{"conversationCode":"311-014","tapeNumber":311,"conversationNumber":14,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-311-014","startDateTime":"1972-01-01T15:57:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-01-01T16:19:00.000Z","startDate":"1-Jan-1972","startTime":"10:57 AM","endDate":"1-Jan-1972","endTime":"11:19 AM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.;","description":"On January 1, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 10:57 am to 11:19 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 311-014 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. 311-14\n\nDate: January 1, 1972\nTime: 10:57 am - 11:19 am\nLocation: Executive Office Building\n\nThe President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.\n\n[See Conversation No. 17-125; one item has been withdrawn from the conversation]","filename":["311-014-splice.mp3"],"tapeStart":"00:14:16","tapeEnd":"00:27:52","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Kissinger, Henry A."],"prevCode":"311-013","nextCode":"311-015","tapeTranscriptFile":"311a.mp3,311b.mp3","transcript":[{"start":990.17,"end":1009.75,"text":"I think the answer should simply be very well listed."},{"start":1010.83,"end":1015.31,"text":"It's pretty sure to talk about that."},{"start":1015.43,"end":1016.86,"text":"It's not about most things."},{"start":1019.58,"end":1026.52,"text":"We should just say it's a premature process and not go into it any further."},{"start":1026.54,"end":1032.74,"text":"I don't think we ought to hang on to any of what might get to Afghanistan and all the rest of it."},{"start":1032.76,"end":1041.46,"text":"I don't think we should reject it, but I'm not going to do anything about it."},{"start":1042.28,"end":1043.26,"text":"I'm sure we haven't been determined."},{"start":1043.32,"end":1045.24,"text":"Only if you're in Russia, I recommend it."},{"start":1045.28,"end":1047.84,"text":"Buta, Russia hasn't been determined yet."},{"start":1050.53,"end":1053.56,"text":"He's really an all-out Indian lover."},{"start":1053.58,"end":1055.1,"text":"We're kidding him."},{"start":1055.12,"end":1058.92,"text":"The other place."},{"start":1059.28,"end":1060.16,"text":"We're kidding him."},{"start":1060.18,"end":1065.61,"text":"He probably knows there's a problem."},{"start":1065.85,"end":1068.03,"text":"But it's difficult."},{"start":1068.05,"end":1079.07,"text":"You know, the Indians just smother you out there with the cops and all their devious trickies when they are really something."},{"start":1079.89,"end":1080.12,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":1081.3,"end":1103.05,"text":"The most difficult questions that I'm going to have are going to be on Vietnam, not in terms of the bombing, so that's no problem, but in terms of EOW and what it is and so forth."},{"start":1103.67,"end":1107.06,"text":"We're now coming to the moment of truth."},{"start":1108.25,"end":1132.15,"text":"Why don't you talk a little bit about how we can say something on this without saying anything, unless you have a tough problem."},{"start":1133.52,"end":1139.87,"text":"I don't, it isn't a question now that we can go back and argue about what a good job we've done."},{"start":1140.13,"end":1143.23,"text":"And I'll make that point, of course."},{"start":1143.33,"end":1148.29,"text":"I guess we've withdrawn $400 and our taxes are down."},{"start":1148.33,"end":1149.03,"text":"We've made a peace offer."},{"start":1149.07,"end":1155.3,"text":"Just say that, but that, of course, won't answer your question."},{"start":1155.32,"end":1158.84,"text":"What do you want to do about it?"},{"start":1159.18,"end":1160.38,"text":"We all look over and have a bit..."},{"start":1161.03,"end":1161.67,"text":"They don't stop there."},{"start":1161.69,"end":1162.73,"text":"All the rockers have been turned down."},{"start":1162.75,"end":1164.77,"text":"They don't start the plane again."},{"start":1164.85,"end":1170.23,"text":"But that's because they're still basically patriots who are not working out with the national audience."},{"start":1170.39,"end":1172.79,"text":"I mean, putting it in turn."},{"start":1172.81,"end":1174.25,"text":"Oh, he's shooting his thing."},{"start":1174.33,"end":1174.69,"text":"There you go."},{"start":1177.35,"end":1184.67,"text":"The thing, the fact that we've got here is it wasn't wheeled."},{"start":1184.76,"end":1186.72,"text":"And there's one where it is."