{"conversationCode":"277-005","tapeNumber":277,"conversationNumber":5,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-277-005","startDateTime":"1971-09-15T15:59:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-09-15T16:01:00.000Z","startDate":"15-Sep-1971","startTime":"11:59 AM","endDate":"15-Sep-1971","endTime":"12:01 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.;","description":"On September 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:59 am to 12:01 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 277-005 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"EOB","recordingDevice":"Old Executive Office Building","latitudeEstimated":38.897567,"longitudeEstimated":-77.039147,"chronCode":2,"chronRelease":"Second Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"26-Oct-2000","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 277-5\n\nDate: September 15, 1971\nTime: 11:59 am - 12:01 pm\nLocation: Executive Office Building\n\nThe President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.\n\n[See Conversation No. 9-15]","filename":["277-005-splice.mp3"],"tapeStart":"00:10:31","tapeEnd":"00:11:33","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Haig, Alexander M., Jr."],"prevCode":"277-004","nextCode":"277-006","tapeTranscriptFile":"277a.mp3,277b.mp3","transcript":[{"start":639.39,"end":647.52,"text":"I want you to pick out the countries..."},{"start":662.23,"end":668.55,"text":"We give aid to most of the African countries."},{"start":668.71,"end":671.98,"text":"They're small programs."},{"start":672,"end":680.14,"text":"A leader elected, and a contested elected, must be one of the things our senators do."},{"start":680.21,"end":688.17,"text":"I have a number of countries, economic, military, point for, for food."},{"start":688.7,"end":690.34,"text":"Okay."},{"start":690.46,"end":690.62,"text":"Okay."}],"transcriptBoundary":{"start":635,"end":691,"startMethod":"llm-alignment","endMethod":"llm-alignment"},"transcriptConfidence":"high","transcriptSource":"bigtape","aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon directed Alexander Haig to conduct a detailed review of U.S. foreign aid programs provided to various African nations. The President specifically requested that Haig identify countries based on the status of their leadership and electoral legitimacy, emphasizing a preference for supporting regimes with contested, elected leadership. Haig acknowledged these instructions, setting the stage for a strategic reevaluation of how economic, military, and food assistance is distributed across the continent.","topics":["Foreign Aid","Africa","U.S. Foreign Policy","Electoral Legitimacy","Economic Assistance"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T12:52:20.775Z"},"topicSlugs":["foreign-aid","africa","u-s-foreign-policy","electoral-legitimacy","economic-assistance"],"audioDurationSec":59,"audioFiles":[{"file":"277-005-splice.mp3","bytes":944213,"durationSec":58.98,"bitrate":128062,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T14:10:30.143Z","originalFilename":["277a.mp3","277b.mp3"],"spliceSource":{"spliceType":"bigtape","sourceFiles":["277a.mp3"],"cutStart":633.5,"cutEnd":692.5,"adjustedStart":633.5,"adjustedEnd":692.5,"boundaryMethod":"llm-alignment","confidence":"high","splicedAt":"2026-09-18T14:10:30.143Z"},"transcriptPrev":{"segments":7,"replacedAt":"2026-09-18T05:08:10.695Z"},"audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/277-005-splice.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/277-005","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/277/conversation-277-005","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}