Nixon, Kemp & Haig on Vietnam War and Vietnamization

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Is there time to do the re-voting?

I'm not sure that it's a good idea.

Maybe just to let them do it.

Well, I was broke out there, sitting out there.

Yeah, and you were awesome.

Out in, uh, out in, uh, I heard that you, uh, found the, uh,

Well, I thought in anger that it was lying to me.

I said, let's get off politics and manage it.

Something's wrong.

When I took McCroskey on the helicopter, everybody was lined right up waiting for us.

But people are basically very shy and tired.

We have a lot of people that are drawn out.

And I tell them, I didn't take it.

About 25 conversations.

that 100% believe that they own everything.

They know, you know, what it's going to be doing for them.

And it's a really political side of things.

And I want to go back, and I said, if the war's over tomorrow, if peace comes, would you go back to the village and go to hell?

And I said, well, you know, it's going to be easy to, you know, from old ladies to young boys.

And I said, no.

And I just kind of said, okay.

I really think it's a subjective and, you know, kind of a

a few of them are arguing with her, because I've been trying to argue with her, actually.

I didn't, you know, just to take her kind of reference emotionally.

But her client is setting up a speech intervention in two weeks, and I'm going to go after her.

I told the general that I went up to him on the floor yesterday and said I was very disappointed in him.

He said, why's that?

I said, well, a lot of the things you said just didn't bear out, and now he really isn't upset.

So it was a very worthwhile trip and gave me at least some type of involvement that now I can leave on the same grounds.

Well, you know, it's a terrible reflection on God when we go out and deliberately lie.

We understand.

In other words, lie hurts the country.

It hurts the country.

These guys, you know, I'm dating people over there who say this word is for the country.

This word, as you say, is for the people.

And so what happens?

My God, a congressman comes back and says, we were the aggressors.

That's what he was doing.

We're the ones that are killing them.

I mean, the point is, who's invading the damn place?

We're not invading the place.

I asked the leaders of all the villages there, I said, have you ever heard of a refugee going to the north of the United States in the back of the lab the other way?

They said, no, I've never heard of anybody other than those who were forced to, who have gone north of the amount.

All the refugees that come into the south, in Cambodia or India, often come to the south of the United States and the government.

So it's pretty obvious.

But he, as I said before, he's arguing with some of us.

He's such an irrational and an evolutionary point that it's difficult for some people not to believe it.

Well, we'll leave that aside.

We'll just come on here.

We're the best.

Well, I went in to have dinner with Mr. Bunker and General Abrams, and I just got back from my career, and I was really impressed with the effort.

I was there in 68 with the NFL football team, with Bunker's guy, and, you know, with those very intense offenses, and the situation then, of course, was very insecure.

And today, you know, in just a position, it's a fantastic improvement.

And I just got back, I was all charged up, and talking about the magnificent effort that was being made, and the ambassador asked me,

And they were very, they just met with two, about four o'clock in the afternoon, and everybody was on edge.

They fought it out in the jet camp, and they were scared to death.

I came in there and started talking about the presidential elections in Saigon, and basically what I did, I said, what's your reaction?

And I said, well, gee, it's a magnificent effort, and now we've got to get busy, and I was talking about you, I said, we've got to get the president elected so we can finish the job over here.

And they were talking about president two, and I'm telling you, the whole place is set up, and all the, but you're, it's not all being that hard, and I'm reading the other one.

I agree with your statement today.

To allow an unfortunate turn of events to deter us from our stated objective would be...

What a murderous thing I'm sure he did.

Now the way to get out is not to murder, to handle with a quotation or two, by having another speaker who can hear you three times.

The second thing is, what standard are people requesting in Vietnam?

Well, we think they should have American-style democracy.

We didn't have it for 110 years, 150, the greatest of 500 years.

If we were to cut off aid to countries,

that do not have, whose leaders are in office as a result of a non-contested election.

If we were to cut off aid to all countries, if their leaders did not win as a result of a contested election that we would consider fair, we'd have to cut off aid to two-thirds of the countries in the world, and I think we're aiding today.

Now, as far as I was concerned, what have they done?

They haven't had an election in two lives, but some elections better than none.

And first and second, on the congressional side, a third of all those who ran were opponents of Cuba.

And some of them claimed it was not they couldn't win because it was unfair, so that again,

and you at least provided to recommend it now we prefer if they had an election we prefer to be another way but we cannot expect it to grow full ball and we're not going to give up in this area because we're looking for office very hard and very tough

Yeah.

That's right.

Wow.

