{"conversationCode":"385-021","tapeNumber":385,"conversationNumber":21,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-385-021","startDateTime":"1972-12-11T22:42:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-12-12T00:10:00.000Z","startDate":"11-Dec-1972","startTime":"5:42 PM","endDate":"11-Dec-1972","endTime":"7:10 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.;","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 5:42 pm and 7:10 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 385-021 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"EOB","recordingDevice":"Old Executive Office Building","latitudeEstimated":38.897567,"longitudeEstimated":-77.039147,"chronCode":"5.2","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part II","chronReleaseDate":"2-Dec-2008","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 385-21\n\nDate: December 11, 1972\nTime: Unknown between 5:42 pm and 7:10 pm\nLocation: Executive Office Building\n\nThe President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.\n\n       Vietnam War\n             -Military operations\n                     -Reseeding of mines\n                             -Timing\n             -Negotiations\n                     -Tactics\n                             -Tone\n                     -Recess\n                             -Consultations\n             -US bombing\n                     -18th, 19th and 20th Parallels\n                             -Effect\n                             -Surface to air missiles [SAMs]\n                     -B-52s\n                             -Frequency of attacks\n                                     -The President’s conversation with Adm. Thomas H.\n                                      Moorer\n                                     -Hearing by North Vietnamese\n                                     -Hitting targets","filename":["385-021.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Haig, Alexander M., Jr."],"prevCode":"385-020","nextCode":"385-022","transcript":[{"start":0.03,"end":23.98,"text":"Now, one point in the military program, of course, is essential, and we have to do very, very soon, is reseating the mines."},{"start":24,"end":24.7,"text":"Now, why don't we just do that now?"},{"start":24.72,"end":25.24,"text":"That's the main operation."},{"start":25.26,"end":25.36,"text":"Okay."},{"start":25.38,"end":25.48,"text":"Okay."},{"start":25.83,"end":48.05,"text":"I've been trying to get some sort of leverage for whatever the hell he's going to do tomorrow."},{"start":48.08,"end":48.55,"text":"But maybe it's too late."},{"start":48.58,"end":49.64,"text":"You see, there's this sort of hustle and hustle down."},{"start":49.66,"end":50.26,"text":"Well, this is my last meeting."},{"start":50.28,"end":50.42,"text":"I know."},{"start":50.44,"end":51.06,"text":"I've been through associations."},{"start":51.08,"end":51.8,"text":"I don't know if that just wears out."},{"start":51.82,"end":52.26,"text":"We use it about twice."},{"start":52.28,"end":53.22,"text":"And they use it on us, and she uses it on them."},{"start":53.24,"end":53.78,"text":"And then you've got to act."},{"start":53.8,"end":54.6,"text":"But, well, we may be finished with that."},{"start":54.62,"end":55.5,"text":"But the way to handle it is a little deeper."},{"start":55.85,"end":84.97,"text":"I had never approved of speaking"},{"start":85.94,"end":106.53,"text":"They're playing parallel."},{"start":106.55,"end":107.35,"text":"I've never looked at anything like that."},{"start":107.37,"end":108.32,"text":"I don't think it went down that good with them."},{"start":108.34,"end":108.86,"text":"But it was the same thing."},{"start":108.88,"end":109.58,"text":"But it couldn't have done anything."},{"start":109.6,"end":111.2,"text":"But the goal is that we could continue to sit them every night out, every night."},{"start":111.22,"end":111.82,"text":"That's what I asked my doctor."},{"start":111.84,"end":112.5,"text":"Now, they didn't sit every night."},{"start":112.52,"end":113.2,"text":"I asked more of that specifically."},{"start":113.22,"end":113.8,"text":"I asked him about five times."},{"start":113.82,"end":114.44,"text":"He said, yeah, but you're good."},{"start":114.47,"end":114.56,"text":"Fine."},{"start":115.02,"end":118.64,"text":"around the corner."},{"start":119.08,"end":121.61,"text":"I just want them in here."},{"start":121.63,"end":124.84,"text":"I don't give a god damn."},{"start":124.86,"end":128.02,"text":"They never get anything out of you."},{"start":128.04,"end":128.14,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":128.16,"end":128.81,"text":"That's right."},{"start":128.82,"end":128.93,"text":"Okay."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Alexander Haig met to discuss escalating military pressure on North Vietnam, specifically focusing on the urgent need to reseed mines and intensify the frequency of B-52 bombing raids. Nixon expressed frustration with the progress of ongoing negotiations and emphasized his desire for a more aggressive tactical approach to gain leverage. The two concluded that the administration should prioritize consistent, nightly military strikes to force a breakthrough in the stalled peace process.","topics":["Vietnam War","Military operations","B-52 bombing","Mining","Peace negotiations","Alexander Haig"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T17:47:26.267Z"},"topicSlugs":["vietnam-war","military-operations","b-52-bombing","mining","peace-negotiations","alexander-haig"],"audioDurationSec":131,"audioFiles":[{"file":"385-021.mp3","bytes":3143468,"durationSec":130.84,"bitrate":192202,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:45.438Z","transcriptGapSeconds":96,"transcriptGapShare":0.73,"transcriptQuality":"incomplete","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/385-021.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/385-021","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/385/conversation-385-021","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}