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Conversation 327-001

TapeTape 327StartMonday, March 27, 1972 at 8:42 AMEndMonday, March 27, 1972 at 9:21 AMTape start time00:02:35Tape end time00:07:13ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Haig, Alexander M., Jr.;  [Unknown person(s)]Recording deviceOld Executive Office Building
AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig discuss the scheduling of Henry Kissinger and the President's desire to insulate him from bureaucratic distractions regarding personnel like Marshall Green and Arthur K. Watson. The conversation shifts to the military situation in Vietnam, specifically the influx of North Vietnamese aircraft and skepticism regarding recurring military predictions of enemy offensives. Nixon expresses a cautious outlook on the coming month, emphasizing the need for prepared, strategic responses to potential enemy aggression.

Henry KissingerVietnam WarMilitary intelligenceNorth Vietnamese military activityWhite House personnel
AudioNARA Description

On March 27, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 8:42 am and 9:21 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 327-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 327-1

Date: March 27, 1972
Time: Unknown between 8:42 am and 9:21 am
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

     Henry A. Kissinger
          -Schedule
          -Possible actions
               -Marshall Green
               -Arthur K. Watson
               -Green
          -Schedule

     Vietnam
          -Military activities
                -Aircraft
                -North Vietnamese

An unknown person entered and left at an unknown time between 8:42 am and 9:21 am.

                        -Possible offensive
                             -Reports

     Northern Ireland

     Vietnam
          -Negotiations
               -Kissinger
               -The President’s view
Transcript (AI-Generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

How's Henry doing?
Good.
I hope you haven't bothered him too much down there.
The poor guy, when he gets down there, he'll probably worry if we don't call him.
But, uh, tell him to keep going.
There's really nothing to bother him about.
You know, there's not...
He shouldn't get all... You know, otherwise, if he were here, he'd be snarling up and down about that sort of... About Marshall Green and about, uh, that sort of fellow, uh, Watson and so forth.
What the hell does that make any difference?
Don't you realize that all these things that you just figured in the last week I was looking over in the summer, you probably thought they were spotting crises at least.
Not with Mom, the goddamn thing.
You know, everybody's forgotten about Coral Watson now.
And I think he's agreeing to make sure that he's safe.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
Fine.
Is there anything new?
I noticed, what about the, we're getting quite a few aircraft coming down.
On the other hand, it must be doing some good, Al.
Because basically, let's fix it.
So they just may be waiting for a purpose to be there unless you don't have it.
But you know and I know that if they could have done it, they would have done something.
But now, do you think so?
This was almost the first of April.
We've only got a month left.
I hope we can set those up very, very, very well.
It's a long chance, so it has to be.
I don't know how.
Well, I must say that, you know, I've been reading the reports, and I guess I've told you that you've been reading the reports ever since, I mean, from the first of February, every week, the military has predicted events.
Am I right or wrong?
That is right.
I'm not complaining.
I'm just saying, though, that they must have felt they had to start to do it when they had many of those others.
Yeah, yeah.
That's what they ought to be able to do.
They're pretty much ready for it this time, aren't they?
Right.
Okay.
Anything else that's bothering you about here this morning?
They don't want to have that thing.
We're just searching.
Yeah.
But they are acting by force.
I don't know where they're going.
I don't know what they're going to do with that week.
But there's a lot of things to do.
Okay.
Hold it.
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