Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 635 › Conversation 635-002

Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on Indo-Pakistani War

Friday, December 10, 1971 · 8:23 AM–8:38 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); [Unknown person(s)]Conversation635-002 on Tape 635 (tape position 00:05:52–00:06:11)StartFriday, December 10, 1971 at 8:23 AMEndFriday, December 10, 1971 at 8:38 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 635-002 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417180335 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and an unnamed aide (likely Henry Kissinger) discuss high-stakes foreign policy maneuvers, specifically the Indo-Pakistani War and internal administration management. They coordinate efforts to pressure the Soviet Union for a ceasefire in West Pakistan and review the status of defense budget negotiations, with Nixon emphasizing the need for tough public posturing and decisive action. The President also addresses domestic political optics, including the need for a coordinated public relations approach to ensure the administration receives credit for its policy initiatives.

Audio

part A, 5:52

Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 14.7 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the players above hold the full tape, shared with neighbouring conversations. By the archivists' log it runs from 00:05:52 to 00:06:11 into the tape; their log often drifts a minute or two from the audio, so listen for the subjects in the finding aid.

NARA Description

On December 10, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:23 am and 8:38 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 635-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 635-002

Date: December 10, 1971
Time: Unknown between 8:23 am and 8:38 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with an unknown person.

**********************************************************************

[Previous archivists categorized this section as unintelligible. It has been rereviewed and
released 07/18/2019.]
[Unintelligible]
[635-002-w001]
[Duration: 9s]

[This portion of the tape is mostly room noise with some muffled background conversation. ]

**********************************************************************

The unknown person left at an unknown time before 8:38 am.

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.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Timestamps are positions within the full tape; click one to play the tape from there.

Yes, and the Spectre interview, I don't want to do it at noon, because I'm not going to can't do it until lunch, if at all.
I'd rather go at 5 o'clock, and I want to see him alone when he comes in.
I just want to talk to him.

— 1 min 55 s with no transcribed speech —

All right.
I don't have any more questions for you.
I'm not, you know, I think maybe you can look at the Whitney letter, which Peter can hand you after this.
What can I do to you?
I don't know whether you know what I'm talking about.

Also recorded on December 10, 1971

  • 016-077 8:23 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:23 am and 12:14 pm.
  • 635-001 8:23 AM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:23 am and 8:38 am.
  • 637-001 8:32 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:32 am and 8:38 am.
  • 635-003 8:38 AM · 9 min — President Richard M.Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:38 am to 8:48 am.
  • 637-002 8:38 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 8:38 am.
  • 637-003 8:45 AM · 1 hr 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:45 am to 9:42 am.
  • 635-004 8:48 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:48 am and 9:10 am.
  • 635-005 8:48 AM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:48 am and 9:10 am.

All 84 conversations from December 10, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 635-002, December 10, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417180335). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/635-002 (accessed November 2, 2026).