Nixon, Ziegler & Woods on Vietnam War and Media Relations

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I found that, uh, Pat had already purchased a boat from the Bravins near the canal where this port was, and I said, I'm going to give it to you, and you'll have to buy some more, and I told Pat to do it, and I did it, and so it was done, and we went on to do this, and Pat was shooting through the pots and pans, and so forth, and, uh, Pat, and Dan, and O.J.

They were both here.

They couldn't have done anything.

They were so pleased.

I saw them yesterday with that boy.

They were coming back from church when I left.

I met them in the off-plot.

I know it isn't easy.

Well, I think it did.

He carried on a normal conversation with me yesterday.

I walked across the street with him.

They make so-called nervous breakdowns that a lot of people live through.

Oh, sure.

The old lady is a sad thing, unless they put them in a booby hatch.

And that drove them crazy.

Totally crazy.

But in the present time, you know, these things happen.

You don't live in the same.

They're making pressures on you.

Well, that's right.

You never know.

You never know what... And no one ever knows what they're all breaking for, you know.

We bounced close to that.

I think I'll add nothing this afternoon at this point.

Well, let me say that in general things, and I protested here today, that it would be a good incentive for me to let the development piece from the other point of view,

The main thing around is to keep statements from coming out of the White House.

I do not want the White House to be going well or going badly, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, to the extent you possibly can.

I didn't simply say, well, now this is a matter of the president of a very close country.

We're incidentally...

We're in a situation that's actually protected through the Congressional Act.

When I talked to the President, he had a private report from the General Electric.

He said that there would be, well, the line did bend, but his opinion was not great.

That's still the situation.

There's going to bend some more, but the thing to do is to prepare that it is simply

Are we concerned about the actions of the enemy?

I thought what I was going to do was I'd either decide this afternoon to simply say, well, the state has dealt the best of the war against us this morning.

only make three basic points and then you get a press.

And as we've said, we expect that the state has made a detailed statement about our political assessment and the reason that they've done what's needed in the State Department.

We, of course, are reviewing the situation and following it closely.

Now, I wouldn't say we're reviewing it.

I'd just say we are following the situation closely.

And I don't think the statement will be made up to this point in the case where our reaction could be.

But what our reaction will be, and I'm not going to go beyond that, is a little mystery.

What do you mean that we'd like to hit North Vietnam?

I'm not going to say anything further about that.

The enemy has clearly violated not only the 54 Accords, but the 19, what we get, so-called understandings of the 19, of the Mokomong, and the

That's what it is.

I think that's what it is.

Well, is the United States going to be in the ground force?

Is there going to be a massive bombing?

Well, I'm not going to comment on what we're going to do.

I just say no.

I would not say that we're not going to comment on what we're going to do.

Now, with regard to the recommitment of ground forces,

I don't know whether we want to say that.

Well, there's two ways to deal with it.

I don't want to leave an impression that we are, because that would get all the Senate stirred up.

Two ways to deal with it.

Generally, our policy, as you know, has been announced in relation to South Vietnam.

Vietnam was attacked by the state of the state.

Let me just say that when an enemy takes an action like this, obviously we are going to review the situation in all aspects of it.

Now that leaves it open, somehow leaves the threat action.

Just saying that I wanted to just say this.

We have stated our position, President, we have stated our position in the past in regard to

what our action can be.

And I'm not going to go into that.

That's a military decision.

A military decision that I am not going to discuss.

Now, except from the ground forces, I can say you should not draw assumptions from that statement.

This thing, Rod, you could possibly do is not get to the total doubt

I think that's what we really want to have come out of here to.

Rather than, you don't have to repeat the threat and all that.

They know that it's been made.

Just say that our position has been stated.

Our president has stated his position on this.

And I'm not going to say anything further.

I'm not going to say anything further.

Now, on the ground, of course, it's

If you could ask Kessinger what to say about ground force.

Well, we talked about it, but we talked about leaving it.