},{"start":1188.11,"end":1190.81,"text":"the attrition and the support from the war."},{"start":1190.99,"end":1193.25,"text":"That's the basic thing."},{"start":1196.13,"end":1197.21,"text":"And the problem is we don't get it."},{"start":1197.23,"end":1199.53,"text":"We can't be in an illusion."},{"start":1199.79,"end":1203.91,"text":"We can do this before a certain intelligent audience is impressed."},{"start":1204.03,"end":1207.77,"text":"But my life, of course, will always be more obvious than others."},{"start":1207.79,"end":1213.03,"text":"But we are in a position now where we're saying, well, we can just wheel it up like we did in November of 69."},{"start":1213.11,"end":1215.32,"text":"We said that time can go on."},{"start":1217.61,"end":1219.77,"text":"It can't be done."},{"start":1220.47,"end":1225.7,"text":"It can't be done in terms of the data of the ganglion period."},{"start":1226.34,"end":1230.54,"text":"We're in a very different period."},{"start":1230.7,"end":1240.79,"text":"Be that as it may, the question of air quality and how long it's used and so forth"},{"start":1242.81,"end":1264.01,"text":"The point is that we get back fundamentally to the question that everybody knows when it comes to an election, and then the question is not how much we can reduce American territories and how many less Americans there are there, but did we not hand in American involvement to see that work?"},{"start":1264.03,"end":1265.07,"text":"But it does not steal some air, Colin."},{"start":1265.09,"end":1265.51,"text":"It doesn't do that."},{"start":1265.61,"end":1267.03,"text":"It's just the fact that it's the war."},{"start":1267.41,"end":1267.73,"text":"You see?"},{"start":1269.43,"end":1271.69,"text":"Maybe, uh..."},{"start":1272.68,"end":1274.46,"text":"The media puts it in terms of the continuation of the war."},{"start":1274.48,"end":1280.25,"text":"Now, I don't think you could say that you could just do the air car for four or five years."},{"start":1280.29,"end":1283.79,"text":"That means something that's not going to work for real."},{"start":1283.83,"end":1286.45,"text":"That means that then you would fail."},{"start":1286.47,"end":1291.43,"text":"And that would mean that there would be a great war going on."},{"start":1294.16,"end":1299.73,"text":"And people find that there's a very negative issue with the offense."},{"start":1299.79,"end":1300.43,"text":"It is now."},{"start":1300.45,"end":1301.29,"text":"It will become one more."},{"start":1301.43,"end":1304.43,"text":"And as you've got to see, this is stuff that I'm told to do."},{"start":1304.45,"end":1310.49,"text":"And I think we all know that our government is playing a big part in it."},{"start":1310.69,"end":1315.43,"text":"And they're coming on this at this point."},{"start":1315.45,"end":1316.56,"text":"And that's the main thing."},{"start":1316.58,"end":1321.28,"text":"And that's the amount of time."},{"start":1324.81,"end":1337.26,"text":"Basically so that we have a way to just take the issue out of the media for about three months."},{"start":1337.32,"end":1342.6,"text":"It would be a very, very clever move if we could do it."},{"start":1342.62,"end":1349.68,"text":"The bombing halt was a totally political move."},{"start":1351.34,"end":1357.34,"text":"It's a question, though, that anything, anything may change."},{"start":1357.56,"end":1363.24,"text":"Maybe 1%, but that's all we're talking about here."},{"start":1363.26,"end":1374.44,"text":"So, yes, there are people who would be positive about this, and we are defensive, and I'll thank you very much."},{"start":1378.88,"end":1382.22,"text":"We don't have the answer right now."},{"start":1382.24,"end":1383.62,"text":"But the dates, it's about to work."},{"start":1388.21,"end":1395.11,"text":"The dates for the next announcement, we're talking to Hall and he's going to make us a report later today."},{"start":1395.15,"end":1401.33,"text":"We've got to work it out in terms of how he's going to make an announcement."},{"start":1401.35,"end":1404.25,"text":"I don't want to go too close to that."},{"start":1404.37,"end":1406.93,"text":"And I have to."},{"start":1409,"end":1434.07,"text":"uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh..."},{"start":1437.54,"end":1445.9,"text":"Now they brought this out because I think that's not to be paid."