Nixon, Cox & Davis on Soviet Union travel and International travel planning

Hi.
Hi, Daddy.
How are you?
Mm-hmm.
I love it.
Perfectly safe and very, very nice.
Claridge is the best place to stay in Hamburg.
It's not very expensive, but it'll be next to you.
An American embassy officer shouldn't be escorted into the SSR for a very fundamental reason.
You can also be in transit.
There's no problem with that.
And if it's Soviet press there, you've got to have American press in protection.
There'll be no harm.
If it's Soviet, you've got to be in public.
The other is not public.
They said maybe Egypt.
What do you think of that?
Egypt, you don't play a fair way to this.
Mrs. Jean Davis sounds great.
She's a good one to work with on that.
I agree with several of your suggestions about new towns.
You don't want to go to the damn new towns.
No.
There's a Windsor Castle in Windsor.
Interesting to you.
No.
I also marked out the...
No, I don't, we don't want to do that.
Not all the universities.
No.
Because you're likely to run into heckling.
That's right, even at the American University.
Don't, or by all, and particularly the American universities.
No.
Don't go to any universities.
I agree.
To the extent you can do, it would be nice to the embassy staff, it would be nice if they want to have a meeting with the embassy staff.
Meet them, it takes a half hour, and I never was able to do it.
You can tell them how much you appreciate their work for America.
I would say do the sightseeing in Athens and so forth, in Cairo and so forth.
I would go to Aslong Dam.
It's a hell of a thing to see, but be sure to go back and see Luxor.
You know, they...
I thought we might not go to see the dam since it wasn't built by us anyway.
And maybe we... and it is historical.
I'd go to the temple by all means.
But we would go to the temples and all.
I'd be sure you'd go to the temples.
No.
And then skip the dam.
Say that you've seen it before.
Right.
Yeah, he was in before.
He should be very nice to the Sadat and very nice to the King of Jordan.
They're both friends of ours.
Well, but you think they'll want to meet with us, please, or what?
Oh, you may.
You may or not.
I'm sure that they may want to have a little courtesy talk.
I met the King.
I met him at the last launch.
Right.
He should be nice to them.
He's a very nice person.
In Israel, you know, we have to go all out being nice to people.
And visiting in kibbutz is a good idea.
That's, well, you've got to see how it's done.
And, you know, I mean, it's an interesting part of your education to see how they raise their kids separately.
And the calls and so forth.
The Black Seas are very famous.
In Lenneberg, I go see the college, the great, immaculately college in Wyoming.
And stay overnight in Lenneberg if they offer the guest house.
Moscow, they do want you to stay with the residents, which is better.
They don't have a good guest house in Moscow, except in Kremlin, where actually you can't stay.
Tashkent, I ruled out.
I don't see any reason to go there.
You don't want to go to a collective farm.
No.
What I thought you should go is to Samarkand, where you've got the beautiful blue roads of Angus Khan.
over Samarkand.
I put it on here.
I've been there.
It's direct again.
It's another part of the world.
It's near Persia.
Yeah, I'd love to see that.
Daddy, you know, we don't want to spend much time in Jordan.
I feel... Jordan can just be a... A day.
A day.
That's a good Israel.
Everybody understands that.
But you don't have to have a day.
So many of the same number of days each election.
Fair enough.
Okay, there it is.
When do you leave?
Well, um, I just wanted to let you know that- Do you want to meet Mrs. Bagers?
I do too.
They are something very interesting to her.
Yes.
Mrs. Bagers, the kind of agent David is, is about to see you.
As I thought, if you work the thing out, man, this is the arena he's supposed to call you.
But I'm not going to see them when they're here.
I just haven't got the time right now.
So I'm in the middle of the cabinet.
I'm in the middle of the Vietnam negotiations and all the rest.
But they're welcome to go to camp.
But I would tell mommy that I wouldn't go to Camp David.
They should do their New York part if you could work this out.
major announcements and campaigns on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The campaign will be open starting Thursday if they want it.
But I will not be there.
I've got to come back to Washington to work on Vietnam, the balance of the week.
I've got to be here.
And that's fine.
See, I don't want to get caught in the behind the jacket campaign.
But I think Camp David, they would like better.
And so tell her that she could use Camp David, which is perfect for her to eat at home in Washington.
Tell her that if she'll only let me know when they're going to Camp David, then I can fan myself in front of them.
So after Thursday would be good, right?
Or?
Tuesday, Wednesday, yes.
Tuesday, Wednesday.
They could come up Thursday night.
I will not be there.
I come down here.
But they can't say that it's available for the whole weekend if they want Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
They could use it.