Now we're all spread out there.

I don't think it's anything I have to be concerned with.

We have to concern ourselves with the man.

Well, I don't want to leave that.

Yeah.

One way of ground force war ahead of this is they come.

Here's a withdrawal of the Indian gentleman.

President.

President is there.

will make a, as the President has said, he will make another announcement before the 1st of May.

It will be based on the situation at that time.

Why don't you answer the question that way?

The President will make another announcement with regard to our tree bubbles with regard to the 1st of May, and it will be based on the situation at that time.

At that time.

Well, if you look at it, it's implied we're going to continue.

Peter said the President, as he indicated in his press conference, will make another announcement with regard to our withdrawals.

What that announcement is will depend on that.

Will it be more withdrawal or not?

Will it reverse?

I'm not going to comment on that.

We'll make another announcement on the 1st of May, and I would advise you not to speculate about that announcement.

Well, let's leave off the last.

I just said we're going to make another announcement on the 1st of May, and I'm not going to go beyond that.

How does that sound?

You have said you would make another statement regarding the withdrawal.

So why don't you fire back away from that now?

Don't say that.

Let's just say another announcement before the President.

There ain't nothing to add.

With regard to our as the President just said, the amount that may be that announcement, the corporate announcement, we'll be able to pay them in certain instances at that time.

Then on the other, I would say, as part of the presentation at the time,

And they've got it well positioned to indicate that we expected the attacks, that we expected the loss of territory, and all that sort of thing.

That's all been pretty well positioned.

So I've been talking to the guys based in one of the, you know, just on the background nations, particularly the TV guys, and they're making the point that, well, we assume that the news media world will assess this in a different way now because they've had experience with this type of thing before.

who told the students to attack her in the early stages.

Because they could concentrate their forces in the area.

And you take, for example, as you guys know from what I've talked to, fire bases are set up to repel a major attack.

Well, we're not trying to create any sense of this is a major attack.

We're concentrating our forces.

And we're not indicating that.

and that you're not going to characterize it.

You're not going to characterize it.

I wouldn't say it's serious.

I think you're not going to go beyond what has been said.

We're not going to assess it day by day.

What are we going to do about it?

That's true.

In covering the past.

You could say I'm not going to go beyond what the President has said in the past on that subject.

What about this or that?

We aren't tripping in the way you want to.

How's that sound to you?

Well, it's a question that you're trying to get across.

We want to leave hanging in there the uncertainty and the dread for the expectation that there will be a reaction to this military action on the part of the Army.

We haven't had this because of what we do.

We also want to leave in there, no Pollyannish talk about it.

We're not saying anything about it.

We just say it's an Asia attack, and let's not say how they're fighting, and so forth.

And the statements regarding the attack will be made from Saigon, by the military command in Saigon, and the evaluations of the military effect of the attack, how are the arms fighting, and so forth and so on.

But certainly, if you would think that it's a willingness to try to evaluate the attack day by day, we believe it will be several days.

Several days before the extent of the attack.

Why don't you say that it will be several days?

the extent of the damage of the attack and its effect will be clearly known quickly, and it is continuing at this point.

And therefore, you're not going to comment on it during these days while the attack is still in progress.

that the comments will be made by the military commanders, by General Abrams and the people, and that when you're just saying we're not going to comment on the day-to-day reports, General Abrams will make those reports.

How does that sound?

It's good.

So don't.

And then they say, well, how are they fighting?

Well, they're loud and all that bullshit.

There's some we cannot comment on.

Well, that's really not a building that's that good.

Well, good morning to you, sir.

We had a lot of that.

Well, that's what we've been trying to attack.

Yes.

It actually, the other, it's a definite, they all know there are no Americans involved, except for here.

I mean, where is this?

You might think that.

It's been made.

It's been made outside.

That's right.

Yeah.

We brought you safe.

We know, gentlemen.

