Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 725 › Conversation 725-033

Nixon, Karim & Hoskinson on Bangladesh and US Foreign Policy

Tuesday, May 16, 1972 · 12:49 PM–12:53 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Karim, Knayet;  Hoskinson, Samuel;  White House photographerConversation725-033 onTape 725 (tape position 03:56:38–04:01:57)StartTuesday, May 16, 1972 at 12:49 PMEndTuesday, May 16, 1972 at 12:53 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 725-033 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Enayet Karim and Samuel Hoskinson to formally express the United States' desire to establish friendly relations with the newly independent nation of Bangladesh. During the discussion, the President emphasized a commitment to providing humanitarian aid to help the country recover from the suffering caused by recent conflict. Nixon also shared personal anecdotes about his past relationships with former Pakistani officials from East Pakistan to foster rapport with the delegation as they moved to establish a diplomatic mission in Washington.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.1 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 100.2 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 03:56:38 into the tape and ends around 04:01:57.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.

3:56:38You know, you just may give me the recommendation.
3:56:39I know this might be a fight, but I just do our best.
3:56:42I can't conscientiously, and I disagree with it, because if this all is here, it's going to be an eye-opener.
3:56:51I'm sure of that.
3:56:52There was two demonstrations.
3:56:56Hi, John.
3:56:57John, the best idea I had today was to go out there across the street
3:57:04You see, we tend to think that what the New York Times and others say, the nervous knowledge is the country's death.
3:57:17The country's divided about 60-40.
3:57:2040% are scared.
3:57:21Draft doctors and the rest, about 60% say, by God, show them the balls.
3:57:30I don't think you're right.
3:57:31Well, this whole hyponic thing.
3:57:32Yeah, that's the hyponic thing.
3:57:36So my mail, every letter I'm getting now from around the country says, tell the president we're going to have a great movement.
3:57:43Along with other things.
3:57:44I work with people.
3:57:46Excuse me, Mr. President.
3:57:47Hey, is there a meeting with Kissinger?
3:57:48There's a man named Hoskinson they wanted to meet.
3:57:51I don't think you know Hoskinson.
3:57:54I don't care.
3:57:54Like the letters here today.
3:58:00He's got something on his mind.
3:58:04Gross.
3:58:04I mean, he's just been the title.
3:58:08They let me in that.
3:58:10They did?
3:58:10Yeah.
3:58:12I'm afraid I'll see him.
3:58:14I'd love to, except I've got a reception.
3:58:17I'll say hello for you.
3:58:19Mr. President, how are you?
3:58:31Yes, how are you?
3:58:33Very nice to see you.
3:58:34Nice to see you.
3:58:38I'll step over for a picture here so we can have it on this here.
3:58:41Okay, why don't you sit right here.
3:59:08We're very glad to see you.
3:59:10As you know, as I have written to you, we want to establish a good, friendly relationship with your country without any problems.
3:59:19We have been trying to be helpful on the humanitarian side.
3:59:23We want to be helpful in every way we can.
3:59:26We want you to succeed because you've suffered too much now, and that's our attitude.
3:59:38And, in fact, we're very anxious to have all the countries in the area succeed.
3:59:40I mean, it's the tragedy of India, Pakistan, and now Bangladesh.
3:59:42It must not be repeated.
3:59:45I mean, you, of course, everybody, you know, here in Washington, you know, they do.
3:59:50And, you know, those aren't many problems.
3:59:59I was glad to know that the particle time yesterday, they're doing better than your people.
4:00:08And you can be sure that we'll do everything we can to see that your country can go forward and deal with these problems in a way that will give the people not only a chance to survive, but a hope.
4:00:45It's one of the first
4:01:00Pakistani I ever met was from East Pakistan, Muhammad Ali.
4:01:05Do you remember?
4:01:06He died a few years later, but he was my host.
4:01:08Well, do you remember Guliman?
4:01:10Yes, I do.
4:01:10He was the governor general at the time.
4:01:12Muhammad Ali was the prime minister, and I had a wonderful relationship with him.
4:01:20He was from East Pakistan, but he's gone.
4:01:25I'd like you to find that, and a very nice wife, too.
4:01:28He had no car with him.
4:01:29He had no car with him, yeah.
4:01:30Is his wife living with you?
4:01:33He's, uh, she's still living with me.
4:01:34If you ever happen to see her, tell her I actually brought her in.
4:01:37Remember me?
4:01:37I'm so proud of her, too.
4:01:43You had a guy who brought her in, remember?
4:01:48Who was there and brought you the lights and everything.
4:01:50It was a lovely party.
4:01:51It was a warm place.
4:01:52A warm place.
4:01:53A warm place.
4:01:55A warm place.
4:01:55A warm place.
4:01:55Right.
4:01:55A warm place.

NARA Description

On May 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Knayet Karim, Samuel Hoskinson, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:49 pm to 12:53 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 725-033 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 725-33

Date: May 16, 1972
Time: 12:49 - 12:53 p.m.
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Enayet Karim and Samuel Hoskinson; the White
House photographer was present at the beginning of the meeting.

      Greetings

      [Photograph session]
          -Arrangements

      Bangladesh
         -Establishment of US relations
         -US cooperation
               -Humanitarian aid
         -Suffering
               -India
               -Pakistan

      Pakistan
          -Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
          -Time article

      Bangladesh
         -Problems
               -US aid
         -People
         -Appreciation to US
         -Problems
               -War
               -Rebuilding
         -The President’s previous meeting
               -Mohammed Ali Jinnah
                    -Prime Minister
               -Hoolamad [?]
                    -Governor - General under Mohammed Ali
               -Mohammed Ali
                    -Relationship with President
                    -East Pakistan

                                          (rev. Jan-02)

                      -The President’s view
                      -Wife
                            -The President’s view
                      -Death
                      -Wife
                      -Party for President
                            -Karachi
                      -The President’s view
          -President's future meeting with Mujibur Rahman
                -Good wishes
          -US aid
                -State department
                -White House
          -Prime Minister
                -Use of term

      Karim
          -Residence in Washington
          -Setting up an embassy in Washington

Karim and Hoskinson left at 12:53 pm.

Also recorded on May 16, 1972

  • 725-041 12:45 PM · 49 sec — John D. Ehrlichman and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:45 pm.
  • 725-032 12:46 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:46 pm to 12:49 pm.
  • 725-034 12:54 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Toma Granfil, Helmut ("Hal") Sonnenfeldt, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:54 pm to 1:01 pm.
  • 725-042 1:01 PM · 7 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:01 pm and 4:58 pm.
  • 340-001 1:12 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:12 pm to 1:13 pm.
  • 340-002 1:13 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Zosimo T. Monzon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:13 pm and 1:19 pm.
  • 340-003 1:19 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:19 pm to 1:20 pm.
  • 024-151 1:20 PM · 0 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 1:20 pm.

All 113 conversations from May 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 725-033, May 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/725-033 (accessed September 18, 2026).