Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 258 › Conversation 258-042

Nixon, Haig & Brown on Middle East diplomacy and Pentagon Papers

Wednesday, June 23, 1971 · 2:48 PM–3:04 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.; Brown, Garry E.Conversation258-042 on Tape 258 (tape position 01:04:37–01:10:49)StartWednesday, June 23, 1971 at 2:48 PMEndWednesday, June 23, 1971 at 3:04 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 258-042 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Alexander Haig to discuss ongoing foreign policy challenges, specifically concerns regarding a proposed State Department cable to Cairo and the broader diplomatic strategy in the Middle East. The pair also addressed the political impact of the Pentagon Papers, with Nixon emphasizing the need for firm management of the situation to prevent further division among critics. Additionally, they reviewed military developments in Vietnam and Laos, focusing on the handling of press relations and the status of diplomatic negotiations.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Yeah.
Hello?
to call and tell you that I heard several reports from the caucus the other day that one of the most effective talks in the whole deal was made by you on that, as you will understand.
And coming as you do with your interesting neighbor up there, I thought that took a lot of guts, and I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate it.
I hope you don't get too much flack.
Of course, as I've always often said, you're an intellectual.
They'll believe you.
Let me tell you this.
Just remember that I said on June the 23rd, you're going to look awful good next year about this issue.
And that's my job, and we're going to do it.
We're moving along.
Okay.
Bye.
Bye, Gary.
Bye.
Sir, I wanted to talk to you about the military situation.
The state has come over with the proposed cable to Cairo, which would invite the employees from Boston here to Washington, and even the Indian Secretary of Right, and Henry, of course.
I'm very concerned about this because of the overall state of play in Middle Eastern and Cairo.
into a, you know, a hard situation.
It's a common visit.
It's a common thing.
It's your competition.
uh...
Well, I think the best thing to do would be for any knowledge you have of bad people, to listen to the government, and to restrict it as to why the world is fighting this war, because it's not going to be the same.
By time, to a certain extent, it's become a vehicle of size to convey it.
It's a terrible vehicle.
This has happened as a result of the trip, but it's not one of them.
It's not another thing.
And so I have the impression, for better or worse, that we're supporting their visualization of the interim solution.
And so I look at where we're standing now, and where our state wants to go.
And I personally say this, that if we sit down, and I look at it, and I look at it from the side,
So, excuse me.
You know, I've got to go.
One other question has come up.
This staff man joined the vice president three years from now.
He called and said, hey, this is smart.
I think this paper thing is beginning to tear our college a little apart now.
It's going to tear the church apart.
Yeah, Jesus Christ, you know, to be tearing a tear out because God is...
We've got some grass, some mulch, they've got more.
They've got to be good.
One, two, three.
Staking, real, more than we expect.
We've got to be good.
Whatever work went back and forth, up and down, we've got to be good.
We haven't done that.
The only thing that we've screwed up is EC-121.
We've got to be good.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm going to try to hang on now and just be eaten to death alive here on every other issue.
Would you agree to cover that point?
That's all right.
It accomplished a lot.
It at least avoided, at least for a lot of us, what happened in the press.
Harry's meeting is going to be absolutely incredible.
This is a man who has said and he believes
You would rather be right than right.
Sorry.
All right.
Good luck.

NARA Description

On June 23, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and Garry E. Brown met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:48 pm to 3:04 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 258-042 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 258-42

Date: June 23, 1971
Time: 2:48 pm - 3:04 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with General Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

     Haig’s schedule

[The President talked with Garry E. Brown between 2:51 pm and 2:52 pm]

[Conversation No. 258-42A]

[See Conversation No. 5-142]

[End of telephone conversation]

     Middle East
         -Cable to Cairo
               -Department of State
               -Dr. Mahmoun Fawzi
               -William P. Rogers
               -Henry A. Kissinger
         -Expectations
               -Effect on diplomatic process
         -US course of action
               -National Security Council [NSC] role
               -Need for time
               -Interim solutions
               -Vice President Spiro T. Agnew

     Pentagon Papers
          -Effect on critics
               -Lyndon B. Johnson

     Vietnam
          -Laos
          -Role of casualties
          -Effect of action in Laos
          -Haig call to Kissinger
               -Break off of negotiations
               -Handling of press

Haig left at 3:04 pm

Also recorded on June 23, 1971

  • 005-139 2:39 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, F. Edward Hébert, and Melvin R. Laird talked on the telephone from 2:39 pm to 2:44 pm.
  • 005-140 2:45 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Pierre S. DuPont talked on the telephone from 2:45 pm to 2:46 pm.
  • 258-039 2:45 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:45 pm to 2:46 pm.
  • 258-040 2:45 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Pierre S. DuPont met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:45 pm to 2:46 pm.
  • 005-141 2:46 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles S. Gubser talked on the telephone from 2:46 pm to 2:48 pm.
  • 258-041 2:46 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles S. Gubser met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:46 pm to 2:48 pm.
  • 005-142 2:51 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Garry E. Brown talked on the telephone from 2:51 pm to 2:52 pm.
  • 005-143 2:52 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:52 pm and 3:05 pm.

All 52 conversations from June 23, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 258-042, June 23, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/258-042 (accessed October 23, 2026).