Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 336-007
Date: Friday, May 5, 1972 at 3:36 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.; Woods, Rose Mary
Recording device: Old Executive Office Building
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/336-007

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[7:09] I've got to go to Camp David.
[7:10] I was wondering about the progress of the speech.
[7:15] I checked on it.
[7:16] I can get it up about 6 to 5, 8 o'clock, 7 to 8 o'clock.
[7:19] I've been working on my own notes anyway.
[7:22] I had a good problem now, and particularly on a point that occurred to me.
[7:32] You're seeing Larry today, aren't you?
[7:39] Yes.
[7:47] I'll be delayed 10 minutes, so don't go out there.
[7:51] Just have the helicopter still coming in.
[8:00] Anyway, I determined, Henry, that I don't think you want to break this on Larry today.
[8:08] But there's got to be a command structure.
[8:11] If we're going to go over all the marbles, we're not going to be able to have that command.
[8:16] somebody in St. Patrick's was blockading somebody, the neighbors were doing something else, and even with this half-assed business of reporting and so forth and so on, I think Abrams has to be taken out.
[8:28] And the way I think we should do it is to send, and I'll recommend this man, I think he loves me very highly, is to establish a new command that we should have had all the time.
[8:45] particularly with the C part of the SPP, an allied commander for Southeast Asia.
[8:50] That, in other words, changes the situation in such a way that you take it out from under St. Pat, the allied commander.
[8:59] Then you could take Palmer, for example, and put Palmer in charge of Southeast Asia.
[9:06] And then the admiral who was on that staff up there should be up for it.
[9:10] I replaced Wyant with this tough little guy, the Army guy, under the Allied Command.
[9:16] I sent him out to that, that lead boat that was in charge of air.
[9:22] But I think we need to do a command structure.
[9:25] Al says he's always been for it for six months.
[9:27] He's doing his hand to it.
[9:30] And I think he's just got to do it.
[9:31] And Abrams, I'd offer him an ambassador to Spain if he wanted to come home anyway.
[9:36] He doesn't want to come home.
[9:39] The right to, that's fine.
[9:42] I think we're going to .
[9:43] All right, fine.
[9:44] Now, with Blair, you've got a tremendously important job in listening, listening, and listening on the ground.
[9:53] The state of the president needs him.
[9:56] He's made the decision.
[9:58] It's final now.
[9:59] In any way, you've got to prepare your outfit.
[10:02] All I need is the president's calendar, and he's reporting on this, and I need to do it.
[10:08] Well, let me say, getting him out of there is the most important thing.
[10:15] Don't argue about that at this point.
[10:36] I'm not so sure that if you had Abrams and she was staffed with Al under it, it wouldn't work.
[10:43] You know what I mean?
[10:45] You've got to save the space.
[10:50] So, you understand, most importantly, you like Paul, right?
[10:53] Yeah.
[10:54] Could he handle the job of Allied Commander for the area?
[10:57] Yeah.
[10:58] But the Puy was under it.
[10:59] The Puy is under it.
[11:01] As I told you, the one thing that concerns me about the police, I mean, he's a hell of a division commander.
[11:06] You don't know whether he could be tied into the summit of the palm of his throat.
[11:11] But also, the Admiral, I want the Admiral on that staff to be a really tough man.
[11:16] He's got to be, I don't, you know what I mean, the best Admiral we've got, you know, that the Navy's got.
[11:22] Because this is a hell of a big Naval operation on landings, as well as mining,
[11:29] and all the rest, correct?
[11:30] Well, that's that one.
[11:31] You picked the great and the old, and it stops over.
[11:32] Oh, yeah, that's the reason, you know, we both let it get to me, because there's... Well, it gets to us, doesn't it?
[11:37] Well, it gets to us, doesn't it?
[11:38] Because it doesn't keep us anywhere.
[11:40] You know, it's like...
[11:40] It's a nice answer.
[11:41] It's a nice answer.
[11:41] Whatever you want.
[11:42] That's what I told you.
