President Nixon met with the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) to discuss the state of the Vietnam War, the American domestic political landscape, and the influence of the national "elite" on public opinion. The discussion centered on the perceived disconnect between the values of the American public and the attitudes of the establishment, including university presidents, media leaders, and big businessmen who were critical of the administration's policies. The President emphasized his desire to communicate directly with the public to bypass this critical elite class, while the board provided counsel on how to manage foreign policy challenges, particularly regarding the Soviet Union and China.
On May 5, 1972, Richard M. Nixon and the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, including Adm. George W. Anderson, Dr. William O. Baker, Gordon Gray, Franklin B. Lincoln, Jr., Dr. Franklin D. Murphy, Frank Pace, Jr., Nelson A. Rockefeller, Dr. Edward Teller, Gerard P. Burke, Thomas Latimer, and Dr. Edward E. David, Jr., met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:00 am and 11:59 pm. The Cabinet Room taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 100-001 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 100-1
Date: May 5, 1972
Time: Unknown between 12:00 am and 11:59 pm
Location: Cabinet Room
Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr. met with Dr. William O. Baker, Gordon Gray, Franklin B.
Lincoln, Jr., Dr. Franklin D. Murphy, Frank Pace, Jr., Nelson A. Rockefeller, Dr. Edward Teller,
Gerard P. Burke, Thomas Latimer, and Dr. Edward E. David, Jr.
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[This segment was declassified on 02/28/2002.]
[National Security]
[100-001-w001]
[Duration: 3m 54s]
Ships
-Return
-Troops
-Inactivity
-PMR [?]
-Contractors
-Continuation [of war?]
-Appropriations
Vietnam
-Victory
-Methods
-Ground communications
-North Vietnamese offensive
-Duration
-Planning
-Advances
-Provincial capitals
-Location
-Losses
The President entered at 10:11 a.m.
Greetings
Edward Teller
-Greetings
The President's schedule
-Delay in meeting
Edward Teller
-Sputnik
Report
The President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board [PFIAB]
-Meetings
-Frequency
-Importance of board
-Recommendations
-Missing members
-Robert D. Murphy
-Japan
-Jim Lance [sp?]
-Location
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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Previous National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number
LPRN-T-MDR-2014-014. Segment declassified on 04/24/2019. Archivist: DR]
[National Security]
[100-001-w001]
[Duration: 54m 19s]
VIETNAM
PRESIDENT’S FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE ADVISORY BOARD [PFIAB]
MILITARY CAPABILITIES
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
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******************************************************************************
Teller’s presentation
American leaders
-Establishment
-The President’s actions
-Timing
-Vietnam
-Media
-Networks
-University Presidents
-Ivy League
-Position on Vietnam
-Texas A & M University
-Position on Vietnam
-Support for World War II
-Influences
-Businessmen
-Press
-Trade with Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR] Union and People’s
Republic of China
-Germany
-Adolf Hitler
-Position
-Rockefeller
-The President
-”Old guard” leaders
-World War II, Turkish loan, and Marshall Plan
-Position
-President’s Board on Disarmament
-John J. McCloy
-General Lauris Norstad
-Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]
-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR] Union
-US’ expectations
-Unidentified Harvard University colleague of David
******************************************************************************
[This segment was declassified on 02/28/2002.]
[National Security]
[100-001-w003]
[Duration: 50s]
American leaders
-Politicians
-”Old guard” leaders
-Unidentified Harvard University colleague of David
-Position
-Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]
-Position
******************************************************************************
American leaders
-Politicians
-”Old guard” leaders
-Advice to the President
-Religious leaders
-John Cardinal Krol
-Terence Cardinal Cooke
-William F. (“Billy”) Graham
-Educators
-Religious leaders
-Press executives
-Politicians
-Southern Democrats
-Position
-Republicans
-Advantages
-Richard B. Russell
-John C. Stennis
-John L. McClellan
-George H. Mahon
-F. Edward Hébert
-Labor leaders
-View of elite
-Teamsters
-Meeting with the President
-Education
-Frank E. Fitzsimmons
-Joseph (“Joe T.”) Trerotola
-William J. McCarthy
-Raymond Schoessling
-George Meany
-Position on Vietnam
-Position on other issues
-Elite class
-The President’s experience
-”Georgetown set”
-International set
-Nassau, Bahamas
-Newport, Rhode Island
-Palm Beach, Florida
-Palm Springs, California
-Beverly Hills, California
-Westchester County, New York
-The President’s experience
-Source of national weakness
-Education
-Educators, publishers, communications executives, college administrators, and big
businessmen
-Small businessmen
-Erosion
-The President’s actions
-Students
-University Presidents and professors
-Influence
-PFIAB contacts
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[This segment was declassified on 02/28/2002.]