},{"start":1445.92,"end":1452.82,"text":"I want to go to the same day one of those are moving."},{"start":1452.84,"end":1460.91,"text":"They have to move all of these away from the political spectrum."},{"start":1460.93,"end":1464.69,"text":"I don't expect to report again, but I might have to go."},{"start":1466.05,"end":1467.65,"text":"you might have to consider that early."},{"start":1467.67,"end":1474.55,"text":"You have to get in the independent box, you know, biomechanically."},{"start":1474.81,"end":1480.03,"text":"But the reason you have to do it, I cannot have it left at the time you say you're doing it."},{"start":1480.05,"end":1486.7,"text":"Because I can't get up in the morning and then let you say you're doing it the next day."},{"start":1486.72,"end":1493.14,"text":"If it's something I'm getting on for that time, I will have to put you something like that."},{"start":1493.16,"end":1495.14,"text":"I will have to spend a good part of my time on it there."},{"start":1497.02,"end":1497.84,"text":"But it has to be done before then."},{"start":1497.92,"end":1506.2,"text":"So you're there, and you'll have to make a different kind of decision."},{"start":1506.22,"end":1509.53,"text":"And whenever we put it out, we put it out the 20th second that I'm on the funding board."},{"start":1509.57,"end":1512.09,"text":"So that's what I'm asking."},{"start":1512.11,"end":1517.77,"text":"I can't pretend for the week, whatever the case might be, or whatever the case might be."},{"start":1517.79,"end":1523.68,"text":"So it's more the state of the union, which is so that's the way it is in funding."},{"start":1526.53,"end":1532.35,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":1537.65,"end":1538.12,"text":"That's funny."},{"start":1538.21,"end":1538.6,"text":"That's funny."},{"start":1539.94,"end":1544.44,"text":"Actually, 11th would be the first."},{"start":1544.62,"end":1551.52,"text":"I won't be back this time."},{"start":1551.56,"end":1555.72,"text":"That's funny."},{"start":1557.29,"end":1558.05,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":1558.11,"end":1559.75,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":1559.77,"end":1562.59,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":1562.65,"end":1566.25,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":1567.65,"end":1573.12,"text":"Well okay, well uh..."},{"start":1594.95,"end":1600.99,"text":"I'll be in touch with you when I get a question."},{"start":1679.67,"end":1686.32,"text":"You would go over and get one of my small victim loans."}],"transcriptBoundary":{"start":1004,"end":1679.37,"startMethod":"llm-alignment","endMethod":"llm-alignment"},"transcriptConfidence":"high","transcriptSource":"bigtape","aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Henry Kissinger met to discuss political strategy regarding the Vietnam War and the upcoming public messaging on troop withdrawals. The conversation centered on the difficulty of framing the conflict's conclusion in a way that minimizes media criticism and distinguishes their approach from previous political maneuvers. They agreed on the necessity of managing the timing of future announcements to prevent the war from dominating the national discourse during the critical period leading up to the election.","topics":["Vietnam War","Public Relations","Troop Withdrawal","Political Strategy","Media Management","Election Year Politics"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T14:28:27.864Z"},"topicSlugs":["vietnam-war","public-relations","troop-withdrawals","political-strategy","media-management","election-year-politics"],"audioDurationSec":678,"audioFiles":[{"file":"311-014-splice.mp3","bytes":10854444,"durationSec":678.37,"bitrate":128005,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-10-27T04:37:39.652Z","originalFilename":["311a.mp3","311b.mp3"],"spliceSource":{"spliceType":"bigtape","sourceFiles":["311a.mp3"],"cutStart":1002.5,"cutEnd":1680.87,"adjustedStart":1002.5,"adjustedEnd":1680.87,"boundaryMethod":"llm-alignment","confidence":"high","splicedAt":"2026-10-27T04:37:39.652Z"},"transcriptPrev":{"segments":107,"replacedAt":"2026-10-27T04:41:05.576Z"},"audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/311-014-splice.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/311-014","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/311/conversation-311-014","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}