Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 690 › Conversation 690-009

Nixon & Haig on Geopolitics and Soviet Union

Tuesday, March 21, 1972 · 12:38 PM–12:43 PM ET · Oval Office · 47 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation690-009 on Tape 690 (tape position 02:55:15–02:58:07)StartTuesday, March 21, 1972 at 12:38 PMEndTuesday, March 21, 1972 at 12:43 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 690-009 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig discuss the geopolitical challenge of maintaining diplomatic dialogues with the Soviet Union and China while those nations simultaneously undermine U.S. interests in Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan. Nixon expresses significant skepticism regarding the sincerity of these adversaries, warning that their subversion efforts contradict ongoing diplomatic engagements. The two emphasize the need for greater caution and strategic awareness to prevent these powers from exploiting U.S. foreign policy discussions.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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That's right, sir.
They're subverting Turkey.
They're subverting Iran.
They're subverting Afghanistan.
They're talking to us.
We've got to be more careful about this.
Don't you think so?
Don't you think so?
I'm convinced that at times when we're talking to the Chinese, right, they're out there knocking our brains out.
And I certainly don't mean to lie to you about it, but it's hard to do these things on purpose.
They can, you know, read it.
Yes, sir.
That's something that's...

NARA Description

On March 21, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:38 pm and 12:43 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 690-009 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 690-009

Date: March 21, 1972
Time: Unknown between 12:38 pm and 12:43 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

     Foreign relations
           -The President’s meeting with Nihat Erim
                -Turkey
                       -Congressional aid
                       -Soviet Union
                             -Iran
                             -Afghanistan
                             -Relations with the US
                             -The People's Republic of China [PRC]
                       -Forthcoming communiqué

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

Haig left at an unknown time before 12:43 pm

Also recorded on March 21, 1972

  • 690-014 12:36 PM · 10 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:36 pm and 12:38 pm.
  • 690-010 12:38 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:38 pm and 12:43 pm.
  • 690-015 12:43 PM · 17 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:43 pm and 1:00 pm.
  • 021-124 1:00 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:00 pm and 1:03 pm.
  • 021-125 1:00 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:00 pm and 1:03 pm.
  • 690-011 1:00 PM · 1 hr 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, White House operator, George P. Shultz, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:00 pm to 2:15 pm.
  • 021-126 1:03 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 1:03 pm to 1:09 pm.
  • 021-127 1:09 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:09 pm and 11:19 pm.

All 31 conversations from March 21, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 690-009, March 21, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/690-009 (accessed October 15, 2026).