[12:04] something that was typical of Russia, old Russia, well, the historical cement, the president was a very, very, very student of Russian history, something that was historical cement.
[12:10] I don't want, the one thing I don't want is something modern.
[12:12] I don't like modern painting.
[12:13] How's that?
[12:13] Good, good.
[12:30] Oh, we ask you, we ask you, we ask you, we ask you, we ask you, we ask you,
[13:01] I guess that we understand, of course, that if you have to conduct the war from day after, you won't have any answer to that.
[13:05] So I said, well, I'll just go back to the project.
[13:06] You know how wars are.
[13:07] It's a bad thing to do.
[13:32] Now, with Larry, do you think you can't handle him?
[13:33] Oh.
[13:33] He's been told wrong, not asked.
[13:34] Oh.
[14:00] Roger, you know, I guess I am.
[14:04] Well, why don't I, uh... What I could do is meet his plan and try to understand it.
[14:22] This way.
[14:22] This is it, though.
[14:28] Cooperation.
[14:31] I think that would mean something to me.
[14:34] You see, I shouldn't be put through emotion, stress, and strain.
[14:39] I'm happy and proud to have gotten that capital to do what I ought to.
[14:43] But, you know, when Rodgers comes in, you'll want to piss him.
[14:47] If you meet him, you'll piss all over him.
[14:49] If you have Laird come in, I think it's something else again.
[14:53] I would say that if you let Laird come over, you don't think about it.
[14:58] Very good.
[14:59] We'll all be up there.
[15:00] Thank you.
[15:01] I would like for Laird to do more, to work more.
[15:32] before he comes in to see me.
[15:34] Could you do that?
[15:35] Sure.
[15:36] Or do you think this is a good idea, or should I just call him and say, well, we'll come do this?
[15:41] Well, I'll have to get Alex Johnson in on Sunday morning.
[15:43] Okay, so he could have heard it, but the time is six years.
[15:48] I don't think he'll find it.
[15:50] I don't think he'll recognize it.
[15:52] He's got a job.
[15:54] He's got a job.
[16:01] I'm sure it wasn't in that video.
[16:03] I talked to you about this command structure.
[16:06] You realize that I hold that vision of the end of this country.
[16:12] I'm throwing in all the chips now.
[16:15] I said, I'm not going to throw in all the chips.
[16:19] And then have a half-assed command structure.
[16:22] So you've got to get there and stop it.
[16:26] I've got to get out of it.
[16:28] Isn't that your view?
[16:29] Absolutely.
[16:30] And I think Abrams, and frankly, I will pay the price.
[16:38] I will pay the price.
[16:41] Particularly with Al.
[16:42] You understand?
[16:43] So I just let him say it.
[16:44] I tell him, Al, we want to get it back.
[16:45] But I think we need a new man in overall command there.
[16:49] And that's all we've got to go for.
[16:54] Just tell him what I believe.
[16:55] I want to order that Monday morning.
[16:57] I'm interested in it.
[17:00] Fair enough.
[17:02] Well, no, no, no, that's something that should be announced by later, you know.
[17:09] We should tell the town on mail.
[17:11] That'll get him on something that says, Doctor, should we not be paying for the palm?
[17:17] I've already been told we haven't been paying for the palm.
[17:22] I've sent the...
[17:23] I've sent the...
[17:23] I've sent the...
[17:24] I've sent the...
[17:25] I've sent the...
[17:25] I've sent the...
[17:27] I've sent the...
[17:29] at the table.
[17:30] There's no question about that.
[17:31] But secondly, I want Palmer to understand.
[17:32] That's the thing I've got to have.
[17:33] He's got to understand.
[17:34] He puts the record in the present.
[17:35] He can handle Palmer.
[17:36] I'll put it around later.
[17:37] Okay.
[17:37] Okay.
[17:57] Let's see if there's too much on the line.
[18:09] There's no rush.
[18:10] I'm going up to New York.
[18:13] I'll be back.
[19:10] So they say that really it all sorts out.