But here's the gutter, walking down the street in Saigon, I can guarantee you there was no way he would have been shopping in Saigon two years ago, or three years ago.

Period.

Two shopping bags.

You see that picture on the front page?

He'd been out shopping in Saigon, and I was there in 68, and there was no way he would have been a shopping bag.

And he says, and he turns around hypocritically and says, again, the position does not work.

Well, those people are farming, and they are, there's commerce, and there's growth, and they're building, and they wouldn't be building if there was such insecurity, as he says.

The atomization has worked.

It's a shock.

Yeah, I'm talking back, walking down the streets of Saigon, and you think about the atomization at work.

Well, listen, I appreciate your time.

I guess the...

When we go up there, I think we can do a big job of the church on him.

I am far out on that limb again.

I'm glad to be here.

I believe in it.

I think it's a magnificent effort, and I really want to be a part of the church this summer.

I am told that my district is a 70% Catholic.

Highest percentage of Catholics are white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, and my other district is Jewish.

So I'm here to tell you how important it is to sell jets and to save the parochial schools.

And the first president never did a damn thing about it.

And 9-4 has crossed all the way, for God's sake, out of about 5 million American kids onto the public schools.

It costs an initial amount of $4.5 million in new money to build schools and facilities to take care of the 5 million kids that are in primary schools.

And it costs us $4.5 million a year to keep them in there.

So I believe that just looking at it, if you're a monetary standpoint, a part of it, then that is to the interest to keep these schools open.

We're going to try to help everybody we can.

Having in mind, in fact, the Supreme Court has made it very difficult for us to do it, but we're working on it.

We're working on it.

We've done a lot.

One thing you could do in talking to the Conservatives, they were abstaining from that.

They said it was suspending because of national defense.

Jack, look, who the hell is fighting the national defense?

I fought for ABM, one of my wonderful students.

I'm fighting the bastards in the draft.

They want to get rid of the draft.

They get rid of the draft.

America's number two in the world today.

And also, they get rid of the draft.

All of our peace initiatives with the right of the Chinese are down to two.

That's what happens.

You cannot negotiate from weakness.

Now, I don't get rid of the drafts sometimes.

I mean, I'll volunteer and all that sort of thing.

But right now, we can't listen at the time.

With your Jewish friends, actually, you've got to play that role.

And you should take a further outline than I do, President Jacobs.

I've got to keep pressure on them to make them try to negotiate something.

You should say we should make it that Israel is the most democratic government in the area.

that they stood up against the Russians, that they are our friends, and that maintain Israel's strength, and that the President just said that the balance of power in the area must be maintained, and that, therefore, you consider Jets from Israel to be a must, and that you have so close to us.

I'm certain of that.

But in all my speeches, I also support your view.

But I'll tell you, you should go further.

I have.

Go right out there.

I have.

Take it right out there and say,

I guess they're interested in that, some people.

I don't care where you go, there's no other issues, you know.

But just so you're clear, from Israel, I got a big award for the B'nai B'rith the other night, and my voting record has been, you know, in Republican.

— 1 min 25 s with no transcribed speech —

He ended up after sending me to you to go out and help the Redskins, huh?

No, but you're not that hard up.

They may get you to a kilner and a couple other guys, then they, uh... Can a kilner throw?

He's not a thrower like Sonny, but he's a tough-ass competitor.

Is he?

Yes, sir.

Where did he play before him?

He stayed away.

And then he went to New Orleans.

Kilmer played with him too?

Yeah, he was a killer.

He could stay away.

And then he went to New Orleans.

Well, you know, he just might have.

You never know.

Everybody thought the Vikings would go to pieces when they lost their quarterback.

And they didn't.

No, that's right.

They were still great.

They know more or less what it means to be a Baltimore.

That's right.

Quarterback is indispensable.

Your girls are really good at it.

Because they sent me to Washington.

I told them.

They didn't want me.

Who was their quarterback?

They had a dentist job in San Diego State.

Oh, yeah.

They didn't do any of that.

Guess who came from the Packers, didn't they?

No.

Who was the one from the Packers?

He's the dentist.

Yeah, I met Shell.

Shell was in San Diego State.

And it was the first time I got to my last year.

It's done real well for the Bulls.

We appreciate your support.

Nixon, Kemp & Haig on Vietnam War and Vietnamization

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Transcript (AI-generated)

Also recorded on September 17, 1971

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Nixon, Kemp & Haig on Vietnam War and Vietnamization

AI Summary

Audio

NARA Description

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Transcript (AI-generated)

Also recorded on September 17, 1971

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Cite this conversation