Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 311 › Conversation 311-041

Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Laos

Sunday, January 2, 1972 · 12:39 PM–12:48 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation311-041 on Tape 311 (tape position 02:16:24–02:21:13)StartSunday, January 2, 1972 at 12:39 PMEndSunday, January 2, 1972 at 12:48 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 311-041 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss the strategic challenges of formulating a public response regarding U.S. military involvement in Laos and Cambodia. They focus on the difficulty of maintaining a clear policy stance while distinguishing these operations from the broader Vietnamization program. The conversation highlights the administration's concern over how to justify and defend these incursions against anticipated political criticism.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 112.4 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 61.7 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 02:16:24 into the tape and ends around 02:21:13.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

· Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
2:16:24Hello.
2:16:24Yeah.
2:16:24Hello.
2:16:26But one thing about our wings tonight, I want to change the, you know, where the rod is.
2:16:31Therefore, we have all this part of the curtain and, you know, the friction.
2:16:35We're going to have that, the way we're going to do it is we're going to have all these two wires, you know, four of each other.
2:17:21Bye bye, ain't no spare today.
2:18:18Søren, takk for i dag.
2:18:20Ha det bra.
2:18:58Hello?
2:19:00Hello?
2:19:02When do you leave for California?
2:19:20So you're going out with us?
2:19:31Oh, I see.
2:19:35Oh, I see.
2:19:35I know you're going to go out there at 5.30.
2:19:39But I'm not going for 5.30.
2:19:42Go out with us if you want.
2:19:50All right.
2:19:55Fine, fine.
2:19:55Yeah.
2:19:55All right.
2:19:56Go ahead.
2:19:56Okay, on this...
2:20:17I don't understand how to answer all the Laos questions if you don't have any comments, you know, there, etc.
2:20:23But I understand that it began long before, in the last, and they might add to our Laos national podium.
2:20:28So, how does the country stick on that?
2:20:30What can I do?
2:20:32The question is, what are we talking about?
2:20:36It's gone.
2:20:37In the city.
2:20:40In the city, because you have a city in the city.
2:20:46The separation of South Vietnam and the rest of the Indian infiltration was justified on the basis of the repressions of the Americans.
2:20:58The problem, of course, is this.
2:20:58To what extent are we going to commit ourselves for the protests in Cambodia and the events in Laos as distinct from the Vietnam and Vietnamization?
2:21:09That's the critical question that many smart guys will ask.

NARA Description

On January 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:39 pm to 12:48 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 311-041 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 311-41

Date: January 2, 1972
Time: 12:39 pm - 12:48 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

[See Conversation No. 17-142]

Also recorded on January 2, 1972

  • 017-140 12:24 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 12:24 pm to 12:28 pm.
  • 311-039 12:24 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:24 pm to 12:28 pm.
  • 017-141 12:28 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:28 pm and 12:39 pm.
  • 311-040 12:28 PM · 19 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 12:28 pm and 12:39 pm.
  • 017-142 12:39 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 12:39 pm to 12:48 pm.
  • 017-143 12:48 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:48 pm and 3:30 pm.
  • 311-042 12:48 PM · 20 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 12:48 pm and 3:30 pm.
  • 311-043 12:48 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:48 pm and 3:30 pm.

All 39 conversations from January 2, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 311-041, January 2, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/311-041 (accessed October 12, 2026).