Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Laotian operation

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This is the one where we stand now.

We first give him a long one to which he comes at.

That's right bitches.

Drawn from...

This is what they want to say, so you see it's a lot more...

Notice it says nothing about a freeze.

— 1 min 23 s with no transcribed speech —

And then they asked for three

What do you mean, on the APN?

Oh, on the report.

You see, it raised me.

It's just a lie.

I think it would show an initiative for trying to break the deadlock.

If they send deadlock on technical, I have the impression that they won't in agreement.

Overdose.

We need to go to the hospital.

We have to go to the hospital.

freeze on offensive lines and agree to negotiate on a later time.

What it will do, Mr. President, right now the deadlock is to pretend we have a long good times editorial again today, not that that matters, but in which they say they're being ousted by linking offensive and defensive lines.

And this is your way to break that deadlock.

Whatever we put in the letter, but still, you couldn't possibly cover all the phases, because... New York Times just wants us all reversed.

Agreed on 8 p.m. on that issue.

That's right.

They want to perfect that, sir.

Drive everybody who was opposed to 8 p.m. to go back.

We've done all that, right?

That's right.

But in that case, we're doing better than what the New York Times recommends, if they accept it, because we're getting an offensive freeze on them.

They'll get an APM limitation with a good chance of one different room.

What they want, which is water.

I mean, we would try to... Yeah, we would instruct Smith to stick with our present program.

When his present instructions are four and we could let it go back to three.

Because what we really need is the radars, and the radars are the same for three and four.

I wonder if he'll get us, if he will.

No, I'm just fine.

Oh, that's cool.

Okay.

That's fine.

Otherwise, there's much more.

I told him more.

He said there was nothing.

He didn't have anything.

That's fine.

He said the weather, he'd been watching the radar.

He said he thinks he's going to get a break on it.

I'm sure he did.

All these stories of the...

Attacked from 5x low load.

We can't even find them.

And they withdrew from that as part of the operation.

There's a Morissette, he said, his sister.

Out of the ground in the same area.

I'm sure I missed that, but as far as I can find out, there was no heavy engagement.

At all.

We listened to television.

It sounds like they were driven off.

by intense artillery fire, which, to the best of my knowledge, is in trouble.

If the leaders of the press are there, it's a vision.

And trying desperately to try to make their earlier stories stand out on top of the elements.

I don't think it makes sense.

Oh, we know that.

I got the first cable from Hay, who says that, well, after talking with Bunker and Abrams, they both said the operation was a very, been a very great success in every way.

We've got to talk that way, whatever it is.

So you know what I mean?

It makes no difference what we think.

It's a success period.

And of course they're going to stay there a long time.

We can do that.

Traffic down below is very, very heavily cut.

That is, I've been watching the census every day, and people talk about the traffic.

They're talking about the traffic to and from the area they're fighting in, which is irrelevant.

Of course, there's some behavior down below.

I've got the whole intelligence community assembled by the time, so that at least we have a really formal conversation.

The idea of a fire station was just a streaky, unconscionable press recording.

Well, if Britain had had a press like this in World War II, they would have quit in 1942.

Yes, they would have.

The press reporting is just unbelievable.

It's out there.

I heard a radio commentator from South Carolina today on some local radio station.

Just that sneering tone and his trance, and they went down.

I forget what the coin was that he was making.

It was some cheap little coin.

But all it has is a knife.

It's a temporary thing, but we can write it through.

What it does, though, it has its effect on the editorial writers you see, I mean, all the other people here.

And that's temporary, too.

where you manage to solve a goddamn thing that comes up, and that, on the other side, we have got to make a counterattack in the sole price.

But, Mr. President, I am able to believe that if we have to stick it, that is, if we can't get a settlement that's done, I've come to the view that we have to counterattack.

We have to charge our critics with wanting a communist victory.

When you say that, that's a chapel of class.

He said it'd be fine to have a minimum of congressmen.

I've got to listen to that.

That's really what the liberal personnel they say.

The New York Times had an editorial this weekend saying it isn't enough to end cancer.

We have to end the war.

But the only way to end the war is to raid Saigon, since they won't let us be done on it.

What did they say about the first crash?

Well, they just, they feel sorry about that.

It's kind of like a trade war.

I think that every time you try to meet, to play in these little groups, they've come and unleashed it.

Every time you've met at Trombley, they've started playing.

Yeah.

I don't think you need to worry about that.

I think what you're not right now is this.

I'm not so sure of the installment, so... Are we all going to part?

I think it's, it's true I'd like Jason to create it, but... Maybe you should as well.

Well, I think, I met with a group of senior businessmen, and I think it would be considered a generally hopeful thing.

And it would be a wrap-up to a summit.

I think, if we cut that and the summit...

And Raj sent me a cable that some of the stuff that Viggen and I have been talking about is beginning to be reflected where he is.

I put it in Berlin.

All we can do is cut our laws.

It's not groundless.

And in fact, I've practically given away the ball game there already, so... Sure.

Nothing we can lose.

Nothing.

There's nothing we can lose.

He has lost already.

In terms of...

They scream and they're all screaming.

