On May 8, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:34 pm and 7:14 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 336-059 of the White House Tapes.
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 Do not cite this transcript as authoritative.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.
The guy with the lettering on it, the guy with the silver lettering, he's offered to pay for his shoes.
I can't see fire.
I agree on all four of them up there.
And he doesn't like it because it's just bad.
Well, that's the way it is.
And frankly, if, under these circumstances, it is wrong, then we just want to get rid of it.
That's right.
The other thing is that if you got home going on an acid loop and all that stuff, and created all that sort of coverage over there, portions of the food, and I don't know how we'll do that, but I hope it's going to do us well.
Good evening.
Five weeks ago, on Easter weekend, the Communist Army's North Vietnam launched a massive invasion of South Vietnam, an invasion that was made possible by tanks, artillery, and other advanced defensive weapons deployed at Hanoi by the Soviet Union and other communist nations.
South Vietnamese have fought bravely to repel the brutal assault.
Casualties on both sides have been high.
Most actually, there have been over 20,000 civilian casualties
to the women and children of the city, which the North Vietnam needs to show, not disregard for Vietnam.
As I announced in my report to the nation 12 days ago, the role of the United States in resisting this invasion has been limited to air and naval strikes and military targets in North and South Vietnam.
As I also pointed out in my report, we have responded to North Vietnam's massive military offensive by undertaking wide-ranging new peace efforts aimed at ending the war with negotiation.
I sent back to Moscow for four days of meetings with General Secretary Brescian and his Soviet leaders.
I instructed him to emphasize our desire for a rapid solution to the war and our willingness to look at all possible approaches.
At that time, the Soviet leaders showed an interest in bringing the war to an end and made a suggestion for both sides.
They heard presumption of negotiations in Paris and indicated they would use their constructive influence.
Based on these assurances,
I authorize our prosecutor to meet privately with the top party of police negotiators in October.
On Tuesday, May 2nd, the parents, Ambassador Porter Lee Hull, resumed the public peace negotiations with the parents on April 27th and Thursday, May 4th.
At those meetings, the public and private
All we heard from them was contested reverence and great pleasure for their demand for the ground.
For example, at the May 2nd secret meeting, I offered up our opinion to talk about every conceivable avenue toward peace.
Anarchy and peace faculty refused to consider any of these proposals.
They refused to offer any new approach of their own.
Instead, they simply reprobated their previous public demands.
Here is where over three years of public and private negotiations with NRIs come down.
The United States,
We have offered a de-escalation of the fighting.
We have offered a de-escalation of the fighting.
We have offered a cease-fire to the deadline for withdrawal of all American forces.
We have offered a de-escalation of the fighting.
We have offered new elections to be international supervised with the Communists participating both in the supervisory bodies and in the elections themselves.
President Thieu has offered to resign one month before the elections.
We have offered an exchange of prisoners and a ratio of 10 North Vietnamese prisoners for every one American prisoner.
North Vietnam has met each of these offers with insolence and insolence.
They have flatly and arrogantly refused to negotiate an end to the war on British peace.
Their answer to every peace offer we have made has been to escalate the war
In two weeks alone, since I offered to resume negotiations, Hanoi has launched three new offensives.
In these two weeks, the risk to the communist government may be as low as 70 to 50 feet for South Vietnam has increased.
And the communist offensive has now reached the point that it greatly threatens the lives of 60,000 American troops still in Vietnam.
There are only two issues left for us in this war.
First, to face the massive invasion, we stand by.
jeopardize the lives of 60,000 Americans who have been in South Vietnam so long for the term.
This will not happen.
We should do whatever is required to safeguard American lives and American lives.
Second, in the face of continuing transitions in the Congress table, if we join with our enemy to install a communist government in South Vietnam, this too will not happen.
We will not cross the line.
We now have a clear, hard choice on three courses of action.
Immediate withdrawal of all armed forces, continued attempts at negotiation, or decisive military action in the war.
I know that many Americans favor the first course of action.
They believe that the way to end the war is for the United States to get out and remove the threat of our remaining troops by simply withdrawing them.
