Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 381 › Conversation 381-013

Nixon & Kissinger on Foreign Policy and Diplomatic Strategy

Monday, December 18, 1972 · 1:17 PM–1:18 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 1 min

ParticipantsKissinger, Henry A.; Nixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation381-013 on Tape 381StartMonday, December 18, 1972 at 1:17 PMEndMonday, December 18, 1972 at 1:18 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 381-013 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger met briefly to assess the status of ongoing strategic negotiations, characterized by a mix of high expectations and subsequent complications. The participants discussed the uncertainty surrounding current initiatives, ultimately concluding that they had no viable alternative but to proceed with their chosen course of action. This brief exchange served to reaffirm the administration's resolve in the face of unpredictable diplomatic developments.

Audio

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
Low.
Oh, very high.
Yeah, good.
But it got bad.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
That was the, uh, marching yard.
Well, it's called encouraging, I forget.
I don't know.
We'll see.
We'll see whether it works or not.
No choice.
No choice.
Okay.
Now, yeah.

NARA Description

On December 18, 1972, Henry A. Kissinger and President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:17 pm to 1:18 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 381-013 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 381-13

Date: December 18, 1972
Time: 1:17 pm – 1:18 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

Henry A. Kissinger talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 34-128]

Also recorded on December 18, 1972

  • 034-126 1:14 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:14 pm and 1:15 pm.
  • 381-011 1:14 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:14 pm and 1:15 pm.
  • 034-127 1:15 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 1:15 pm to 1:16 pm.
  • 381-012 1:15 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:15 pm to 1:16 pm.
  • 034-128 1:17 PM · 1 min — Henry A. Kissinger and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 1:17 pm to 1:18 pm.
  • 034-129 1:18 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 2:45 pm.
  • 381-014 1:18 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 1:20 pm.
  • 381-015 1:20 PM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and David C. Hoopes met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:20 pm to 1:40 pm.

All 29 conversations from December 18, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 381-013, December 18, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/381-013 (accessed October 5, 2026).