{"conversationCode":"184-012","tapeNumber":184,"conversationNumber":12,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-184-012","startDateTime":"1972-12-18T17:28:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-12-18T17:30:00.000Z","startDate":"18-Dec-1972","startTime":"12:28 PM","endDate":"18-Dec-1972","endTime":"12:30 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.;","description":"On December 18, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at Camp David from 12:28 pm to 12:30 pm. The Camp David Study Desk taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 184-012 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"CDSD","recordingDevice":"Camp David Study Desk","latitudeEstimated":39.648333,"longitudeEstimated":-77.465,"chronCode":"5.2","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part II","chronReleaseDate":"2-Dec-2008","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 184-12\n\f                                                -13-\n\n                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                                                         Conversation No. 184-12 (cont’d)\n\nDate: December 18, 1972\nTime: 12:28 pm - 12:30 pm\nLocation: Camp David Study Desk\n\nThe President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.\n\n       Vietnam War\n            -US bombing of North Vietnam\n                 -Reports\n                       -Timing\n                             -Targeting\n                                   -Freeways\n                 -Tactical Air [TACAIR] strikes\n                       -B-52s\n                             -Number\n                 -Intensity\n                 -Targets\n                       -Damage\n                             -Risks\n                                   -Populated areas\n                                        -Criticism\n                 -Intensity\n                 -Alternative","filename":["184-012.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Kissinger, Henry A."],"prevCode":"184-011","nextCode":"185-001","transcript":[{"start":0.35,"end":12.54,"text":"Because that next race, we won't get a report after about two."},{"start":13.5,"end":25.12,"text":"Oh, I see."},{"start":25.14,"end":25.81,"text":"That's not going over the target."},{"start":25.83,"end":26.31,"text":"I'm just, I'm listening."},{"start":26.33,"end":26.91,"text":"Oh, is that the new one here?"},{"start":26.93,"end":27.37,"text":"That's the second one."},{"start":27.39,"end":27.83,"text":"There's three of them."},{"start":27.85,"end":28.15,"text":"Yeah, I got it."},{"start":28.17,"end":28.59,"text":"That's the third one."},{"start":28.61,"end":29.32,"text":"They'll be at five o'clock tonight."},{"start":29.34,"end":29.43,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":29.45,"end":30.3,"text":"I was just asking the balance of the time."},{"start":30.32,"end":31.54,"text":"Then what they do is they do it in, uh, in our configuration."},{"start":31.81,"end":48.63,"text":"And then they go back to back here."},{"start":48.65,"end":50.35,"text":"I think it's time to keep up 100 for three days and then they'll go down to about 50."},{"start":51.72,"end":64.09,"text":"Oh, it's gonna be, it's gonna be, it's gonna be, it's gonna be, it's gonna be, it's gonna be, it's gonna be, it's gonna be,"},{"start":64.8,"end":82.48,"text":"They probably didn't tie it together."},{"start":82.5,"end":83.18,"text":"They didn't get the wood in there."},{"start":83.2,"end":84.2,"text":"We just don't want them to drop it on the toolbox."},{"start":84.22,"end":84.82,"text":"We want them to hit something."},{"start":84.84,"end":85.58,"text":"But they must be having a lot of fun."},{"start":85.6,"end":88.1,"text":"The other guy hit something just to make sure that they may make it to the populated area in which case it would be gorgeous."},{"start":88.12,"end":88.56,"text":"They're working on it."},{"start":88.58,"end":88.98,"text":"That always happens."},{"start":89,"end":90.47,"text":"Well, the target could be far enough away so that they have some options."},{"start":91.02,"end":111.86,"text":"We always go the other way, far enough away or not."},{"start":111.88,"end":113.02,"text":"And we've improved in populated areas throughout the war."},{"start":113.04,"end":113.89,"text":"And we've just got to take the lead on it."},{"start":113.91,"end":114.83,"text":"But it's going to be, it's going to be enough."},{"start":114.85,"end":115.85,"text":"And I'm not, I'm not going to give up any of this."},{"start":115.87,"end":115.99,"text":"Right."},{"start":116.01,"end":116.67,"text":"Because I totally agree with you."},{"start":116.69,"end":117.63,"text":"Once you get tired, you can't look back either."},{"start":117.65,"end":118.07,"text":"So, keep right on it."},{"start":118.09,"end":118.19,"text":"Okay."},{"start":118.21,"end":118.33,"text":"Right."},{"start":118.35,"end":118.75,"text":"Thank you very much."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss the tactical implementation and operational pace of an ongoing bombing campaign, specifically addressing the frequency and targeting of strikes. The conversation centers on maintaining operational intensity and ensuring military effectiveness, with the President explicitly instructing Kissinger to persist with the current offensive strategy. They assess the technical challenges of target selection and the implications of potential collateral damage in populated areas.","topics":["Vietnam War","Operation Linebacker II","Military Strategy","Bombing Campaigns","Henry Kissinger"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T09:44:33.642Z"},"topicSlugs":["vietnam-war","operation-linebacker-ii","military-strategy","bombing-campaigns","henry-kissinger"],"audioDurationSec":122,"audioFiles":[{"file":"184-012.mp3","bytes":2932161,"durationSec":122.04,"bitrate":192209,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:33.322Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:43:00.508Z","transcriptGapSeconds":55,"transcriptGapShare":0.45,"transcriptQuality":"incomplete","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/184-012.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/184-012","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/184/conversation-184-012","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}