Conversation 382-017

TapeTape 382StartSunday, December 17, 1972 at 2:24 PMEndSunday, December 17, 1972 at 2:45 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Recording deviceOld Executive Office Building

On December 17, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:24 pm to 2:45 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 382-017 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 382-17

Date: December 17, 1972
Time: 2:24 pm - 2:45 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

       Vietnam War
            -Haig’s schedule
                 -Trip to Saigon
                       -Departure
                              -Timing
                 -Draft of the President’s letter to Nguyen Van Thieu
                 -Meeting with Thieu
                       -Duration
                                  -48-

      NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                             (rev. June-08)

                                                 Conversation No. 382-17 (cont’d)

                   -Interpreter
           -Tone
                  -Thieu’s view
                         -US-North Vietnam relations
                         -Henry A. Kissinger’s press conference
-The President’s letter to Thieu
     -Tone
           -Haig’s trip to Saigon
                  -Negotiations
           -US-South Vietnam relations
                  -Bilateral deal
-Negotiations
     -Kissinger’s press conference
     -US-South Vietnam relations
           -Thieu
           -Bilateral deal
     -Thieu’s view
           -US bombing north of 20th Parallel
                  -Hanoi
     -North Vietnam
           -Haig’s view
                  -Statement, December 16, 1972
                         -October 1972
                         -Response to Kissinger’s press conference
                         -Distribution
                               -Pentagon
-US bombing north of 20th Parallel
     -B-52s
           -Weather
           -TACAIR
                  -Escorts
                         -Surface to air missiles [SAMs]
                  -Possible problems
     -Necessity
     -North Vietnam’s possible reactions
-The President’s letter to Thieu
     -Haig’s reading
     -Tone
           -Kissinger
     -Haig’s reading
                                            -49-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                       (rev. June-08)

                                                           Conversation No. 382-17 (cont’d)

                        -Final paragraph
                  -Final paragraph
                        -Negotiations
                              -US-South Vietnam relations
                                     -Ultimatum
                                     -Cooperation
                                     -Settlement agreement
                  -Radio Hanoi
                  -Thieu
                  -Tone
                  -Thieu
                        -The President
             -Haig’s meeting with Thieu
                  -Senators’ views on settlement agreement
                        -Barry M. Goldwater
                        -John C. Stennis
                        -“Hawks”
                  -Thieu
                        -Midway meeting with the President
                        -Relationship with the President
                        -Congressional relations
                              -Cut off of US funds
                        -South Vietnam survival
             -Haig’s schedule
             -Haig’s meeting with Thais, Cambodians, Laotians
                  -Cambodia
                        -Thieu
                              -Settlement agreement
                        -US ambassador
                              -Emory C. Swank

       The President’s schedule

Haig left at 2:45 pm.
                                             -50-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                        (rev. June-08)

                                                                     Conversation No.382-20

Date: December 17, 1972
Time: Unknown between 2:45 pm and 3:11 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 34-115]

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.

