President Nixon and Alexander Haig met to discuss the volatile situation in Vietnam, specifically focusing on North Vietnamese cease-fire violations and infiltration activities. They evaluated the potential for renewed US airstrikes, weighing the risks to POW releases and public opinion against the necessity of maintaining American credibility and enforcing the settlement. The conversation also touched upon tensions regarding the performance of the CIA and intelligence agencies, as well as friction between Henry Kissinger and other officials regarding policy implementation and press management.
On March 17, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Manolo Sanchez, and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:25 am to 12:33 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 416-043 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 416-43
Date: March 17, 1973
Time: 11:25 am-12:23 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
Uniform
Vietnam settlement
-Absent without leave [AWOL]
-Charges
-Elliot L. Richardson [?]
-Policy
-Prisoners of war [POWs]
-Performance
-Handling by networks, press corps
Gridiron Club
-Patriotism
Vietnam settlement
-Infiltration
-Henry A. Kissinger
-Laos
-Strikes against Ho Chi Minh trail
-Purpose
-Risks
-US withdrawal
-US purposes
-Withdrawal
-Duration of peace
-US strikes
-Prospects for damage
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 416-43 (cont’d)
-Symbolism
-Soviet Union, People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
-Kissinger
-President’s message
-Soviet Union’s position
-PRC
-Position
-North Vietnam
-Economic aid
-US options
-Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] assessment
-Infiltration
-Decline
-Bureaucratic attitudes
-CIA
-James R. Schlesinger
-Toughness
-Military intelligence services
-Military control
-Schlesinger
-Ruthlessness
-Richard M. Helms
-Softness
-North Vietnam’s motives
-Purpose of infiltration
-CIA
-Resumption of war
-Failure of past negotiations
-Pham Van Dong
-Economic aid
-Improved US-North Vietnam relations
-Lam Son
-Kissinger’s evaluation
-Dobrynin
-Brezhnev
******************************************************************************
-49-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 416-43 (cont’d)
[Previous National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number
LPRN-T-MDR-2014-019. Segment declassified on 05/08/2019. Archivist: DR]
[National Security]
[416-043-w001]
[Duration: 9s]
Vietnam settlement
-North Vietnam’s motives
-Purpose of infiltration
-Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] intelligence
******************************************************************************
Vietnam settlement
-North Vietnam’s motives
-Resumption of war
-US-Soviet Union summit
-May 8, 1972 decision
-Brezhnev
-Assistance of Soviet Union
-Infiltration
-Decline
-US strikes
-Cease-fire violations
-Pretexts
-Kissinger
-Tactics
-December 1972 bombing
-Risks
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 11:25 am.
Haig’s duties at Pentagon
Cuba
-Fidel Castro
-CIA
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 12;28 pm.
-50-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 416-43 (cont’d)
Vietnam settlement
-Reports
-Accuracy
-Kissinger
-Attitude towards settlement
-Longevity
-Vietnamization
-Gen. Creighton W. Abram, Jr.’s and Melvin R. Laird’s optimism
-An Loc, Quang Tri
-South Vietnamese chances of survival
-North Vietnam
-Effects of bombing
-Capabilities
-Offensive
-Soviet Union, PRC
-Relations with North Vietnam
-Kissinger
-Attitude toward settlement
-Preference for tough policies
-December 1972 bombing
-Recommendation
-Bombing
-Results
-POW release
-Domestic reaction
-Ho Chi Minh trail
-Hanoi
-POW release
-POW reaction to bombing
-Public reaction
-Nguyen Van Thieu
-POWs
-Risks
-Past risks
-Correct decisions
-William P. Rogers
-Paris
-Kissinger
-Halt of mine removal
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 416-43 (cont’d)
-Halt of withdrawals
-Tough note
-Impact on North Vietnam
-Necessity
-Possible bombing
-Preparations
-Targets
-North Vietnam
-Military posture
-Aircraft carriers
-POW release
-Impact on US public
-Impact on press critics
-North Vietnam provocations
-Public reactions
-Belief in “peace with honor”
-Press
-South Vietnam’s fate
-Fall to communists
-Timing
-Compared to China in 1940s
-Support for President
-Press
-Criticism of President
-Visits with Brezhnev and Chou En-lai
-Anticommunism
-Public attitudes
-POWs
-US public attitudes
-Political future of Vietnam
-North Vietnam
-Possible actions
-Kissinger
-Reaction to controversy
-Reaction to violations
-Bombing
-Tactics
-POW release
-Compromise
-Reaction to delay of POW release
-52-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 416-43 (cont’d)
-Soviet Union, PRC
-Assessment of violations
-Haig’s discussion with Abrams
-Intelligence estimates
-Judgments on North Vietnam
-North Vietnam’s possible actions
-US options
-Public attitudes
-Violations
-Justification for retaliation
-Infiltration
-Compared to offensive
-Concerns
-Thieu
-Kissinger
-Southeast Asia
-US goodwill, credibility
-Cambodia [?]
