Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 477 › Conversation 477-004

Nixon, Kissinger & Bull on Vietnam War and Prisoners of War

Monday, April 12, 1971 · 12:42 PM–12:46 PM ET · Oval Office · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.; Bull, Stephen B.Conversation477-004 on Tape 477 (tape position 02:35:11–02:38:05)StartMonday, April 12, 1971 at 12:42 PMEndMonday, April 12, 1971 at 12:46 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 477-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discussed various administrative and foreign policy issues, including Kissinger’s upcoming meeting with John D. Rockefeller III and the role of Anna C. Chennault. The conversation shifted to the complexities of the Vietnam War, specifically focusing on the political pressure regarding troop withdrawal deadlines and the urgency of U.S. policy toward prisoners of war (POWs). The discussion emphasized the administration's need to solidify a clear position on POW issues, with plans to coordinate further with Charles W. Colson.

Audio

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
I'm going to have lunch with some rocky fellow who, three weeks ago, was reporting about having to say nothing on Vietnam, so I...
I'll give him a little help.
That's how it is between them.
So, come on.
The three brothers, between them, have a little bit of guts, but I...
What the hell is the matter with that?
Because the American families, it's a...
It is really a tragedy.
They're so close to making it.
Well, they don't have the ground up.
So they must have talked about it.
No, they will.
They're not going to make it.
They're not going to make it.
We've got a hell of a problem here, which we'll talk about later.
You know, that little gal is a smart one.
God damn, why she doesn't talk to all these people.
She gets right in the seat and talks to all of them.
What we will do is put her on an actual committee.
She can be in charge of art and so forth.
I'll sign up for something.
I appreciate your work, the letter on that.
You know, she'll broker that all over here.
But you know, we're not really
She stayed very close, but God damn, you know, these Chinese folks, they've been out for years, and they're still fighting.
God damn, can't we fight?
What I do about hell is the matter with us.
We've got no place to go really because of it.
What they're eating, they ought to see.
They don't have a press photo on this particular fish, do they?
They do, yes, sir.
It's kind of a remarkable thing to play high art in the environment.
That's right.
So we have the curious situation because all this business about deadlines.
You, the government, that's one thing they want now.
They are terrified you're going to make it.
They know that, but all they have to do is protect your mineral rights.
You have to have a drug to know when you're withdrawing.
The thing is, where we have those is prison.
I've got to get, uh, did Colton talk to you about this line on prison?
Well, I'll talk to you about it.
We've got to get a decision on that, but we can hope so we keep the wire and stay alive.
Because those first-year gals have gone to all the spots where we stand around.

NARA Description

On April 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:42 pm to 12:46 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 477-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 477-004

Date: April 12, 1971
Time: 12:42 pm - 12:46 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Henry A. Kissinger

     Kissinger’s schedule
           -John D. Rockefeller, III
           -Vietnam

     Green brothers
          -Press story
                -Vietnam

     Anna C. Chennault
          -Role
          -Letter
                -Distribution

     People’s Republic of China [PRC] - Taiwan
          -US position

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 12:42 pm

     Press photograph

Bull left at an unknown time before 12:46 pm

     Vietnam
          -Democrats
          -Radicals
          -Withdrawal
          -US agreements
          -Deadlines

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

            -General Nguyen Van Thieu
            -Nguyen Cao Ky
            -Withdrawal
            -Prisoners of War [POWs]
                  -Charles W. Colson
                  -US policy
                  -POW wives

Kissinger left at 12:46 pm

Also recorded on April 12, 1971

  • 477-002 11:28 AM · 1 hr 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Shu-kai Chow, Emil ("Bus") Mosbacher, Jr., Steven Baker, Anna C. Chennault, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:28 am to 12:41 pm.
  • 477-003 12:41 PM · 18 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:41 pm and 12:42 pm.
  • 477-005 12:47 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Marilyn Cochran, Barbara Cochran, Bobby Cochran, and Henry C. Cashen, II met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:47 pm to 12:53 pm.
  • 477-006 12:53 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:53 pm.
  • 477-007 12:53 PM · 36 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:53 pm to 2:00 pm.
  • 477-008 2:00 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:00 pm and 2:30 pm.
  • 477-009 2:00 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:00 pm and 2:30 pm.
  • 477-010 2:30 PM · 1 hr 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Peter G. Peterson, Stephen B. Bull, unknown person(s), and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:30 pm to 3:37 pm.

All 21 conversations from April 12, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 477-004, April 12, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/477-004 (accessed October 12, 2026).