[National Security]
[100-001-w004]
[Duration: 1m 50s]
American leaders
-The President's trip to People's Republic of China [PRC]
-Impact
-Taiwan
-Position of Leader class
-reason
-Mao Tse-tung
-Chou en-Lai
-People's Republic of China [PRC] position
-Cold war
-Reason
-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR] position
-People's Republic of China [PRC] position
-Leaders' opinion
-Expectations
-United Nations [UN]
******************************************************************************
PFIAB meeting
-Value
Current US situation
-Senate
-Antiballistic missile [ABM] appropriations
-Teller
-Democratic candidates
-Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson
-Position on defense budget
-Educational institutions
-Harvard University
-University of California
-Ohio State University
-Texas A & M University
-Wyoming
-H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells
-Theory of decline of civilizations
-French
-British
-Romans
-Greeks
Leader class
-Influence on masses
-Media
-Portrayal of US
-Influence on youth
-Media
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[This segment was declassified on 02/28/2002.]
[National Security]
[100-001-w005]
[Duration: 4m 44s]
Vietnam
-US policies
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-Dissent
-Withdrawal of US troops
-Consequences for South Vietnam
-South Vietnam
-1954 casualties
-Bishop of Da Nang
-Possible future casualties
-US attitude
-India, Pakistan and Czechoslovakia
-US failure
-Consequences
-Middle East
-Consequences of US failure in South Vietnam
-New York City and Tel Aviv
-Western Europe
-West Berlin and New York City
-US stakes
-Communist goals
-People's Republic of China [PRC]
-Isolationism
-Respect for US
-US defeat
-Consequences
-Europe
-Latin America
-Africa
-Japan and free Asia
-US withdrawal
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US’ spirit
-Farmers
-Southerners
-Laborers
-American leader class
-Failures
-Consequences
-Meeting with “the people”
-Values
-Changes
-Leaders
-Change
-Contrast with “the people”
-Ivy League Presidents
-The President’s role
-Relation with “the people”
-Leaders
-Ivy League
-Response to change
-Network heads
-Newspaper heads
-Reasons
-Attica riot
-Prisoners
-Rockefeller’s actions evaluated
-The President’s position
-Leadership
-The President
-Open skies policy
-Teller
-First strike
-United Nations
-Position of “the people”
-Leaders and “the people”
-Newspapers
-Newsday
-Articles on the President and other leaders
-Reasons
-American people
-New values
-Prospects for future
-The President
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[This segment was declassified on 02/28/2002.]
[National Security]
[100-001-w005]
[Duration: 1m 24s]
The President's foreign policy
-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]–People's Republic of China [PRC]
-Impact
-Position of "the people"
-Position of great powers
-Moscow
-Peking
-Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]
-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR] capability
******************************************************************************
The President's foreign policy
-Credibility
-Leader class
-Impact on the President
-Compared with other twentieth century Presidents
-Knowledge of media
-Media
-Position
-Students
-International group in Budapest
-Position on Vietnam policy
-Follow-up
-Editors
-Majority position
-The President’s meetings
-Omaha World-Herald
-Kansas City Star
-[Forename unknown] McKnight
-Newsday
The President left at 11:37 am
Meeting
-Southern Democrats
Schedule
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[Previous archivists categorized this section as unintelligible. It has been rereviewed and
released 08/26/2019.]
[Unintelligible]
[100-001-w007]
[Duration: 1m 34s]
Meeting with William O. Baker [?]
General conversation
30 million
6 years
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Vietnam
-Black America
-Troops
-Leadership
-Robert S. McNamara
-Unidentified general
-Withdrawal of US’ troops
-Loss of popular confidence
-McNamara
-General Maxwell D. Taylor
-New York Times
-Withdrawal of troops
-Timing
-McNamara
-New York Times
-The President’s policies
-Consequences in US
******************************************************************************
[Previous archivists categorized this section as unintelligible. It has been rereviewed and
released 08/26/2019.]
[Unintelligible]
[100-001-w008]
[Duration: 41s]
General conversation
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Anderson, et al. left at an unknown time before 11:59 pmThis transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.