Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 385 › Conversation 385-003

Nixon & Haig on Vietnam War and Peace negotiations

Monday, December 11, 1972 · 2:35 PM–4:05 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation385-003 on Tape 385StartMonday, December 11, 1972 at 2:35 PMEndMonday, December 11, 1972 at 4:05 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 385-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Richard Nixon met with Alexander Haig to receive updates regarding ongoing Vietnam peace negotiations, specifically focusing on the status of Henry Kissinger's efforts. The discussion centered on a critical remaining point of contention regarding the Demilitarized Zone and the potential for a compromise involving the withdrawal of North Vietnamese troops from South Vietnam. Nixon expressed concerns about the negotiation process while assessing the current diplomatic position.

Vietnam War
Peace negotiations
Henry Kissinger
Demilitarized Zone
North Vietnamese troops
Diplomacy

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 34% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Did you get a good night's sleep?

Oh, good.

Good.

And report jet?

It's better enough.

I wonder if you really should be back.

I don't know.

There's no need for me to read the text because it's longer, shorter, and I don't know.

You know what I mean?

Unless it gets to the subject of the question, there's only one question left.

I don't know.

It's the very worst of my position.

I'm just calling back.

He's trying to go further.

Okay.

I hope that if it does, that's going to be nice.

Thank you.

NARA Description

On December 11, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:35 pm and 4:05 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 385-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 385-3

Date: December 11, 1972
Time: Unknown between 2:35 pm and 4:05 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

       Haig’s schedule

       Vietnam negotiations
             -Report
             -Haig’s schedule
                    -[Henry A. Kissinger]
             -Report
                    -The President’s reading
                            -Questions
             -Questions
                    -Demilitarized Zone [DMZ]
                            -Withdrawal of North Vietnamese troops from South Vietnam
                            -Compromise
                                              -3-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                          Conversation No. 385-3 (cont’d)

              -Haig’s call to the President
              -Haig’s schedule
              -Breakdown

Also recorded on December 11, 1972

819-003 2:25 PM · 15 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 2:25 pm on December 11, 1972 and 9:57 am on December 12, 1972.
385-001 2:30 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:30 pm to 2:35 pm.
385-002 2:35 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:35 pm and 4:05 pm.
385-004 2:35 PM · 12 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 2:35 pm and 4:05 pm.
385-005 2:35 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:35 pm and 4:05 pm.
385-006 2:35 PM · 19 sec — unknown person(s) and President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:35 pm and 4:05 pm.
385-007 2:35 PM · 13 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 2:35 pm and 4:05 pm.
385-008 4:05 PM · 46 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:05 pm to 4:55 pm.

All 40 conversations from December 11, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 385-003, December 11, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/385-003 (accessed September 28, 2026).