But that I have to be here because I have to be here for Vietnam talks.
Well, they don't expect that.
That sounds great.
Well, you've got a hell of a trip planned there, and Mrs. Sabrina is trying to be very nice to you.
You know, now you understand there will be a lot of public people that will be there.
And remember, you're going to be, well, you'll be the eye of public attention.
And I'd be very nice to them if you don't need to have any press conferences or anything, because you're not on any of those.
Daddy, we always do a good job when we don't go.
I know.
I know what I meant.
I mean, accept them.
They'll love to see you.
We do sort of want to make it a private trip.
Make it a private trip to the extent that you can.
But don't.
If anything, let it have a good feeling.
If you have to bend over, bend over in terms of being nice to the press rather than turning them away.
You know what I mean?
And, you know, we're glad to see you and so forth.
I'm not going to make any public comments or anything.
No, no.
In other words, I'll handle it just like we handled the trip to England, for me that's to show that type of thing.
Yes, that would be perfect.
And I would, I'd let them shoot television pictures of you, say a few words and so forth.
That's very good for you, and it will hold them so well.
Sort of consider yourselves as unofficial ambassadors.
You've got a hell of a play in Egypt, which is nice, and New York, a little piece, and so forth and so on.
I'm going to have them work up a talking paper for you, a reading book for you, so that you know all about it.
I'd like to know what the people we're meeting is, a little bit about the people we're meeting, what are some good things to say about Jordan, what are some good things to say about Israel, Egypt, things like that.
I mean, I do have arguments against them.
Do you know what they're saying?
I see.
I see.
So now...
So I'd like to leave it with you.
I understand Mrs. will call her up when I'm over there.
So if you'll kind of follow up and see if that is done so that we'll know.
Arrangements should be made for them to stay in embassies if there are ambassadors and residents.
I haven't made the anniversaries in my month to say that they aren't residents.
That's my guess.
Because, you know, they're old friends of ours.
In other cases, they may not.
They don't have much of a residence in some of those countries.
And then in Russia, I think they should stay in the Spasov House, of course.
Because in terms of the places I made one change on Russia, rather than touching on it, I don't want them to go to these universities.
I don't want them to get into dialogue and that sort of thing.
I think probably, oh, it's not except for Moscow University.
You should see that.
problem at all it's a it's a great building that's on top of some marvels here it's the only one but no others not in england or anything because there are things but rather than touch them i have a semi-con that has a good feel and it has a great greater view and there you just see the great ruins you know the blue temple
Samarkand, or the other possibility would be to go to Novosibirsk.
No, Samarkand is more beautiful, but has more...
I'd like to see Samarkand.
Samarkand is the one I would recommend in Russia.
In Leningrad, overnight, and if they have a cold there, maybe the Russians would let them stay in their guesthouse.
They have a beautiful guesthouse.
You should have one.
And if it misses the rain, you might see it.
If you go, I would do, if it's in season, do the, by all means, go to the Bolshoi.
It's the most beautiful theater in the world.
It's like, well, it's like the Scala.
The other one is to do it also in Leningrad, because they're a proud of their valley.
But in Leningrad, you must spend money on seeing Collins.
Collins is great.
England, well, you know, see the historical places.
We've never seen it.
You know all the people there.
you know how you work on reading books and getting trips.
If you would have worked out for them, of course, the biographical sketches and the little historical stuff and then a few little suggestions, you know, having in mind that you're writing for them rather than us as to how
They should talk and protect themselves and so forth.
You know, I mean, you and Hayden and the boys on the left over there in state can help too, and that's a very good investment.
I mean, it's nice to meet them in Vienna.
Sure.
So, uh... We won't be going to Rome.
We won't be going to France.
Yeah.
They don't want to be so busy, you know.
And, uh, you're sure you don't want to go to Europe, incidentally, to Vienna?
Vienna.
Vienna.
You're sure you don't want to...
You don't want to go to Warsaw?
Warsaw's not depressing.
It's a beautiful, beautiful city.
Well, don't go.
Then, you're sure you don't want to go to Vienna and what about any other European?
You've been to Spain.
Germany?
No.
You'd like to stop in Germany?
All right, fine.
You don't want to go to Rome?
All the shops?
The only stop I would suggest would be to stop him at all, because you could then go to the back.
Would you go to the back?
Has he ever been to the back?
No.
This would be a good thing to do.
Has he been to Rome?
Has he been to Rome?
Has he ever been to Rome?
Don't go then if you've done it.
Come on.
You've been to a lot.
I haven't.
Then I should have been too.
You're pretty lucky.
