Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 596 › Conversation 596-005

Nixon White House recording on Arab-Israeli conflict and Middle East diplomacy

Tuesday, October 19, 1971 · 12:14 PM–12:15 PM ET · Oval Office

Participants[Unknown person(s)]Conversation596-005 on Tape 596 (tape position 02:04:26–02:05:37)StartTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 12:14 PMEndTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 12:15 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 596-005 ↗

AI Summary

Unnamed participants discuss the ongoing diplomatic stalemate in the Arab-Israeli conflict, specifically focusing on the intractable disagreement over territorial withdrawal and secure borders. The conversation highlights the fundamental tension between the Arab demand for full Israeli withdrawal and Israel’s insistence on maintaining strategic boundaries. The dialogue reflects a concern that the lack of progress on these core issues increases the likelihood of renewed hostilities.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 124.8 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 02:04:26 into the tape and ends around 02:05:37.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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2:04:26that should be done first, and then go on after that to the next step.
2:04:33That's where the science is about to come on, and where it takes a little bit of work on.
2:04:40I think that the dialogue problem is not really
2:04:48great as it once was, because there was a time when they didn't talk to each other.
2:04:56They did a little talking.
2:04:56But it really gets down to the fundamental points, too.
2:05:03Withdrawal.
2:05:03I mean, the Arabs say that Israel must withdraw from all they have to buy territory.
2:05:06Israel says, never.
2:05:07We will withdraw from some because we've got to have secure borders.
2:05:15And so the Arabs said, well, if you don't do that, then we've got to be at war with you if you can get out.
2:05:21That's what's coming up at the present time.
2:05:26So somewhere in between, there's an answer there, where Israel can have its secure borders.
2:05:33But there's a second time where there has to be some withdrawal, too.

NARA Description

On October 19, 1971, unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:14 pm to 12:15 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 596-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 596-5

Date: October 19, 1971

Time: 12:14 pm - 12:15 pm
Location: Oval Office

Unknown people met.

     [Unintelligible]

The unknown people left at 12:15 pm.

Also recorded on October 19, 1971

  • 596-006 12:15 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:15 pm and 12:17 pm.
  • 596-007 12:17 PM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:17 pm to 12:18 pm.
  • 596-008 12:23 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:23 pm.
  • 596-009 12:23 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:23 pm.
  • 596-023 12:23 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. V. Meares, Sylvia Lawry, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:23 pm and 12:30 pm.
  • 596-010 12:30 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:30 pm and 12:31 pm.
  • 596-011 12:31 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Ross Tomkins, Charlton (Rink) ("Rink") Reynders, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:31 pm to 12:33 pm.
  • 080-003 12:33 PM · 11 min — Stephen B. Bull and unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:33 pm and 11:59 pm.

All 93 conversations from October 19, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 596-005, October 19, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/596-005 (accessed September 28, 2026).