{"conversationCode":"324-040","tapeNumber":324,"conversationNumber":40,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-324-040","startDateTime":"1972-03-22T21:03:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-03-22T22:00:00.000Z","startDate":"22-Mar-1972","startTime":"4:03 PM","endDate":"22-Mar-1972","endTime":"5:00 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.;","description":"On March 22, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:03 pm and 5:00 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 324-040 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"EOB","recordingDevice":"Old Executive Office Building","latitudeEstimated":38.897567,"longitudeEstimated":-77.039147,"chronCode":3,"chronRelease":"Third Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"28-Feb-2002","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 324-40\n\nDate: March 22, 1972\nTime: Unknown between 4:03 pm and 5:00 pm\nLocation: Executive Office Building\n\nThe President talked with an unknown person [Alexander M. Haig ?].\n\n     Vietnam\n          -Bombing\n               -Intensity\n               -Public statements\n               -North Vietnam\n               -“Protective reaction”\n          -Casualties\n               -Prior week","filename":["324-040.mp3"],"tapeStart":"03:58:46","tapeEnd":"04:00:10","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Haig, Alexander M., Jr."],"prevCode":"324-039","nextCode":"324-041","transcript":[{"start":0.03,"end":23.33,"text":"As far as the bombing and all the amounts concerned, it's an approximately the same level of blood and up and down."},{"start":23.35,"end":24.83,"text":"So I don't know whether we said it on that public, but it's just the same."},{"start":24.85,"end":25.51,"text":"It's just the perfect reaction."},{"start":25.53,"end":25.63,"text":"So..."},{"start":29.6,"end":37.01,"text":"Good."},{"start":38.76,"end":41.87,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":41.89,"end":42.09,"text":"Thank you."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Alexander Haig discussed the intensity and public messaging surrounding U.S. bombing operations in North Vietnam. The two reviewed recent casualty figures and confirmed that the current military approach remained consistent with established \"protective reaction\" policies. They ultimately reached a consensus that no deviation from their existing public stance on these air strikes was necessary.","topics":["Vietnam War","Aerial Bombing","Protective Reaction","Military Strategy","Public Relations"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T15:09:29.875Z"},"topicSlugs":["vietnam-war","aerial-bombing","protective-reaction","military-strategy","public-relations"],"audioDurationSec":44,"audioFiles":[{"file":"324-040.mp3","bytes":1775073,"durationSec":44.25,"bitrate":320951,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:41.569Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/324-040.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/324-040","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/324/conversation-324-040","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}