Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 399 › Conversation 399-008

Nixon & Haig on Strategic maneuvering and Political communication

Monday, January 22, 1973 · 9:47 AM–9:53 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation399-008 on Tape 399StartMonday, January 22, 1973 at 9:47 AMEndMonday, January 22, 1973 at 9:53 AMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 399-008 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. confer regarding sensitive administrative preparations and the management of high-level political communications. The President emphasizes a cautious approach to ongoing negotiations, explicitly instructing Haig to avoid committing to formal treaties or definitive agreements that could compromise their leverage. This discussion centers on maintaining strategic ambiguity to ensure favorable resolutions while minimizing potential political fallout.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 3 minutes of this recording (about 48% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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But I'll, I told Eric before he left that, working on my remarks, I had something infectious in my mind, and I said that I would be going.
I, of course, have had people who lose their lives, and people with grief.
The main thing I want to be sure of is that
He's got a lot of .
I mean, I think he's ever .
Yeah.
Right.
But it's been too long now, I think.
But I mean, I don't know what it is.
But I have to cut it in half, actually.
I really think .
I mean, I don't mean to .
But I don't .
You agree?
I think, I think
But with regard to that, I suppose it's a good moment.
We'll wait and see what I said and so forth, but after I step out, he's going to have a hell of a time.
I hope so.
I hope so.
Yeah.
Well, you're helping too.
Is that right?
No, I didn't see it.
That's what we're hearing about, isn't it?
You'll be okay.
Yeah.
No, no, no, no.
Okay.
Well, I told you that something in the Navy, that's not going to make a difference.
If it helps, it would be a difference.
It would help us to resolve.
And if it doesn't hurt us at all, that's what you have to do.
That's the line you have to take.
But don't slip into the line.
Don't sign into the treaty.
That's what the fight is.
If you want to slip into the nation, that's what you have to do.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On January 22, 1973, 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 9:47 am and 9:53 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 399-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 399-8

Date: January 22, 1973
Time: Unknown between 9:47 am and 9:53 am
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

[See Conversation No. 36-37]

Also recorded on January 22, 1973

  • 036-037 9:10 AM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:10 am and 9:47 am.
  • 399-003 9:10 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:10 am and 9:47 am.
  • 399-004 9:10 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:10 am and 9:47 am.
  • 036-036 9:47 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 9:47 am to 9:53 am.
  • 399-009 9:53 AM · 14 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 9:53 am and 10:14 am.
  • 399-010 9:53 AM · 49 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Debbie Terry, and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:53 am and 10:14 am.
  • 036-038 10:14 AM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:14 am.
  • 399-011 10:14 AM · 32 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Raymond K. Price, Jr., Manolo Sanchez, White House operator, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:14 am and 10:48 am.

All 49 conversations from January 22, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 399-008, January 22, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/399-008 (accessed October 11, 2026).