{"conversationCode":"690-009","tapeNumber":690,"conversationNumber":9,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-690-009","startDateTime":"1972-03-21T17:38:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-03-21T17:43:00.000Z","startDate":"21-Mar-1972","startTime":"12:38 PM","endDate":"21-Mar-1972","endTime":"12:43 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.;","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.","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. 690-009\n\nDate: March 21, 1972\nTime: Unknown between 12:38 pm and 12:43 pm\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President met with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.\n\n     Foreign relations\n           -The President’s meeting with Nihat Erim\n                -Turkey\n                       -Congressional aid\n                       -Soviet Union\n                             -Iran\n                             -Afghanistan\n                             -Relations with the US\n                             -The People's Republic of China [PRC]\n                       -Forthcoming communiqué\n\n       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542\n\nHaig left at an unknown time before 12:43 pm","filename":["690-009.mp3"],"tapeStart":"02:55:15","tapeEnd":"02:58:07","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Haig, Alexander M., Jr."],"prevCode":"690-008","nextCode":"690-010","transcript":[{"start":0.13,"end":2.56,"text":"That's right, sir."},{"start":16.3,"end":17.42,"text":"They're subverting Turkey."},{"start":17.44,"end":18.16,"text":"They're subverting Iran."},{"start":18.22,"end":18.86,"text":"They're subverting Afghanistan."},{"start":19,"end":20.7,"text":"They're talking to us."},{"start":20.72,"end":23.3,"text":"We've got to be more careful about this."},{"start":23.32,"end":24.02,"text":"Don't you think so?"},{"start":24.04,"end":25.26,"text":"Don't you think so?"},{"start":25.28,"end":29.26,"text":"I'm convinced that at times when we're talking to the Chinese, right, they're out there knocking our brains out."},{"start":31.1,"end":39.57,"text":"And I certainly don't mean to lie to you about it, but it's hard to do these things on purpose."},{"start":39.59,"end":40.35,"text":"They can, you know, read it."},{"start":40.37,"end":40.55,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":40.59,"end":41.35,"text":"That's something that's..."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"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.","topics":["Geopolitics","Soviet Union","People's Republic of China","Foreign Policy","Diplomacy","Cold War"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-07T02:42:30.718Z"},"topicSlugs":["geopolitics","soviet-union","peoples-republic-of-china","foreign-policy","diplomacy","cold-war"],"audioDurationSec":47,"audioFiles":[{"file":"690-009.mp3","bytes":1888963,"durationSec":47.08,"bitrate":320989,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:54.978Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:44:18.565Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/690-009.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/690-009","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/690/conversation-690-009","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}