The political spectrum of this would be an easy choice for me to accept.
I did not send over one half, over one half,
I have about 500,000 homes in Vietnam, as I can promise.
But abandoning our commitment to Vietnam here and now would mean turning 17 million South Vietnamese over to communist territory.
It would mean leaving hundreds of American prisoners in communist hands with no bargaining language to get their release.
An America that beat Vietnam would encourage this kind of aggression all over the world.
Aggression in which small nations, armed by their neighbor allies, could be tempted to attack neighboring nations as well.
World peace would be raved up.
The second course of action is to keep on trying to negotiate a 7-7.
This is the course we have preferred to begin.
We shall continue to pursue it.
We shall continue to pursue it.
This is the course we have
We have made every reason of the law and tried every possible path for ending this war with the Congress of Vietnam.
The problem is that it takes two to negotiate.
And now, and throughout the past four years, that our Vietnamese arrogantly refuse to negotiate anything but an imposition by the United States of a continent regime on 70 million people in South Vietnam who do not want a Congress of Vietnam.
It is plain what appears to be a choice among three persons of action in the United States, but really no choice at all.
The killing in this tragic war must stop.
By simply getting out, we will only worsen the plunge.
Our armed soldier negotiations will give an intransigent enemy the time he needs to suppress aggression in the battlefield.
Only one way to stop the killing, that is to keep the weapons of war out of the hands of the international outlaws in our people.
Throughout the war, the United States has exercised a degree of restraint unprecedented in the hours of war.
That was our responsibility as a great nation, a nation which is interested, as America is always, in peace, not in conflict.
However, when the enemy abandons all the strength, throws its whole army into battle, and refuses to negotiate, we face a new situation.
These circumstances
With the 60,000 iron truck, any president who failed to act precisely would have betrayed the trust of his country and the cause of peace.
I have therefore concluded that Hamlet must be denied the weapon, supplies, and needs to continue the aggression.
Full constant coordination with the Republic of Vietnam, I have ordered to follow the measures which are being implemented as I am speaking to you.
All entrances to North Vietnam and its ports will be monitored to prevent access to these ports and North Vietnam and these naval operations from these ports.
United States forces have been directed to take appropriate measures within the internal and plain territorial waters of North Vietnam to litigate and deliver this alarm.
Rail and all other communications will be cut off to the maximum extent possible.
air and naval strikes against military targets in North Vietnam.
These actions are not directed against any other nation.
Countries with ships presently in North Vietnam's ports have been notified that their ships will have three daylight periods to leave for phase eight.
After that, the mines will become active and any ships that have to leave or enter these ports will resort to no arrests.
The war will cease.
following conditions for that.
First, all American prisoners of war must be returned.
Second, there must be an international supervised ceasefire throughout the country.
Once the prisoners of war are released, and once the international supervised ceasefire has begun, we will stop all acts of military force throughout the country.
At that time, we will proceed with a complete withdrawal of all American forces to Vietnam within four months.
These are terms which would not require the surrender and humiliation of more than any other.
They would permit the United States to withdraw the honor.
They would end the killing and bring our POWs home.
They would allow negotiations on a political settlement between the Vietnamese themselves.
They would permit all the nations which have suffered in this long war, Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, to turn at last to the urgent works of healing and peace.
They deserve immediate acceptance by North Vietnam.
Your people have already suffered too much in your pursuit of confidence.
Do not compound their agony with continued arrogance.
Choose instead the path of a
that redeems your sacrifices, guarantees true independence, and pushes you into the era of reconciliation.
To the people of South Vietnam, you shall continue to have our firm support in your resistance against aggression.
It is your spirit that will determine the outcome of the battle.
It is your will that will shape the future of Vietnam.
To other nations, especially those which are allied with North Vietnam, the actions I have announced tonight are not directed against you.
Their sole purpose is to protect the lives of 60,000 Americans who would be gravely endangered in the event that the communist offensive continues to rule over them under the empty imposition of a communist government by brutal aggression among nations of the United States.