Spain you've been to, Portugal you've been to.
I think we'll do that.
I think you've got a good schedule with that.
And you can point out .
And the reason they're going to these countries is either one or the other is not visited.
Either one or the other.
Except England, where they wanted to go for personal reasons to see some thickness before.
I'm ready to all understand that.
So that's .
Also, I don't think we'll be spending much time in Jordan just by day.
Yes, .
Don't go with the three-day, three-day, three-day thing, which we .
But more emphasis on Russian.
I wouldn't put three days there.
I'd skip Alexandria, actually.
I think I would have them go to Cairo so they get a feel of that, and then down to the Valley of the Kings, you know, amongst them.
And out.
That's right.
And out.
So in other words, make it about two to three days there, and then tilt it a little to a little more in England and a little more in Russia.
And then limit, obviously, you've got to limit shore to a day.
Israel is where you really ought to spend, well, you, has he been there?
Oh, no.
Well, I know that there are things to see there.
That's the point.
I mean, it's a, it isn't, it won't be like before when you hadn't served.
He grew up in a hotel.
What I meant is there are the historical things.
You've never been to the Holy Land.
I've been to the Holy Land.
Oh, no, that's right.
He hasn't been.
Well, then, then I would say that.
I don't want to spend too much time in Israel.
About three days.
Yeah, well, two days.
that's right but russia we might be able to add another country and if you do i would inform the
Now, Daddy, do you think it would be possible not to have a minute-by-minute schedule?
We do sort of want to avoid that.
I know in some cases, like Russia, we'll have to.
Russia, they will pretty much control.
But on the other hand, if you just say, free time, free time.
In other words, maybe they just want to go out and walk across the Hyde Park, you see.
You'll do that, and Egypt, they'll control you pretty well.
That would give you time.
I think it would.
I tell you, in England, you can be very free.
And in Greece, you can be free.
And in Greece, you can be very free, exactly.
In Russia, we won't be free at all, probably.
Russia, you shouldn't be, because that's the way they plan.
And in Cairo, I think they'll want you to, oh, well, you should leave always in the afternoon, sensing.
And they just go out and do what they please.
Maybe they want to walk in the streets or go down to a market.
In every one of these places, I would advise, rather than universities, get up early in the morning.
Go to the market in San Marcon.
I was there in 67 and it's fascinating, all these Asian faces, you know, and so forth.
Just walk with the people and see what they're selling and handling and so forth and so on.
Don't buy anything.
All right.
All right.
All right.
And if I were you, I'd cut a little off and I'd stop a couple days and go, God, nobody should ever go to Europe.
You can miss Paris and you can miss Berlin.
You agree?
Absolutely.
Rome had a wonderfully warm city.
This is the Vatican.
I mean, it's just Rome.
If you go to Athens, you should go to Rome.
It's the same human history.
All right.
And with the general time frame, about right.
No, it's not right.
have a good talk and you can work the whole thing out with her.
And then if you would take responsibility to follow up.
Yes.
And also the environment people and also including Ziegler and at a proper time so that Ziegler can announce it.
I don't want this to be handled in a way that it's not sort of okay.
Okay.
She'll drop in and see you a little later.
I have a lot of things I want to ask you about.
Okay, I'll be glad.
Phone number out here when you're ready.
All right, fine, fine, fine.
Get back, get back.
Just sit down over here.
Yeah.
All right, fine.
This, about mommy's staff, does she want to keep, huh?
You ready to go to room?
About mommy's staff, is she going to keep this in her room or not?
Yeah, it's up to her.
Second.
How does she like CODIS?
I don't know.
If we were to put CODIS in this office to handle the relations between the East and the West Wing, then would we have parties?
Sort of feel around and say, I've got to have somebody.
See, I'm taking Alex out of that here and putting him in a higher position because he's a very able call.
But CODIS is very good.
And the other one is Stevie Bowles.
Does she like him?
He might be the best.
What would she like to do with Koda's thing?
Should we send him the protocol and then have him available to her?
She's been very good on her trip, you know.
Koda should be her trip match.
He should do the Rose Bowl there.
That's right.
She's getting along well.
Well, whatever she wants.
Is Lucy going to stay or leave?
Yeah, I think she's going to stay.
Good.
She's so nice to people.
Okay, see you later.
Bye-bye.
Okay.
Oh, thank you.
I'll send over to that girl one of the new pins.
Oh, did you say?
We do that for people who come into this office.
Oh, that's nice.
The president wants her to have that.
Okay, good.
Bye-bye.

Nixon, Cox & Davis on Soviet Union travel and International travel planning

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on November 30, 1972

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