Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 670 › Conversation 670-004

Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Airstrikes

Monday, February 14, 1972 · 8:52 AM–9:12 AM ET · Oval Office · 8 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation670-004 on Tape 670 (tape position 00:08:16–00:16:27)StartMonday, February 14, 1972 at 8:52 AMEndMonday, February 14, 1972 at 9:12 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 670-004 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417180777 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss strategies for managing public perception and military policy regarding the Vietnam War, particularly concerning the intensity of airstrikes in South Vietnam. Nixon stresses the importance of projecting strength and explicitly warns against government officials signaling "flexibility" in negotiations with the North Vietnamese, arguing that such rhetoric is counterproductive and fails to satisfy critics. The pair also touches upon the upcoming trip to the People's Republic of China, with Nixon emphasizing a firm negotiating stance to avoid appearing weak or apologetic.

Audio

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NARA Description

On February 14, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:52 am and 9:12 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 670-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 670-4

Date: February 14, 1972
Time: Unknown between 8:52 am and 9:12 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

     Vietnam
          -Bombing
              -Duration                                        Conv. No. 670-23/671-1 (cont.)
              -Planes
              -Carriers
                    -B-52’s
              -Melvin R. Laird

     The President’s schedule
          -Congressmen
               -Forthcoming meeting
                      -Senators

     Vietnam
          -Public relations
                -Airstrike prior to offense
          -The President’s forthcoming trip to the People’s Republic of China [PRC]
          -French press
                -News summary
                -Support
                      -The President’s peace proposal speech, January 25, 1972
          -Saigon
          -Press conference
                -Possible concessions
          -North Vietnamese
                -Gen. Nguyen Van Thieu
                -Flexibility
                      -PRC
                            -Taiwan, Republic of China
                                  -Press
                            -Toughness
                      -Communists
                -William P. Rogers
                      -Actions
                            -Tone
                -American public
                      -Critics
                            -Perception
          -South Vietnam
                -Airstrikes
          -Laird

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

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Hi, Harry.
Just, uh, see, uh, our, our, our taxes last night, they still seem to be running.
Oh, I see, but they didn't go well.
Good, good.
I didn't mind being on it.
I just wanted to be here to see.
Literally, how did they catch the, uh, 10 of the 9, 48 hours, or 24?
Well, we want to have them increased, though.
I mean, I know that doesn't give me any satisfaction.
Why haven't they increased?
Because they can't get the planes out there or what?
Yeah.
I know it's very different there, yeah.
Well, they'll be there by the time we get back.
And also, the very fact they're on the way means something.
Well, they're here.
I can say it before you put it.
Listen, I'm having a meeting at 11 that I can't break out of.
If you'll note, 10 o'clock or so.
Fine.
Well, I can't break out of that because I've got a dysfunction with the press center.
Good, good, good.
Well, I was going to say that if you're between 10 and 11, I'd like to be interrupted.
I have a meeting that may come soon.
I've got a call here.
But if it's between 11 and 12, I'll have to wait until after 12.
OK.
Well, I don't want to do that.
I'm concerned about the PR on this thing.
I think it's true that it's all being played in where these are the strikes in South Vietnam.
Is the camera started?
Yeah.
Well, let me say this.
They think this is a tough way to let me be game.
Because we just have to let them have their, you know, just kind of let them come and get screwed around here.
I mean, we're just getting up to that, you know, pretty uncomfortable.
I know the one interesting thing here in the summer is that the French press were kind of getting
Some, they aren't supporting us as much as our January 25th thing.
That's right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Actually, I think this kind of thing, they believe so intensely in propaganda that this may shape them more than we think, too.
Do you have a lot of first-time comments?
You know, that's more important.
We cannot have any people in the government saying, well, we're flexible.
We must continue to say that goddammit.
We can prove that to them, maybe to our own people, we say we're flexible.
The point that I made is this was a North Vietnamese.
I think that some of our people suggest they're flexible because they think that'll get them to talk.
They are not flexible.
And I think indicating flexibility doesn't do anything.
On some of these Chinese things, I'm inclined to think that I'm going to top some of those up.
i don't want to i don't want to i mean i'm going to be someone absolutely every point every point they get nothing and of course they force us to get something well that's what we know
Well, the press will pay attention to them, in my opinion.
Well, what I'm getting at is that they're Congress Hill.
If you read their whole history, these people are very good, you know, at handing out cosmetics, but they're just tough as they can be.
And what I have in mind, I think the work is just excellent.
But I think what we have to have in mind is that it's dealing with the North Vietnamese.
comments generally.
Flexibility is not an asset.
You must not talk about flexibility.
You must never talk.
If you don't talk later, you don't talk about flexibility.
You know, we run into that every time we come in here.
Every time we leave, every time we leave.
We've been strong with people.
We do reasonably well when we start flapping around and trying to do really what we're doing too much.
You see, the Bill's thing was that it appears that we're apologetic that, you know, we made an offer, but gee, gee, we aren't insisting on the kids.
Come on and wait for us to come on and play.
Goddamn it, we made an offer before, but that just shouldn't be said.
See my point?
I don't know why the purpose of it was to do it with the American public, and I don't think it means a goddamn thing.
It will be our critics and the American public, Henry, are going to criticize us until we give the country to the communists.
So therefore, don't tell them you're going to be flexible.
Let's only lose your friends.
That's right.
That's right.
That's right.
Well, let's see what happens.
We'll see about that.
But on the airstrikes, then we would start right after death and continue until when?
Well, after all, if they're in South Vietnam, we'll do them as necessary.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, in this instance now, because here's what we are interested in,
and they'll know what's happening from where.
So we said, you might say, look, we're just concentrating more.
And maybe you should get that out.
We want to try to .

Also recorded on February 14, 1972

  • 090-003 8:40 AM · 1 hr 44 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Administration officials, and members of Congress, including Harry F. Byrd, Jr., Robert P. Griffin, John G. Tower, Thomas N. Downing, Norman F. Lent, Thomas J. ("Tom") Steed, George P. Shultz, John D. Ehrlichman, Edward L. Morgan, William E. Timmons, Richard K. Cook, Thomas C. Korologos, Ronald L. Ziegler, and the White House photographer, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 8:40 am and 12:45 pm.
  • 670-001 8:52 AM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:52 am and 9:12 am.
  • 670-002 8:52 AM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:52 am and 9:12 am.
  • 670-003 8:52 AM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:52 am and 9:12 am.
  • 670-005 9:12 AM · 48 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:12 am to 10:02 am.
  • 670-006 10:02 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:02 am and 10:07 am.
  • 670-007 10:07 AM · 52 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, Arthur F. Burns, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:07 am to 10:59 am.
  • 670-008 10:59 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, Stephen B. Bull, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:59 am to 11:04 am.

All 33 conversations from February 14, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 670-004, February 14, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417180777). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/670-004 (accessed November 2, 2026).