I think it will take about three hours, two hours.
Maybe this is a trickier method.
I think it's probably because there's a lot more there to suck around, and now we've got the first line in Hawaii, and there's a press briefing in there, and there's a lot more to talk about.
Let's go together.
And therefore, I think we have
I want to make this
MLA does not come to the highway to sign up for the purpose of negotiating with you.
I think that's, that's not damn clear.
The time has come for us to come to the United States to negotiate the grant.
I'm deciding now whether we can carry it and continue on our land, or whether you want me to see the settlement.
We have to be certain that that's not so wrong.
That's just, it's not damn possible.
That's what we're all about.
We have to find a way to do this.
I think we might have to.
Because this is what it is.
When you really come down to it, you're getting aware of the fact that when Henry presents,
I don't see much of an alternative.
We can say we're going to go.
We will go there, but we've got to realize that we'll go the other way.
We'll go this way.
It is, if we decide, if you say that I won't go, and then we decide to make a separate deal with the alliance, the alliance is gone.
It has no use to leave him with the afraid that it can't last under those circumstances.
But I'm actually very grateful that it wasn't too tough on him to turn it up a little bit.
Well, you know, I'd like to hear this, but I don't think we've tried.
I don't think we've been consistent with what we've said.
The real thing is, you know, I think he thinks we're going to pull away, I would say, because we're both, you know, I think we both have our problems.
And it's the only way we can do this.
And I also believe, you know, I thought, you know, Cain, you know, did he do it?
When I say Cain, I mean, I'm not talking about him, you know,
I don't mind that.
I don't think that they're killed tonight.
The bad weather is about to happen.
Yes, there's bad weather.
The only thing would be a frequent set of circumstances.
Temporary.
It's all right.
There's no cloud cover.
There's no line.
It's pretty accurate.
The way they do it, they're not desperate.
In fact, there can't be any.
You can't be able to see the end of the cloud cover, so the missile breaks through it.
to make an alert to the flagman in 1952.
Now, on very rare occasions, maybe five times in a whole year, you could have this feeling of, oh, we have to re-operate in 1952.
That's not even a chance at all.
But you could have that feeling, certainly.
You agree?
Okay
My idea is that they would dig in and say, what the hell are you talking about?
I think they're a bit short on time.
They were trying to calm it down, but they didn't know what to do.
And that's the sort of answer someone else's words would say.
They've got to stop.
I read this over a couple of times.
I haven't always tried to offer it, but they're all right there.
I don't believe in the idea that this is just me doing it.
I don't.
You can't pull that bullshit.
You can't pull that bullshit.
Last prayer.
Read that last page.
Thanks.
I would be ready to continue our line of work on this subject after a certain date for sure.
I think I would say, I would pick Adam.
Maybe you two.
We'll work together.
I'm going to try to break off our arm.
All right.
And I say, I'd like for us to work together.
Go our separate ways, is that all right?
That's very good.
I appreciate it.
That matters.
And we must decide, you know, whether we will have to decide to continue our tradition, our work together.
We will work together.
So whether you want me to say the settlement, I'm starting with the settlement.
What we're going to do is we're going to put a letter with this in it.
And what if you want me to send you a letter like that?
That's how we're going to do it.
Is that right?
Hey man, we got it.
I think we know who's killing us now.
This riot is the first thing we've done.
Nothing's out of place.
It's been pretty rough.
I don't think so.
So, since these examples, what it is, I'm fond of the advantage of not going into character in the sense of what it did, what it kept doing, what it did, you know, actually put words out, and that leads to these sort of rationalities, how old it should be.
On the other hand, I can see the concern, and that's why this letter has to be sent.
Everything that I said to the president, he didn't realize it was incredible.
And I know he's probably sitting here, the president's sitting here over there helping us stay together.
Yeah.
Okay, all right.
We can have that type of sound practice.
All right.
You need any further guidance on the plans related to your prospering in my library?
I think that it would be fine to give you that, besides gold wire.
All the hawks have now laid it down, and, uh, we either eat or go to lunch.
This thing?
Or that thing?
Or this thing?
I, uh...
I don't know where I'm supposed to be.
I'm supposed to be willing to go, but then I think you should be a little personal here.
I don't know what it is, but I would say that, I mean, you offer a beef with a midwife, and you're a goddamn thing.
Fine, it's off now.
We're not going to do that.
But the point is that he is now jeopardizing the friendship, the support of the man, the true friendship.
We were involved in all this.
I'd say that this congressional thing is no idle threat.
It's no idle threat.
We're not trying to threaten him.
This is what we want.
That's right.
I don't want to hear them say that you have not been invading here, but the United States Army.
Turn that way.
If he forces it on them, it's better.
I guess you're better wishing for the time, but we want them to survive.
They're very nervous.
What do they have to say about it?
Well, in the case of Carolina, they just don't know what's going on, and they just need a little reassurance.
And Boeings are quite nervous because they think that if you choose right,
I don't think they're upset.
She was right.
She was working.
She was jeopardizing there.
Not much is it.
Good luck.
I'll be here if there's anything else you want to talk about.