Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 145-017
Date: Monday, October 2, 1972 at 4:59 PM
Participants: Kissinger, Henry A.; Zumwalt, Adm. Elmo R., Jr.
Recording device: Camp David Study Table
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/145-017

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Hello?
[0:00] Yes, sir, Admiral Jim Watson.
[0:02] Hello.
[0:02] Admiral Jim Watson.
[0:03] Yes, how are you?
[0:04] Fine, Henry.
[0:04] The picture is not as good as I would like it to be.
[0:09] The minuses are that these ships are civilian manned, run by our MSPS, our station, and they're unionized, so there is some concern that they might object
[0:28] at the crew level through their Union.
[0:33] Now the Russians are saying they don't really care who runs them as long as we give them some faith-saving device so that they can call them non-Navy ships.
[0:43] The concern here is that the Union might object to Congress about the shift in their status from Navy to another organization.
[0:52] But could we give them another organization and make the Navy the executive agent for it?
[1:00] This could be done.
[1:00] The other problem is whether or not we would run into trouble with Congress with regard to future funding.
[1:11] The advice we have from our congressional experts is that that might be a little tricky.
[1:17] Okay, well, it may be just too difficult to do, and it isn't a big enough deal.
[1:20] We may just have to drop the whole idea.
[1:22] It worries me a little bit because of the fact that we can't control the other branch of the government.
[1:28] Yeah.
[1:28] Yeah.
[1:29] That's the problem.
[1:30] Okay.
[1:30] Well, I appreciate you looking into it.
[1:32] All right, Henry.
[1:34] Good.
[1:34] Hope to see you when things ease up a bit in my frantic traveling.
[1:39] I'm at your call.
[1:41] Good.
[1:41] Thank you.