Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 337 › Conversation 337-016
Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Blockade of North Vietnam
Wednesday, May 10, 1972 · 12:36 PM–1:02 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building
AI Summary
President Nixon and Henry Kissinger met to discuss the strategic implications of the recently implemented blockade of North Vietnam and the ongoing North Vietnamese offensive. They analyzed the potential impact on the upcoming Moscow summit, the status of domestic political opposition, and the military situation in regions like Hue and An Loc. The President reaffirmed his decision to maintain the blockade, viewing it as a necessary display of strength to prevent a collapse in South Vietnam and to secure his position during an election year.
- Vietnam War
- Blockade of North Vietnam
- Soviet-US Relations
- Moscow Summit
- Vietnamization
- Domestic political opposition
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.4 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 112.2 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 80.2 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 03:01:07 into the tape and ends around 03:26:49.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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
NARA Description
On May 10, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:36 pm to 1:02 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 337-016 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 337-16
Date: May 10, 1972
Time: 12:36-1:02 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Henry A. Kissinger.
Vietnam
-Blockade
-Melvin R. Laird
-A press story
-Source
-John B. Connally
-Connally
-Confrontation with Democrats
-Laird statement
-North Vietnam
-Xuan Thuy
-Moscow
-Le Duc Tho
-Soviets
-Meeting in Paris with US official
-Statement on US-Soviet meeting
-New proposals
-Kissinger's message
-Tenor
-North Vietnam offensive
-Gen. Creighton W. Abrams, Jr.
-B-52 strikes
-Kontum
-Targets
-Hue area
-Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] analysis
-Long Binh
-Number of divisions
-Quality
-B-52 strikes
-Number
-Hue
-North Vietnamese failure to take
-US retaliation
-Methods
-Damage to North Vietnam
-Mining
-Railroads
-Air strikes
-Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricants [POL]
-Haiphong area
-Accuracy
-Damage
-Bridge
-Soviet Summit
-Cancellation
-Ronald L. Ziegler statement
-Blockade
-Press reaction
-New York Times
-Washington Post
-James B. (“Scotty”) Reston
-Motives
-Stewart J.O. Alsop
-Soviet Summit
-Conally (?)
-Cancellation
-Possibility
-Soviet actions
-US response
-Vietnam
-Middle East
-Agreements
-Conditions
-Connally statement
-Press reports
-US stakes in Vietnam
-North Vietnam offensive
-Consequence of US defeat
-Southeast Asia
-Blockade
-Success
An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 12:36 pm.
Food order
The unknown person left at an unknown time before 1:02 pm.
Vietnam
-Blockade
-Mobilization of Army of the Republic of Vietnam [ARVN] support
-Nguyen Van Thieu’s statement
-Vietnamization policy
-President's decision
-Timing
-Election year
-H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-Soviet Summit
-Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]
-Kissinger's Georgetown friends
-Consequences of US defeat
-Domino Theory
-Thailand
-Blockade support
-Marshall Green
-Malaysia
-Cambodia
-Australia
-New Zealand
-Philippines
-Japanese
An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 12:36 pm.
A delivery
The unknown person left at an unknown time before 1:02 pm.
Vietnam
-Blockade support
-British
-Letter to George R.S. Baring [Earl of Cromer]
-Summit
-Cancellation
-Compared with US victory in Vietnam
-Future Summits
-North Vietnam offensive
-Consequences for US
-President's opponents
-North Vietnam offensive
-People's Republic of China [PRC]
-Soviet Union
-Blockade
-Soviet Union
-PRC
-Soviet Summit
-European Security Council
-Soviet Summit
-Possible postponement
-Kissinger’s view
-North Vietnam offensive
-Hue
-Soviet Summit
-Possible postponement
-Press
-Columnists
-Kissinger's press conference
-Laird's press conference
-Clifford P. Case-Frank F. Church amendment
-Provisions
-Effects for administration
-Compared with Michael J. Mansfield proposal
-Chances of passage in House
-Effect of polls
-A memorandum
-Charles W. Colson
-Public opinion
-Edward M. Kennedy
-Washington Post
-New York Times
-John Kenneth Galbraith
-Kennedy
-Newsweek
-Henry Hubbard
-Meeting with Kissinger
-Meeting with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
-Criticism of the President
-North Vietnam offensive
-South Vietnam defeat possibility
-Prisoners of war [POWs]
-Soviet Summit
-President's attendance
-Possible public impression
A vote on the German treaties
-Time
Vietnam
-Possible South Vietnam collapse
-Air strikes
-An Loc
-Destruction
-Kontum
-Casualties expected
-Hue
-Ground action
-North Vietnam reserve strength
-Peace offers
-Negotiations
-Kissinger’s meeting with columnists
Kissinger left at 1:02 pm.Also recorded on May 10, 1972
- 024-065 12:32 PM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez talked on the telephone from 12:32 pm to 12:33 pm.
- 337-015 12:35 PM · 32 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 12:35 pm and 12:36 pm.
- 337-017 1:05 PM · 5 min — 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 1:05 pm and 3:35 pm.
- 337-018 1:05 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:05 pm and 3:35 pm.
- 337-019 1:05 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:05 pm and 3:35 pm.
- 337-020 1:05 PM · 4 min — 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 1:05 pm and 3:35 pm.
- 337-021 1:05 PM · 21 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 1:05 pm and 3:35 pm.
- 337-022 1:05 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:05 pm and 3:35 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 337-016, May 10, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/337-016 (accessed October 12, 2026).