Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 859 › Conversation 859-031

Nixon & Bull on Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Diplomatic relations

Wednesday, February 21, 1973 · 11:19 AM–11:33 AM ET · Oval Office · 36 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation859-031 on Tape 859StartWednesday, February 21, 1973 at 11:19 AMEndWednesday, February 21, 1973 at 11:33 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 859-031 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met to coordinate the logistics and scheduling for an upcoming visit by Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The discussion focused on finalizing the specific dates for the visit and evaluating the potential involvement of National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger. They ultimately sought to adjust the existing itinerary, reflecting the President's personal attention to the planning details.

Audio

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NARA Description

On February 21, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:19 am and 11:33 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 859-031 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 859-31

Date: February 21, 1973
Time: Unknown between 11:19 am and 11:33 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

       Zulfiker Ali Bhutto visit
              -Dates
              -Henry A. Kissinger
              -Changes in date

Bull left at an unknown time before 11:33 am.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

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It's the first thing you try to do is make a mistake.
Is that it?
I'm not ready.
I'm not going to ask you to do it.
That would be something I may do, but I may do it with intent.
I'll talk to you about it later.
Intent is great.
Intent is great.
That's what I have in mind.

Also recorded on February 21, 1973

  • 043-147 11:16 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 11:16 am to 11:17 am.
  • 043-148 11:17 AM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:17 am and 11:19 am.
  • 859-026 11:17 AM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:17 am and 11:19 am.
  • 043-149 11:19 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:19 am.
  • 859-027 11:19 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 11:19 am.
  • 859-028 11:19 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:19 am and 11:33 am.
  • 859-029 11:19 AM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:19 am and 11:33 am.
  • 859-030 11:19 AM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:19 am and 11:33 am.

All 82 conversations from February 21, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 859-031, February 21, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/859-031 (accessed November 2, 2026).