Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 307 › Conversation 307-012

Nixon & McCormack on India-Pakistan War and Foreign Policy

Wednesday, December 8, 1971 · 2:15 PM–2:22 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); McCormack, John W.Conversation307-012 on Tape 307 (tape position 00:22:15–00:28:16)StartWednesday, December 8, 1971 at 2:15 PMEndWednesday, December 8, 1971 at 2:22 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 307-012 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with former Speaker of the House John W. McCormack to exchange social pleasantries and discuss the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan. Nixon expressed a desire to avoid U.S. military involvement, characterizing the situation as a complex geopolitical power struggle involving the Soviet Union and China. The President emphasized a policy of providing only humanitarian aid while attempting to utilize the United Nations to de-escalate the regional violence.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 19% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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?
Yes, hello, how are you?
Fine.
She was just delighted to be able to go.
And only to regret I didn't come.
I had sort of a little problem that day, you know, with the impact and all that.
But she was just, she wanted to be there to show what the country felt about her.
That's what we wanted to convey.
Well, we know that, and as I said to you probably every day, the example that you have set, that she set for you in your life, that her life was a fine one for the country and that it would be much longer.
to represent the country as well as ourselves personally.
I sure will, I sure will, and she will.
Certainly will, I'll do that, I'll do that, and I'll talk to what you call, I'll talk.
You just stand up and I'll, you want to,
to keep you in the battle trenches.
Well, actually, the India-Pakistan ones, there really isn't anything we can do to stop the Indians.
We're determined to rattle it out, and Pakistan has not handled itself too well.
And of course, we don't want to get involved.
We have one more already.
Russia and China.
Right?
That's really their area of influence.
Well, that's exactly why, that's the way we would, I'd put it a little, sort of say we would give millions for humanitarian things, but we're not going to give us, we're not giving any aid for the war.
We're not even Indians.
Absolutely.
Particularly Russians.
China has influence on Pakistan.
Pakistan would have stopped them because they're going to lose.
But at the present time, the Indians see a chance to finish off their old enemy.
And the Russians are kind of weepful because they know that Pakistan has been leaning to China.
It's a dirty game, truly dirty.
They may not in the long run know, but right now they can't do anything for a reason that the Indians, this thing came ahead of the time.
Weather-wise, when those great mountain passes coming down over the Malaya Mountains are all covered with snow, so the Chinese couldn't move on any if they wanted to.
That's part of the problem.
So, but I would say this, if I were in India, looking to the future, I would be worried about my northern neighbors, because the Chinese will not forget.
They will not forget.
They will lose.
I think they'll, they can rack up India any time they want to, you know.
Well, we just hope it doesn't happen, but we're doing our best to cool it, and so the United Nations folks could, we should put, we could have folks actually withdraw for some of the ways in India where it belongs to not withdraw.
Yeah.
Yes.
Yes, yes, uh-huh.
Uh-huh, uh-huh.
Yes, yes.
Yes, yes.
Of course, of course.
Right.
Right.
Yes, yes, yes.
Well, I tell you, I sure will have it in mind because the, uh, the, uh,
That place down there, you know, that's always a little bit of a hot box, too.
I mean, that's Central America.
They're more pro-American than most Americans.
You bet your life.
You bet your life.
He sure is.
He sure is.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Well, I understand.
Let me say, I appreciate it very much, and I'm certain we'll have it mined.
I'm sure something will come up.
I hope it does.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, we know that we have it both.
We appreciate it, and we'll just look forward to seeing one of these days down here.
Bye.

NARA Description

On December 8, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John W. McCormack met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:15 pm to 2:22 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 307-012 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 307-012

Date: December 8, 1971
Time: 2:15 pm - 2:22 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with John W. McCormack.

[See Conversation No. 16-50]

Also recorded on December 8, 1971

  • 016-050 2:15 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John W. McCormack talked on the telephone from 2:15 pm to 2:22 pm.
  • 016-051 2:22 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:22 pm and 3:30 pm.
  • 016-052 2:22 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:22 pm and 3:30 pm.
  • 307-013 2:22 PM · 51 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 2:22 pm and 3:30 pm.
  • 307-014 2:22 PM · 3 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 2:22 pm and 3:30 pm.
  • 307-015 2:22 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:22 pm and 3:30 pm.
  • 307-016 2:22 PM · 37 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:22 pm and 3:30 pm.
  • 307-017 2:22 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:22 pm and 3:30 pm.

All 76 conversations from December 8, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 307-012, December 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/307-012 (accessed October 12, 2026).