Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 820 › Conversation 820-021
Nixon & Haig on Vietnam War and Henry Kissinger
Tuesday, December 12, 1972 · 2:20 PM–3:17 PM ET · Oval Office · 11 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with Alexander Haig to formulate firm instructions for Henry Kissinger regarding the stalled Vietnam peace negotiations in Paris. Disturbed by North Vietnam's reneging on prior positions and the resulting delays, Nixon directed Haig to inform Kissinger that all previous understandings were void and that no further U.S. concessions would be offered. Nixon emphasized his readiness to pursue military options if a favorable settlement could not be reached, asserting that he prioritized securing the "right kind of peace" over any specific timeline.
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I'll get your messages.
Oh, I see.
Okay.
if it's your view, if it's your view, then we get it again.
Well, I just,
But what I meant is that it just finally comes down to certain points that it's always
the way it is working now is that they will agree to take a recess because that's what they're going to try to call their wife.
Get a minute, John Henry, and say that in the light of this, you see, I want to get these things right away, and I want to take it so that this will also get its posture correct tomorrow.
In the light of this, whether he, in the light of this, that I believe that in order to, frankly, in our bargaining position over what problems some race that we have to, we may have to,
to serve as a military partner, that would be unmistakable.
Yeah, now, yeah, I don't understand.
My point is, my point is that he doesn't tell that in so many words, but his attitude can be one of, one of, well, he simply got to say in effect that, well,
Let's take a recess.
In time, we'll hold that to console our tempers.
He says, I cannot speak of what the President's going to do.
I don't think he should indicate that the President is, the President's totally, as he, he should repeat the message that's coming from me to him, to repeat what we have said previously.
But as far as I'm concerned, that I am, I am,
I'm totally prepared, totally relaxed about either option.
I would prefer to have it settled in their minds.
But lacking the right kind of settlement, I will, I have determined, I have already determined the course of action that I will follow.
And that the, and that
Since I now have no political considerations to concern me that nothing will deter me from that course of action which I have already decided upon, then nothing else in the hell it is.
And he says, I won't send a message like that to him.
Now, they should use that, having in mind that only if you're going to do something, you know what I mean?
Now, if he's going to come back here and say, well, we'd better wait a week and do nothing again.
Well, they continue to wait a week around.
Why not wait something else again?
But my own feeling is that we start to think that's what does happen.
The Soviet objects, who else?
Chinese will object and Soviet will object.
We saw an objection.
As far as this country is concerned, not many objections.
That's right.
And that's the line we're going on.
That I, as far as this is concerned, that I am, that...
And we face two options, one, peace at an unacceptable price, or the wrong kind of peace at an unacceptable price, or the right kind of peace, the wrong kind of peace now, or the right kind of peace later.
And there is no question, as far as I'm concerned, we'll wait until hell freezes over it.
but we are not trying to be in time, but they must be under religious or religious, or under any restraints, whatever.
There are no understandings.
Oh, we should say, use the term the President said in the light of what they've done, all understandings are now off.
In the event we don't reach agreement, there are no understandings.
Okay?
Yeah, that's what he should say.
Yeah.
With the idea that it's a reason for consultation.
But in the meantime, we both sides should understand there are no understandings.
That's right.
That's right.
Because of their delays, because the delays occurred, no progress at least to come home for consultation.
But in the meantime, during the consultation period,
There's no understandings.
We are in no hurry to make a visa.
It's the wrong kind of visa.
We're going to have the right time.
That's our idea.
Okay.
And I think we should...
I guess we'll wait till tomorrow.
Are you going to come now?
Well, if you're worried, I'll tell you a bit more.
No, no, I'm sorry.
He's got the other thing that's good.
He's a .
He probably needs to get home.
Get home.
Yeah.
All right.
We also want to do some thinking about giving cue and .
Now, I think that the thing to do is to get at least a little bit of gold or speech or something.
It seems to me that he can use whatever I say depending upon his mood, but the point is that he wasn't determined.
in order to make your own kind of peace.
Second, that he's more interested in the right kind of peace than he is in the timing of peace.
Second point is that he's disappointed with the way that they have reneged on their previous position in the lottery.
And I congratulate you on your return home to conservation.
And third, that they must expect no more concessions from us.
There are not going to be any more concessions.
Fourth, the key to get here, as we were supposed to be told, that there are no understandings now during this period of recess, this period that each side will consult its interests and do what its interests require.
Okay, but in the meantime, we're ready to come back and talk, and you're ready to come back.
NARA Description
On December 12, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:20 pm and 3:17 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 820-021 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 820-21
Date: December 12, 1972
Time: Unknown between 2:20 pm and 3:17 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
Vietnam negotiations
-Henry A. Kissinger’s message
-Kissinger’s return from Paris
-US bombing of North Vietnam
-Summary
-Recess
-Timing
-Haig’s message to Kissinger
-US bargaining position
-Risks
-US military pressure
-Instructions for Kissinger
-Recess
-US interests
-The President’s possible actions
-Options
-Settlement agreement
-Political considerations
-US military action
-Delay
-Reaction
-Soviet Union, People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-US
-Options
-Peace
-Price
-Type
-Timing
-59-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 820-21 (cont’d)
-Haig’s message to Kissinger
-Understandings
-Kissinger’s return from Paris
-Consultations
-Delays
-Consultations
-Peace
-Type
-Timing
-Kissinger’s message
-Kissinger’s return from Paris
-Nguyen Van Thieu
-Possible speech by Barry M. Goldwater
-Instructions for Kissinger
-Peace
-Type
-Timing
-North Vietnam’s reneging on previous positions
-Kissinger’s return from Paris
-US concessions
-Understandings
-Recess
-Interests
-Resumption of talksAlso recorded on December 12, 1972
- 820-016 1:30 PM · 23 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, White House operator, Stephen B. Bull, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:30 pm to 1:55 pm.
- 034-052 1:35 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 1:35 pm.
- 820-017 1:55 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:55 pm and 1:58 pm.
- 820-018 1:58 PM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:58 pm to 2:20 pm.
- 034-053 2:20 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:20 pm and 8:31 pm.
- 820-019 2:20 PM · 32 sec — Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:20 pm and 3:17 pm.
- 820-020 2:20 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:20 pm and 3:17 pm.
- 820-022 3:17 PM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Jewell R. LaFontant, John D. Ehrlichman, Stephen B. Bull, White House photographer, and Zosimo T. Monzon met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:17 pm to 3:36 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 820-021, December 12, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/820-021 (accessed October 1, 2026).