Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 337 › Conversation 337-020
Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and CIA
Wednesday, May 10, 1972 · 1:05 PM–3:35 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building
AI Summary
President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss the efficacy of CIA-led propaganda efforts and military operations in Vietnam. Nixon expresses frustration with the intelligence agency's historical performance while emphasizing the need for improved coordination and higher-quality materials regarding U.S. air strikes. The conversation centers on leveraging psychological operations to impact the morale of North Vietnamese leadership and their forces.
- Vietnam War
- CIA
- Propaganda
- Air strikes
- Military morale
- Psychological warfare
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 03:41:07 into the tape and ends around 03:45:11.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 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. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 337-020 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 337-20
Date: May 10, 1972
Time: Unknown between 1:02 and 3:35 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President dictated a memorandum to Henry A. Kissinger.
Vietnam
-Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]
-Propaganda
-South Vietnam, Hanoi area
-Support for the President
-US military action
-Impact on North Vietnam leaders and people
-Air strikes
-Supervision
-Improvement
-Quantity, quality
-NeedsAlso recorded on May 10, 1972
- 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.
- 337-016 12:36 PM · 26 min — 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.
- 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.
- 337-021 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.
- 337-023 1:05 PM · 9 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.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 337-020, 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/337-020 (accessed October 12, 2026).