{"conversationCode":"668-016","tapeNumber":668,"conversationNumber":16,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-668-016","startDateTime":"1972-02-09T16:21:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-02-09T17:05:00.000Z","startDate":"9-Feb-1972","startTime":"11:21 AM","endDate":"9-Feb-1972","endTime":"12:05 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President);","description":"On February 9, 1972, 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. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 668-016 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":3,"chronRelease":"Third Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"28-Feb-2002","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 668-16\n\nDate: February 9, 1972\nTime: Unknown between 11:21 am and 12:05 pm\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President taped the Vietnam section of the radio address about the Third Annual Foreign\nPolicy Report to the Congress; unknown technicians are in the Oval Office at the time of taping.\n\n[A transcript of the final version of this speech appear in Public Papers of the Presidents,\nRichard M. Nixon, 1972, pp. 192-193]\n\n     The President’s schedule\n          -Executive Office Building [EOB]\n\nThe President left at an unknown time before 12:05 pm.\n\nRecording was cut off at an unknown time before 12:05 pm.","filename":["668a.mp3","668b.mp3","668b_i.mp3"],"tapeStart":"03:05:26","tapeEnd":"03:12:03","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)"],"prevCode":"668-015","nextCode":"669-001","tapeTranscriptFile":"668a.mp3,668b.mp3","transcript":[{"start":11126,"end":11127.25,"text":"And I do not question the patriotism or the sincerity of those who disagree with my policy to bring peace."},{"start":11128.79,"end":11134.83,"text":"But as I said in 1968 when I was a candidate for president, we have only one president at a time."},{"start":11136.31,"end":11139.57,"text":"And only the president can negotiate an end to the war."},{"start":11141.17,"end":11147.84,"text":"There should always be free debate and criticism, so that our policy will represent the best thinking of our nation."},{"start":11149.5,"end":11154.16,"text":"A candidate for president has a higher responsibility than the ordinary critic."},{"start":11155.66,"end":11162.01,"text":"A candidate should make any criticism he believes would contribute to bringing an honorable peace."},{"start":11163.33,"end":11179.91,"text":"But I would hope that anyone seeking the presidency would examine his statements carefully to be sure that nothing he says might give the enemy an incentive to prolong the war until after the election."},{"start":11182.04,"end":11192.9,"text":"Trust in the United States among the 45 nations with which we have treaty commitments is essential if peace and freedom are to be preserved in the world."},{"start":11194.41,"end":11200.73,"text":"Let us end our involvement in the war in Vietnam in a way which will not destroy that trust."},{"start":11220.79,"end":11222.72,"text":"No, no, no, no."},{"start":11223.46,"end":11231.07,"text":"No, no, no, no."}],"transcriptBoundary":{"start":11126,"end":11501.5,"startMethod":"tape_time","endMethod":"silence"},"transcriptConfidence":"low","transcriptSource":"bigtape","aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon recorded a segment of his radio address concerning the Third Annual Foreign Policy Report to Congress with the assistance of technical staff. The remarks focused on the Vietnam War, emphasizing the necessity of executive authority in peace negotiations and urging presidential candidates to avoid rhetoric that might inadvertently prolong the conflict. Nixon concluded by highlighting the importance of maintaining international trust in U.S. treaty commitments while pursuing an honorable withdrawal from the region.","topics":["Vietnam War","Foreign Policy","Radio Address","Presidential Election","Public Diplomacy"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-07T02:17:50.783Z"},"topicSlugs":["vietnam-war","foreign-policy","radio-address","presidential-election","public-diplomacy"],"audioDurationSec":397,"audioFiles":[{"file":"668a.mp3","bytes":175654451,"durationSec":7318.87,"bitrate":192001,"missing":false},{"file":"668b.mp3","bytes":105440443,"durationSec":4393.29,"bitrate":192002,"missing":false},{"file":"668b_i.mp3","bytes":7427969,"durationSec":309.42,"bitrate":192047,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":true,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:54.977Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/668a.mp3","https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/668b.mp3","https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/668b_i.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/668-016","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/668/conversation-668-016","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}