Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 278 › Conversation 278-058

Nixon & Kissinger on Accidental War and Public Relations

Thursday, September 16, 1971 · 11:50 AM–1:45 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 33 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation278-058 on Tape 278 (tape position 02:56:19–02:59:20)StartThursday, September 16, 1971 at 11:50 AMEndThursday, September 16, 1971 at 1:45 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 278-058 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discussed the management of a pending announcement regarding an accidental event. The two determined that the situation would not be made public that day to ensure proper coordination. They agreed to deflect press inquiries by stating that the matter remained under active consideration.

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.2 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Do I understand that we are not to announce the accidental event today?

They don't want to announce it.

Okay.

So what we'll just simply say is, well, the matter is under very active consideration.

I've got to shoot.

OK.

NARA Description

On September 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:50 am and 1:45 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 278-058 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 278-58

Date: September 16, 1971
Time: Unknown between 11:50 am and 1:45 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

     Accidental War announcement
          -Timing
          -Wording
                -Status of situation

Also recorded on September 16, 1971

009-041 11:50 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:50 am and 1:45 pm.
278-059 11:50 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:50 am and 1:45 pm.
278-060 11:50 AM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:50 am and 1:45 pm.
278-061 11:50 AM · 6 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 11:50 am and 1:45 pm.
278-062 11:50 AM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:50 am and 1:45 pm.
278-063 11:50 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:50 am and 1:45 pm.
278-064 11:50 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:50 am and 1:45 pm.
278-065 11:50 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:50 am and 1:45 pm.

All 52 conversations from September 16, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 278-058, September 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/278-058 (accessed October 12, 2026).