Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 517 › Conversation 517-022
Nixon, Haldeman & Kissinger on State Department and Foreign Policy
Friday, June 11, 1971 · 2:40 PM–2:57 PM ET · Oval Office · 17 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with H. R. Haldeman and Henry Kissinger to discuss personnel changes within the State Department and strategic shifts in U.S. foreign policy. The conversation focused on the need for more "vigorous" and loyal leadership in diplomatic postings, specifically criticizing the performance of Graham A. Martin in Italy and exploring potential roles for Peter M. Flanigan. Additionally, the group reviewed the status of U.S. relations with China, the Soviet Union's internal leadership dynamics, and plans for managing international expropriation issues.
- State Department
- Foreign Policy
- Personnel Management
- U.S.-China Relations
- Soviet Union
- Diplomacy
Audio
NARA Description
On June 11, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Manolo Sanchez, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:40 pm to 2:57 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 517-022 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 517-022
Date: June 11, 1971
Time: 2:40 pm - 2:57 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 06/26/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[517-022-w001]
[Duration: 41s]
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 2:40 pm
Wedding preparations
-Eating in church
-Manolo Sanchez
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 2:57 pm
Manolo Sanchez and Fina Sanchez
-Religion
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Henry A. Kissinger entered at 2:41 pm
[Pause]
President’s schedule
-William P. Rogers
-John A. Scali role
US foreign policy
-John B. Connally involvement in administration
-Kissinger meetings
-Connally qualities
-Future plans
-Kissinger meetingsShow the rest of the log (129 more lines)
-Content
-People’s Republic of China [PRC] trip
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[Previous National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number
LPRN-T-MDR-2014-027. Segment declassified on 05/01/2019. Archivist: DR]
[National Security]
[517-022-w002]
[Duration: 15s]
US foreign policy
-John B. Connally involvement in administration
-Henry A. Kissinger’s meetings
-Content
-People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan
-The President’s relationship
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US foreign policy
-John B. Connally involvement in administration
-Status of US in the world
-US world position
-Baron Guido Zerilli-Marimo
-James C. Dunn
-US embassy
-Competence
-Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
-Graham A. Martin
-Contacts with Italian government
-Henry J. Tasca
-Robert C. Hill
-Need for vigor
-Martin
-State Department relations
-Qualities
-Need for vigor in representing US
-Frederic V. Malek
-Donald H. Rumsfeld role
-Office of Economic Policy [OEP]
-Benefits
-State Department job
-John N. Irwin, II
-State Department
-Peter M. Flanigan
-Benefits
-Value to President
-Business community contacts
-Loyalty to President
-Emil (“Bus”) Mosbacher, Jr. role
-Rogers’ call to Haldeman
-Concern over expropriation
-European Community
-State Department attitudes
-Expropriation
-Erosion of US position
-John Foster Dulles
-Soviet Union
-Italian ambassador
-Spain
-Hill staff
-Aide to John H. (“Jock”) Whitney
-Whitney aide
-Requirements
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[Previous National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number
LPRN-T-MDR-2014-027. Segment declassified on 05/01/2019. Archivist: DR]
[National Security]
[517-022-w003]
[Duration: 11s]
US foreign policy
-State Department attitudes
-Spain
-Juan Carlos
-Political leanings
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US foreign policy
-People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-Press conference
-Lifting of trade restrictions
-US-PRC staffing
-Comparison with Soviet Union
-Use in House elections
-Upcoming announcement
-Scali
-Vietnam
-John Sherman Cooper visit with Kissinger
-Vietnam Negotiations
-Italy
-Martin
-Removal
-Zerilli-Marimo
-Types of people
-Anglo/Saxons
-Russians
-”Orientals”
-Italians
-Qualities
-Soviet Union
-Party speech
-Aleksei N. Kosygin content
-Nikolai V. Podgorny
-Praise for Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]
-Place in hierarchy
-Kremlin politics
-Podgorny
-Kosygin
-Age
-Health
-Age of leaders
-Leonid I. Brezhnev
-Toughness of Soviet politics
-Josef V. Stalin
-Connally role in policy formulation
-Kissinger relation with Connally
-Relation to John N. Mitchell
-Haldeman, Kissinger, and John D. Ehrlichman decision on Flanigan’s role
Haldeman and Kissinger left at 2:57 pmTranscript (AI-generated)
This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 3 minutes of this recording (about 19% 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.
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— 1 min 7 s with no transcribed speech —
Also recorded on June 11, 1971
- 517-017 1:36 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:36 pm and 1:43 pm.
- 517-018 1:36 PM · 40 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:36 pm and 1:43 pm.
- 517-019 1:43 PM · 19 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William H. Carruthers, Mark I. Goode, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:43 pm to 2:02 pm.
- 517-020 2:05 PM · 34 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and John B. Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:05 pm to 2:38 pm.
- 517-021 2:38 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:38 pm and 2:40 pm.
- 517-023 2:58 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:58 pm to 3:04 pm.
- 517-024 3:04 PM · 19 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:04 pm and 3:11 pm.
- 517-025 3:11 PM · 58 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, White House operator, Stephen B. Bull, and Elliot L. Richardson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:11 pm to 4:11 pm.
Related conversations
- Nixon, Peterson & Kissinger on PRC-US relations and Presidential initiative April 13, 1971 · 6 min
- Nixon & Kissinger on Watergate and National Security Council May 3, 1973 · 21 min
- Nixon phone call with Kissinger on People's Republic of China November 15, 1971 · 3 min
- Nixon, Haldeman & Bull on India-Pakistan conflict and William P. Rogers December 7, 1971 · 8 min
- Nixon & Kissinger on Munich Olympics and US-Soviet Relations September 6, 1972 · 16 min
- Nixon, Bruce & White House photographer on U.S.-China relations May 3, 1973 · 37 min
Cite this conversation
Conversation 517-022, June 11, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417177883). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/517-022 (accessed November 2, 2026).