Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 274 › Conversation 274-013
Nixon & Haig on Vietnam War and Peace Negotiations
Monday, August 16, 1971 · 3:01 PM–3:37 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building
AI Summary
President Nixon and Alexander Haig met to discuss ongoing Vietnam War negotiations, specifically focusing on the status of the Demilitarized Zone. Nixon expressed concern regarding the duration of potential talks, cautioning against being drawn into an unproductive dialogue that might leave the administration vulnerable to military provocation. The discussion centered on the necessity of Henry Kissinger’s involvement and the strategic timing required to maintain leverage during the negotiation cycles.
- Vietnam War
- Peace Negotiations
- Demilitarized Zone
- Henry Kissinger
- Military Strategy
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 112.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 112.2 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 67.0 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 00:19:53 into the tape and ends around 00:22:37.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
Download transcript (.txt) ·JSON data · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
NARA Description
On August 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:01 pm and 3:37 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 274-013 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 274-13
Date: August 16, 1971
Time: Unknown between 3:01 pm and 3:37 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
Vietnam
-Negotiations
-Demilitarized Zone [DMZ]
-Henry A. Kissinger
-DurationAlso recorded on August 16, 1971
- 274-006 2:43 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 2:43 pm.
- 274-007 2:44 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:44 pm to 2:49 pm.
- 274-008 2:49 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:49 pm and 2:54 pm.
- 274-009 2:49 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:49 pm and 2:54 pm.
- 274-010 2:54 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:54 pm to 2:58 pm.
- 274-011 2:59 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Robert H. Finch met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:59 pm to 3:01 pm.
- 274-012 3:01 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:01 pm and 3:05 pm.
- 274-014 3:01 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:01 pm and 3:37 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 274-013, August 16, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/274-013 (accessed September 18, 2026).