Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 451 › Conversation 451-007

Nixon, Colombo & Seidenman on International Relations and Italian Politics

Thursday, February 18, 1971 · 11:13 AM–12:22 PM ET · Oval Office · 1 hr 18 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colombo, Emilio; Seidenman, Neil A.; De Seabra, A. JoseConversation451-007 on Tape 451 (tape position 00:47:20–00:56:02)StartThursday, February 18, 1971 at 11:13 AMEndThursday, February 18, 1971 at 12:22 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 451-007 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Italian Prime Minister Emilio Colombo to discuss international security, economic relations, and Italian domestic stability. Their conversation spanned a wide range of geopolitical concerns, including the status of NATO, US policy in Southeast Asia, and the strategic importance of a non-Communist Italy. The two leaders also addressed growing protectionist trade sentiments and the necessity of maintaining market liberalization to prevent an international trade war.

Audio

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NARA Description

On February 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Emilio Colombo, Neil A. Seidenman, and A. Jose De Seabra met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:13 am to 12:22 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 451-007 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 451-7

Date: February 18, 1971
Time: 11:13 am - 12:22 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Emilio Colombo, Neil A. Seidenman, and A. Jose De Seabra

******************************************************************************

[Previous National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number
LPRN-T-MDR-2014-020. Segment declassified on 10/10/2018. Archivist: MAS]
[National Security]
[451-007-w001]
[Duration: 1h 8m 41s]

       Oval Office

Cabinet Room

[Unintelligible]

Italy
        -The President’s previous meeting with Emilio Colombo
        -Italian domestic politics
                -Emilio Colombo’s analysis
                        -Ruling coalition
                                 -Italian political parties
                        -Right and left
        -Vietnam's effect on Italian politics
        -"United front" politics
                -Italian political parties
        -People’s Republic of China [PRC]
                -Emilio Colombo’s opinion
        -The President’s position on importance of non-Communist Italy
                -Place in Europe
        -Relations with the US
                -Anti-US sentiment abroad
        -Middle East and the US
        -Alliances
        -US' Southeast Asian policies
                -Laotian operations
                -Goals
                -Withdrawal program
                        -Prisoners of war [POWs]
Show the rest of the log (68 more lines)
                -Vietnam
                -William P. Rogers
                        -Middle East
                                 -February 19, 1971 briefing
                                 -Arabs and Israelis
                                         -History and future
                                 -Cease-fire March 1971
        -Mediterranean nations
                -Italy
                        -Role
                        -West compared to Communists
                        -The President’s previous trip to Rome
                -Spain
                -Greece

        -North Africa [?]
                -Egypt
-North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]
-Japan
        -Social and economic issues
-Textiles
        -The President’s stance against quotas
-Trade
        -British
        -Barriers
        -US sentiment
                -Agriculturalists [?]
                        -The President’s opinion
        -Importance of avoiding trade war
-People's Republic of China [PRC]
        -The President’s concern
        -Emilio Colombo’s analysis
-Common Market
        -Drawbacks to trade aspects
        -Agriculture
        -Germans
        -French
        -British
        -Agriculture modernization
                -Grain
        -German costs
        -Protectionism sentiment in US
                -The President’s description
                        -Jews [?]
                        -Impact
                -Trade liberalization
                -The President’s belief in free trade
                -Collective solutions
                -Italian perception
-Agriculture
-North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]
-The President’s summation of Emilio Colombo
-US-Italian relationship
-Economic problems
-Communists
-Development
-Social services

               -Organized labor
               -Italian press accounts
                       -Labor unrest
                       -Transformation
                       -Psychological tests [?]
                       -Response

******************************************************************************

The President, et al. left at 12:22 pm

Transcript (AI-generated)

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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Thank you.

Also recorded on February 18, 1971

  • 451-001 9:47 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:47 am to 9:52 am.
  • 451-002 9:52 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:52 am and 9:56 am.
  • 451-003 9:52 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:52 am and 9:56 am.
  • 451-004 9:56 AM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, William L. Safire, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:56 am to 10:09 am.
  • 451-005 10:12 AM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:12 am to 10:30 am.
  • 451-006 10:30 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Mark I. Goode, and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:30 am to 10:36 am.
  • 451-025 12:22 PM · 2 min — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:22 pm and 1:09 pm.
  • 451-008 12:40 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:40 pm and 1:09 pm.

All 24 conversations from February 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 451-007, February 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/451-007 (accessed November 2, 2026).