-New York Times article
-Intelligence
-Quality
-May 8, 1972
-Assessment of North Vietnam
******************************************************************************
[Previous National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number
LPRN-T-MDR-2014-019. Segment declassified on 06/19/2019. Archivist: DR]
[National Security]
[416-043-w006]
[Duration: 3m 2s]
Vietnam settlement
-Intelligence
-Assessment of North Vietnam
-Pentagon
-Newspapers
-Prisoners of War [POWs]
-Change in North Vietnamese attitudes
-53-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 416-43 (cont’d)
-Henry A. Kissinger
-Settlement
-North Vietnam line
-“Great Victory”
-Anti-Americanism
-Hanoi press
-Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]
-Defense Intelligence Agency [DIA] contributions
******************************************************************************
Vietnam settlement
-Kissinger
-Attitude towards settlement
-Personal attachment
-Bureaucracy
-Soft-line position
-Vindication of hard-line policies
-Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW]
-Congress members
-Support for President
-Patriotism
-POWs
-Credit for release
-Possible US strike
-US public support
-Resumption of war
-North Vietnam’s reaction
-POWs
-Bombing of Hanoi
-Kissinger [?]
-Abrams
-Judgment on South Vietnamese capabilities
-Kissinger
-South Vietnam
-Guns
-Tanks
-III Corps area
-Artillery positions
-54-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 416-43 (cont’d)
-Purpose
-Soviet Union, PRC
-Influence on North Vietnam
-Relations with US
-US-Soviet Union relations
-Brezhnev
-Summit
-PRC-Soviet Union relations
-SALT [Strategic Arms Limitation Talks] treaties
-Nuclear treaties
-Congressional relations
-Resolutions
-Unilateral force reduction
-Europe
-Arms
-Military base closure
-Impact on US foreign policy
-Impact on Vietnam settlement
-North Vietnam’s interpretation
-US action
-Cambodia, Laos
-US public attitudes
-North Vietnam’s reaction
-Kissinger
-New intelligence reports
-Evaluation of situation
Henry Brandon’s book
-H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-William L. Safire
-Portrayal of President
-Kissinger’s press relations
-William P. Rogers, Melvin R. Laird
-Negative portrayal
-Sources
-Consequences
******************************************************************************
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 416-43 (cont’d)
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number LPRN-T-MDR-
2014-019. Segment exempt per Executive Order 13526, 3.3(b)(1) on 05/08/2019. Archivist: DR]
[National Security]
[416-043-w002]
[Duration: 21s]
GREAT BRITAIN
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
******************************************************************************
Brandon
-Czech Jew
-Laird, Rogers
-Reactions to book
-Jack N. Anderson
-Sources of leaks
-Congress members
December 1972 bombing of North Vietnam
-Kissinger’s accusations against Haig
-Disloyalty
-Kissinger’s opposition
-James B. (“Scotty”) Reston
-Joseph C. Kraft
-Conversation with Haig
The President talked with Rose Mary Woods at an unknown time between 11:25 am and 12:23
pm.
[Conversation No. 416-43A]
President’s meeting with William Warnock
-Ambassador from Ireland
-Timing
-56-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 416-43 (cont’d)
-Ambassador from Great Britain
White House social affairs
-Haldeman
-Music
-Young people
-White House staff
-Other functions
-Cabinet
-Rogers’s attendance at state dinners
-Kissinger
-George P. Shultz
[End of telephone conversation]
December 1972 bombing of North Vietnam
-Kissinger’s accusations against Haig
-Disloyalty
-Press relations
-President’s role
-Restraint
-Critical day
John A. Scali
-Press relations
-Skill
Daniel Ellsberg
-Testimony
-Trial
-Kissinger
-[Unintelligible name]
-Bay of Pigs
-Testimony
Vietnam settlement
-Kissinger
-Handling
-Decision on US action
-POWs
-57-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Mar.-09)
Conversation No. 416-43 (cont’d)
-North Vietnam
-Possible aggression
-Reaction to bombing
-Intelligence assessments
-Violations of cease-fire
-Thieu’s charges
Meeting with Haig
Weather
Haig left at 12:23 pm.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.