Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 336 › Conversation 336-037

Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Foreign Policy

Monday, May 8, 1972 · 5:23 PM–5:27 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation336-037 on Tape 336 (tape position 02:08:11–02:11:10)StartMonday, May 8, 1972 at 5:23 PMEndMonday, May 8, 1972 at 5:27 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 336-037 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger deliberate on the strategic options for ending the Vietnam War, weighing the implications of immediate withdrawal against the continued pursuit of a negotiated settlement. They conclude that a total withdrawal would jeopardize American lives, abandon prisoners of war, and embolden global aggression. Ultimately, the two reject unilateral retreat, reaffirming their preference for persistent negotiation while acknowledging the difficulties posed by North Vietnamese intransigence regarding the South Vietnamese government.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 112.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 112.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 49.5 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 02:08:11 into the tape and ends around 02:11:10.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
2:08:39We now have a clear-hearted choice of our three forces of action.
2:08:43We need to withdraw all of our forces to commence a negotiation or precise a military action to end the war.
2:08:47I know that many Americans think of the first force of action.
2:08:51They believe that the way to end the war is for the United States to get out and remove the threat of war, meaning through a present-day withdrawal.
2:09:00From a political standpoint, this would be a means of choice that we need to send.
2:09:06I did not send a reply to that.
2:09:07I did not send a reply to that.
2:09:11But abandoning our commitment to Vietnam, here in Vietnam, to remain in Germany's 17th League, is not the only thing we will accomplish there in Germany.
2:09:16It would risk the lives of 60,000 Americans who are still living in Vietnam.
2:09:18It would mean leaving hundreds of American prisoners in communist camps with no bargaining power to keep them from leaving.
2:09:32The American League Vietnam will encourage this kind of aggression all over the world.
2:09:37Aggression from small nations, armed with energy and arms, will be attempted.
2:09:41The attack will take place as well.
2:09:43World peace will be a great challenge.
2:09:45The second course of action is to keep on trying to push itself.
2:09:48This is the course that we prefer to begin.
2:09:51We should continue to pursue it.
2:09:58We have every reason to go on, try every possible path, to pretend it's war, but we're not the same.
2:10:01The problem is that it leads to a coercion.
2:10:03And now, in the past four years, we've partly and inherently refused to negotiate, negotiate any, but an imposition by the United States of a communist regime with 17 million people in South Vietnam who do not want to compromise.
2:10:10It is plain that what appears to be a choice among three forces of action in the United States is really not a choice at all.

NARA Description

On May 8, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:23 pm and 5:27 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 336-037 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 336-37

Date: May 8, 1972
Time: Between 5:23 and 5:27 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

[See Conversation No. 24-16]

Also recorded on May 8, 1972

  • 024-014 4:57 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:57 pm and 5:23 pm.
  • 024-015 4:57 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:57 pm and 5:23 pm.
  • 336-033 4:57 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:57 pm and 5:23 pm.
  • 336-034 4:57 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:57 pm and 5:23 pm.
  • 336-035 4:57 PM · 17 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 4:57 pm and 5:23 pm.
  • 336-036 4:57 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:57 pm and 5:23 pm.
  • 024-016 5:23 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 5:23 pm to 5:27 pm.
  • 336-038 5:27 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:27 pm to 5:30 pm.

All 94 conversations from May 8, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 336-037, May 8, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/336-037 (accessed October 9, 2026).