Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 700 › Conversation 700-009
Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Moscow Summit
Monday, April 3, 1972 · 4:27 PM–4:31 PM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon and Henry Kissinger debated the geopolitical implications of the ongoing North Vietnamese offensive and the potential necessity of canceling the upcoming Moscow summit. Kissinger argued against drawing parallels between the United States and France’s withdrawal from Algeria, asserting that the U.S. status as a global superpower necessitates a more resolute response to maintain international credibility. The discussion underscored the administration's concern that any perceived retreat would fundamentally undermine American influence on the world stage.
- Vietnam War
- Moscow Summit
- US Foreign Policy
- Geopolitics
- International Credibility
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.1 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.2 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 44.1 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 03:06:29 into the tape and ends around 03:10:36.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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
NARA Description
On April 3, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:27 pm to 4:31 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 700-009 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 700-9
Date: April 3, 1972
Time: 4:27 pm - 4:31 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Henry A. Kissinger; the recording began at an unknown time while the
conversation was in progress.
Vietnam
-Impact on US foreign policy
-Response to offensive
-Leadership
-Moscow summit
-Possible cancellation
-Consequences
-Algeria
-Impact on France
-France's status in world
-Significance
-US as world power
Kissinger left at 4:31 pm.Also recorded on April 3, 1972
- 328-031 3:05 PM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:05 pm and 3:19 pm.
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- 022-067 3:19 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 3:19 pm to 3:33 pm.
- 328-035 3:19 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:19 pm to 3:33 pm.
- 328-036 3:55 PM · 28 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:55 pm to 4:26 pm.
- 700-010 4:32 PM · 1 hr 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, John D. Ehrlichman, Manolo Sanchez, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:32 pm to 5:36 pm.
- 700-012 5:36 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:36 pm to 5:48 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 700-009, April 3, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/700-009 (accessed October 11, 2026).