Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 668 › Conversation 668-015

Nixon, Kissinger & Ziegler on Vietnam War and Public relations

Wednesday, February 9, 1972 · 11:20 AM–11:21 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Kissinger, Henry A.;  Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation668-015 onTape 668 (tape position 03:02:35–03:05:26)StartWednesday, February 9, 1972 at 11:20 AMEndWednesday, February 9, 1972 at 11:21 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 668-015 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and Ronald Ziegler met to discuss the public and political reception of the President's recent radio address regarding the Vietnam War. Kissinger offered analysis on the motivations of administration critics, focusing on the intersection of patriotism and policy dissent. The participants framed the President’s withdrawal efforts as a significant achievement in reducing casualties and ending the conflict responsibly.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.5 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 100.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 7.1 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 03:02:35 into the tape and ends around 03:05:26.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

3:03:45Let me turn now to Vietnam.
3:03:47This has been America's longest and most difficult war.
3:03:50It began long before I became president, and I have been doing everything I can honorably do to end it.
3:03:56I brought almost one and a half million men home from Vietnam.
3:04:01As high as 300 a week were being killed in action when I took office.
3:04:05This week there were two.
3:04:07We reduced air surges, budget cuts, and draft calls.
3:04:13Let me turn now to Vietnam.
3:04:19This has been Americas longest and most difficult war.
3:04:41It began long before I became president, and I have been doing everything I can honorably do to end it.
3:04:49I have brought almost one and a half million men home from Vietnam.
3:04:53As high as 300 a week were being killed in action when I took office.
3:04:56This week there were two.
3:04:58We have reduced air surges, budget costs, and draft costs.
3:05:04We have made the most generous peace offer in the history of warfare.
3:05:09I have no complaint over the fact that during this period, when I have been ending the war, I did not begin.
3:05:16I have been subjected to vigorous criticism.
3:05:20And I do not question the patriotism or the sincerity of those who disagree with my policy to bring peace.

NARA Description

On February 9, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:20 am to 11:21 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 668-015 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 668-15

Date: February 9, 1972
Time: 11:20 am - 11:21 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Henry A. Kissinger and Ronald L. Ziegler.

     The President’s recent radio speech
          -Kissinger’s view
               -Critics of Administration’ Vietnam policy
                      -Patriotism

                      -Responsibility
                 -Vietnam
                      -Communists

The President and Kissinger left at 11:21 am.

Also recorded on February 9, 1972

  • 020-081 10:15 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:15 am.
  • 668-013 10:40 AM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:40 am and 11:04 am.
  • 668-014 10:40 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:40 am and 11:04 am.
  • 020-083 11:04 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:04 am and 2:52 pm.
  • 668-016 11:21 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:21 am and 12:05 pm.
  • 321-001 12:08 PM · 52 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:08 pm and 12:16 pm.
  • 321-002 12:08 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:08 pm and 12:16 pm.
  • 321-003 12:16 PM · 45 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:16 pm to 1:05 pm.

All 53 conversations from February 9, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 668-015, February 9, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/668-015 (accessed September 18, 2026).