They scream and fight like the, uh, the times, the poets, the craft, and the same group.

And it's the same group that downed the, uh, the, uh, speed dog car out of Springfield.

And it's true.

It's absolutely true.

I wonder if we, uh, I wonder if some of our friends, like Elsa and everything, I can't start writing it the other way, but if any of them appeared in print.

Uh, I'm gonna, I'm gonna try to get Stuart, he's got the highest standing, I can show him.

Yeah.

We know they're dealing.

Oh, they're strong, you know, they believe it.

They're strong, you think they're just digging me and me, and practically using it as an amputation.

Well, on the outside, that's actually basically it.

Well, not them.

I mean, all of our friends.

Well, yes, I think that getting close to this address, we got a whole group of people and full of groups.

On the other hand, the funny thing is that we did die on dinner.

I thought they were friendly at this reception after.

And they've been in the long gun, and they, uh... Well, they...

But the establishment, what you said, it drives the establishment to demoralize.

Correct.

It gives no support to the president.

Yeah, that's correct.

But those aren't corrupt, they're immoral.

Our friends are immoralized and our enemies are corrupt.

At least they're immoral.

I think that was a good crack though, a crack at the new isolation system.

I think it was.

There's a reason now they don't make them compensated.

You know, we've got to keep, get their attention again.

Absolutely.

I don't know, they're not going to leave us this time.

They are on the defensive.

Basically, that's why I didn't think I knew it.

That's what's so bad.

You may have to get it out, but you won't.

We'll keep at it.

But right now, the important thing is to get the Laotian thing off, get the troop thing.

Maybe we can talk all we want about how we're having the time to take the press on us after we finish the account.

And then, and then, and then take off.

I think we may be approaching 50-60 on a negotiation.

Something's going on.

I think in June at the latest, I would see these guys make the proposition and let Bruce handle it from now on.

We can't run any risk now.

Going over there, having that explosion.

They tend to take a trip there.

What I thought I would do is I'd be asked to give a talk, an off-the-deck talk at the English-speaking union in London.

Excellent.

And they haven't given.

I can take the day for them.

You can go over and do that and drop over and see Bruce.

I can just see these people.

See these people and, well, it's a great deal.

It's worth trying.

The thing that I'm concerned about, that I'm not, the thing you have to remember, though, is that

The more you're around here, the more you recognize that except for Jackson, who has no chance of dying.

We face a very, very dirty prospect.

We don't pull this thing off now.

Therefore, we have got to be given the extra shot of bombs.

And we've got to, we just can't fool around, worry too much about Jewish elections.

We've got to worry about how we re-establish our theater, because we've got to do it in the face of our own people.

In terms of the back of the earth, we're great.

And, you see, my wife and I, that has to be done.

Well, I think it was, but it's been fun, but I don't know how it's going to be.

Right now we're at this position and now we're going to have to reach where Laos is the right thing to do.

And what is the right thing to do?

My point is, we get both of those for the purpose of getting to another point.

Now we reach the other point, that's right.

And once we reach it, now every decision is now made in terms of what's the effect on the people of Saigon.

And decisions have to be made on what's the effect on us, on the people of Saigon.

Now, uh, one thing, too, we have to remember that, uh, given to the Russians, everything took all time for this.

And, uh, we, uh, we couldn't take advantage of it some evening to get, uh, sort of half-bent at all, did we?

Whatever, it's only because it's a lot better than the real text back.

Of course, of course, of course.

And I agree with you.

It will diffuse people.

They can't write about an active president, but he's getting ready for a summit meeting.

And that will get us a few months of, you know, of quiet here.

Uh, one thing we might consider is, uh, in the seminar meeting with you, in which you asked us to end our combat, uh, that would be enough.

Well, we've got to figure all those things out.

The combat thing, the draftees, a whole series of announcements for the purpose of getting things rolled off.

That's got to come at the beginning of the first job, maybe April 7th.

See what we want to throw them, what we have to throw them, and they're all the same.

Somebody has a, has a, has a, has a, has a, has a, has a, has a, has a, has a, has a, has a, has a, has a, has a, has a, has a, has a,

As far as the end, there's nothing better.

There's nothing that's very important.

There's nothing that can't kill us anyhow.

If we hadn't done this, we would have had a big offense in August.

With those four divisions and the hundred men.

Well, we can get there.

I think, uh...

Try to run this off.

And three up.

And, uh, we can, uh, it's a matter of, the main thing, Henry, I don't know what happens, but it's, it's a, it's a, it's a win.

Oh, yeah.

And everybody should talk about that.

I think it is a success.

Well, I think that it's true.

It's a triumph.

Well, it's another success.

It's interesting already.

So, uh, we can keep the notice up.

It means among these folks in the bedroom that we'll be together.

and don't let this up.

Yeah, my view is keep your mind to the first thing left of that industry.

Yeah, exactly.

They'll still be in the practice if you want.

Okay, thank you.

Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Laotian operation

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Transcript (AI-generated)

Also recorded on March 16, 1971

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Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Laotian operation

AI Summary

Audio

NARA Description

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Transcript (AI-generated)

Also recorded on March 16, 1971

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