great.

I looked at this Cuban thing.

What is their decision?

There's nothing to decide.

I just want to be sure that I'm doing what you want.

We have proceeded on the theory that we'd like to work out a hijacking agreement with Cuba.

And we've concluded one now, except I haven't signed it.

I just said I wanted to wait.

Now, what it amounts to is this.

We do not undertake any obligations that are not required by law.

We say that if vessels are either aircraft or vessels are hijacked, that we will either prosecute them in our own country or extradite.

They undertake the same obligation as far as we are concerned.

um in addition they say that they will return not only the plane and the passengers but any money that's involved to us um that is not we haven't any worked on any deal that's retroactive but i'm going to talk to the southern airways people and see if we can't keep them quiet i think if we sign this agreement they've got a pretty good chance of getting their money back but in any event insofar as the future is concerned how they will undertake to prosecute or extradite

anybody involved in aircraft hijacking.

We, on our part, will undertake to prosecute anybody that's involved in seizing a vessel that's traversing this normal route.

We would not undertake to prosecute or extradite people if they stole a rowboat or something of that kind.

This would not be covered.

In any event, I've cleared it very closely with the Justice Department, and what we have done is to just restate the existing law, so we're not required to do anything by this agreement.

Does it get into anything in terms of a normalization of relations?

No, not at all.

What I would say is it doesn't represent any change of policy at all as far as Cuba is concerned.

What it does do is it's agreement on their part to

to prosecute the extra return the plane the passengers any money and we on our part will will proceed to prosecute uh anybody that hijacks a vessel right good i think that's fine it's a good i think it's good no i saw it i saw it this morning in the morning uh file here and i assumed it was all right i just uh so i i in fact i'd already marked it okay whatever it was we'll

We'll do it through the Swiss and the Czechs.

The Czechs will represent them.

The Swiss will represent us down there.

And it'll be a memorandum of understanding.

It won't be a treaty or anything of that kind.

Right.

I'll just touch base with the Congress.

I'm sure they'll all be pleased.

I think it's a good thing because we're going to be able to say to anybody that's critical that all we're doing is restating the existing law.

Right, right, right, right.

That's good.

Well, you're...

You're going to leave very shortly then for Florida.

That's good.

Well, I must say that from what I have seen and heard, and I had a rerun when I came in last night because I hadn't seen much of it out there, but

That POW film, I think, is some of the most moving things that we've seen for a long time.

It's just tremendous.

To think those men had what I thought was their courage and how they withstood it for seven and a half, six and a half, five.

We all think we have problems.

And look at those guys.

They stood there with those dirty bastards all that time.

You know, they were mistreated.

You know, they didn't get much to eat.

You know, they were lonely.

You know, they didn't see anybody.

You know, just in there, they weren't getting exercise.

It was just unbelievable.

You could see, of course, a lot of them are pretty weak, you know.

And the way I could tell was they'd all reach out and grab that rail coming down, you know.

There wasn't one note of bitterness, though, was there?

No, sir.

And they commented about you.

Wasn't that nice?

Right.

And that one fellow with his handkerchief, you know, and so forth, or flag he made.

That's just great.

But I talked to, of course...

The colonel had called me, you know, who was the great Korean ace last night and yesterday.

And then this morning I called his wife and Denton's wife and Mulligan's wife.

And boy, those people were really great.

Mulligan's wife, she's been up here quite often since 1969.

And she said, you know, I just, my husband just talked to me.

And she said, you know, he said, you know, if he was, he was,

He said, the president must be very strong to man to have undertaken all this against enormous opposition, and we're just grateful that he did it and got us back.

We know it couldn't have been done without that strong leadership.

It's interesting that these fellows picked that up so quickly when they've been out of touch with the world.

Isn't it, though?

Right.

But the other thing I was going to say, too, to you is that

I was going to say, welcome to the club.

I noticed that one of the magazines said you were a truculent.

And also some of the others like...

Dan Rather said that I was furious when I told him that, hell, I mean, you were not truculent.

You were simply stating the position.

And when I said that, I spoke to them about, I know this is going to gag you to write this.

I was referring to Reston's column that morning, which said I appeased it on.

Remember, he said, I hope we don't hear any more about that.

But I'll tell you, that was one of the best things that's happened.

You had to do it, Bill.

And God damn it, Frazier, Frazier is a son of a bitch.

You know, he was so embarrassed.

I really hit him hard, and he was embarrassed as hell.

Well, you see, the thing is, they didn't expect you.

You know, you've been gracious to them.

You've been decent to them.

But you had to hit up there, and I would imagine that you got a damn good reaction to it, too.

Very good.

It was carried in the evening news.

Well, I got coverage on all the TV networks.

All three.

All three of them.

All three.

Don't let the...

What I meant is you're going to grab a press conference.

Obviously, we don't borrow trouble with the press.

I treat them awful nice and the rest, and you will too.

But on the other hand, we mustn't let them get in the position that it can be all their own way.

I mean, anybody's own way.

The critics can have their say, but we've got to speak up for ourselves.

You know, Mr. President, yesterday I went to Alice Longworth's birthday party.

She invited me.

Did you?

Yeah, and the editor of the Washington Post today came over and talked to me, and he said, we're concerned.

We want to.

We hope that you aren't, the administration isn't too sorry, and so forth.

And then he said, well, of course, you can't expect us to admit we're wrong.

And I said, look it, Phil, goddamn it.

Nobody expects you to admit you're wrong, but quit criticizing us.

I said, if you're going to say we could have ended the war earlier...

we're going to be goddamn mad about it.

We're going to tell you you're wrong.

And if you're going to keep these petty criticisms of us, we're going to rise to the bait.

And I said, that's exactly what I did to the House.

And I said, I'm going to do it in the Senate.

On the other hand, if the attitude is the kind of Aiken's attitude,

which I think is very sensible, and that is, let's try to get along.

Let's not have recriminations.

That's fine with us.

Well, as a matter of fact, I, of course, have never said, I mean, I know proud people can't admit that they're wrong.

I don't expect them to.

I mean, Bill Buckley, the country I was standing, he really gave me all that.

But on the other hand, they cannot, when they get up and say, what are you going to do to heal the wounds of hell?

I'm not trying to keep the wounds alive.

Who the hell is keeping fighting this issue?

Exactly.

See?

Who's doing it?

They don't want to say peace with honor?

Well, I've got a right to say it, don't I?

If they want to say they want peace with dishonor, fine.

You know?

Well, anyway, I just wanted you to know, don't let it get on your skin.

I am seeing today, I'm seeing him off, and I'm going to see Rumsfeld off and so forth.

And I'm, you know, just so that the publicity gets out that we've seen him.

Good.

Well, don't let him irritate you.

You don't have to worry about me being here.

I love it.

Yeah.

Okay, Mr. President.

Stick with it.

Thanks very much.

Bye.