Uh, this is a, and as you can see, you know, President General Abrams will be made by the, by the, by the military commanders in the field.

And they can say, as you know, gentlemen, this is a South Vietnamese operation.

And all the Americans involved in this are here.

And the, uh, the South Vietnamese operation is very good.

We will, we will, uh, hold,

in the air, the casualty might go up to 10, go up to hell.

Of course, they go to 10, 100, and they go to 20.

You know, because of the air.

Yes, she does.

Do you consider the airport not a short-range building?

I think probably the casualty would get a sustained increase.

I don't know.

Well, it's been a short time.

You don't have one on the ground.

Do you lose?

Even in consultation with his major advisors,

I don't know what his name is, but I don't know what his name is.

I don't know.

I think he's a very quick one.

Go ahead.

$125 million.

Of course, Christ saves no corporation.

Individuals don't pay taxes sometimes, but Christ saves the corporation.

He knows that every goddamn corporation in the country has an audit.

Of course they pay taxes.

What else?

He said something else.

Well, he also said that $450,000.

That $400,000 he could file for the SEC.

Now that's anyway done with stories.

I have a feeling we're out of time.

It's fate.

Well, but you didn't begin to look tired, did you?

No, I think so.

Well, how do you feel?

I think so.

I know I'll have some day to loose it up by getting a new revelation, but I have a feeling it's just goddamn confusing to begin with.

Yeah, but it's turning into something.

It's more of a charade.

This MacGyver thing helped me.

from a national standpoint, because there's still another element of charge that I lay back, which is that I lay the charge back on them.

I think it's beginning to plan as to totally plan to tell some of the people who, I suppose, some of our people want to correct, and other people who don't.

I don't know how to do that.

I'll tell you, you know, the strength of this is what's going on right now.

It's all successful.

The law has a very important sense of the state.

And what is it?

It's very long, pretty infancy.

Mrs. Lentz and Mr. Muskie and Mr. McGregor.

I heard they had that.

Well, it was a bit of a punting on the today show.

I thought it was quite a collection.

I don't know.

kind of a cheap side.

Wallace's wife, not much.

Lindsay's wife, fairly attractive.

A little offbeat.

Wallace's wife is not a pretty, just to be honest.

Wallace's wife is pretty, but she's the best worker in the box.

Jackson's wife, she's a nice person.

And she came off as a nice person, but she doesn't.

I mean, the first lady is just, you know, 900% of the world.

But all this, as a matter of fact, this career in the nation, this is a serious thing.

And it's obvious, due to the fact that they've got the brain of the government, whether or not they haven't had that, they're not going to stand face down all day with the other people and those guns.

And so they don't have the truth.

But I do.

If you're talking to the press boys, they don't follow me.

I don't know who you're talking to.

to get back again.

I look up to the speakers sometimes, and I don't think they have all the proof, but we can check them out at the Battle of the Boats.

We shouldn't get ancient.

The most famous one was the March 20 version of the O.P.

It was a massive assault on a British commander.

One British commander, a general in government, was retired as a result of what they said.

And the Germans lost the war.

And that's when it began.

Because you see, the line bent, but did not break.

If you ever get a chance to use it, because that's the example of it.

It was the betting that the Germans had to win the war, or they lost it.

But they poured everything in, and they killed them.

The line is bent, but it did not break.

And here's the situation here.

Now, this one, they've done a little better than the other half.

It'll break the whole goddamn thing.

At this time, we make a conclusion.

You know what I'm saying?

And here, you realize what's going to happen.

Either the line is whole, which we think it may,

and then the dispatchers are gonna, they're taking their shot now rather than later in the end of tomorrow.

Or the line member, I mean, if there was all of you, maybe you shouldn't have gotten it.

You didn't make it, but you saved my job today.

It's better now.

Yep.

Okay, I can, oh, all right.

Yes, sir.

Nixon, Ziegler & Woods on Vietnam War and Media Relations

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on April 3, 1972

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