Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 297 › Conversation 297-038
Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Troop withdrawal
Friday, November 12, 1971 · 2:20 PM–2:25 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 8 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Henry Kissinger met to coordinate the messaging for an upcoming troop withdrawal announcement and to assess the status of ongoing negotiations with North Vietnam. They discussed the tactical use of 'protective reaction' bombing raids in North Vietnam and the strategic communication of US offers regarding the potential resignation of South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu. The conversation also touched on managing domestic political credibility and the importance of maintaining flexibility in public policy regarding the South Vietnamese military's defensive capabilities.
- Vietnam War
- Troop withdrawal
- Peace negotiations
- Protective reaction strikes
- Nguyen Van Thieu
- Foreign policy strategy
Audio
This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.
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Position in tape: 02:00:58 – 02:09:20
Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On November 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:20 pm to 2:25 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 297-038 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 297-38
Date: November 12, 1971
Time: 2:20 pm - 2:25 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Henry A. Kissinger.
Vietnam
-The President's forthcoming troop withdrawal announcement
-Possible press questions
-Residual force
-South Vietnamese military capability
-Prisoners of war [POWs]
-Wives
-North Vietnamese
-Negotiations with North Vietnam
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-Briefing
-Xuan Thuy
-Paris
-Le Duc Tho
-Nguyen Van Thieu
-Possible resignation
-Election
-US offer
-The President's conversation with Josip Broz Tito
-Bombing of North Vietnam
-Weather
-Robert C. Seamans, Jr.
-Possible targets
-Vinh
-“Protective reaction”
-The President's forthcoming troop withdrawal announcement
-Timing
-Kissinger's note and conversation with William P. Rogers
-Melvin R. Laird
-Credibility
-Gerald R. Ford and Leslie C. Arends
-The President's handling
-Credit
-Possible press questions
-Negotiations in Paris
-Handling
-Compared with other wars
-Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and [Thomas] Woodrow
Wilson
-Public reaction
-The President's forthcoming troop withdrawal announcement
-Kissinger's forthcoming call to Ronald W. Reagan
The President's schedule
-National Security Council [NSC]
-Agenda
-Anti-ballistic missiles [ABMs]
-Kissinger, Gerard C. Smith and Rogers
Kissinger left at 2:25 pm.Also recorded on November 12, 1971
- 617-010 2:19 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Henry A. Kissinger, and Howard H. Baker, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:19 pm to 2:23 pm.
- 617-011 2:23 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:23 pm and 2:26 pm.
- 297-039 2:25 PM · 30 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 2:25 pm and 2:36 pm.
- 617-012 2:26 PM · 1 hr 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, Caspar W. ("Cap") Weinberger, Stephen B. Bull, Clark MacGregor, William E. Timmons, Ronald L. Ziegler, Michael J. ("Mike") Mansfield, Hugh Scott, Gerald R. Ford, Milton R. Young, Allen J. Ellender, George H. Mahon, Frank T. Bow, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:26 pm and 3:36 pm.
- 014-084 2:36 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 2:36 pm to 2:38 pm.
- 297-040 2:36 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:36 pm to 2:38 pm.
- 014-085 2:38 PM · 4 min — John D. Ehrlichman, White House operator, John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:38 pm and 11:59 pm.
- 297-041 2:40 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:40 pm to 2:41 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 297-038, November 12, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/297-038 (accessed October 1, 2026).