Nixon & Kissinger on Foreign Policy and People's Republic of China

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I just want to be sure that we haven't put in Percy's name.

You haven't?

Well, you know, I don't know.

I don't know what to say.

I don't know if I can consider it a personal thought.

Here we go.

We have to.

If he were to go, believe me, if he were to go now, it would have the goddamnedest effect if he were to go ahead.

I just can't tell you how tough it would be.

Well, I, Mr. President, the trouble is they have invited 20 senators to say goodbye to my channel.

And if that's what you want, and I think you should, I will tell the state immediately that we nominate these guys.

That's right.

Now you don't have to be the bad guy.

This shouldn't be.

We shouldn't just say it's out of our hands that the Chinese get blinded.

to the rest of my knowledge.

I don't know if he's going, how it was arranged.

As far as last year, his wife was going to go as part of some other club thing of Chicago, or some musical outfit, I don't know.

never discussed it what happened is they may have thought it's a hell of a thing they may have thought that they were doing us a favor I had discussed with them I had never discussed

that they should send a formal invitation through state channels.

But they didn't mention perfect.

That's the only thing I see.

The state will have every asshole on there.

But the first thing I want to do is to tell the state that, especially senators, we will handle that in our channel.

It's not to be handled.

God will take care of Chris.

And all of you could.

Certainly.

The trouble is, we have to keep these guys from, when they get their leave, from talking so much.

They are turned off by the force.

I just want to be sure, but you can be sure that we never discussed it.

We're going to start opening this gate by God.

We're going to open it for a few months.

President Christie, with the unnatural capacity, cannot be supported.

I'm going to say that I have

I haven't talked to them, but I've talked to the two with the good on them.

And there's some very interesting things.

I'm sure there are.

I'll have to read what the three people have gotten out, but there's one person told a lot of times about me, and there are some issues, and it's about the reactions.

Okay.

I mean, too, what we were doing.

We were volunteering and all that sort of thing.

Not just for the prisoners, but for the refugees.

Okay, three said that, didn't they?

Oh, they were all wrong.

No, no, I meant it.

Yeah, there's an article in the news, so... Hello?

and fears, and so forth, and all of that.

What would, what did they think that they had seen?

Well, it's too fast.

I mean, I like, I go away, like I said, to tell you, to be mad.

But I, they, uh, so they saw it.

And so high, they tell me, you know, pre-creation, or pre-creation, out, and then inside your head.

And disgust they needed.

Disgust?

Heat.

Eight.

Yeah.

And expressed concern about how to restore it across the historic site, because apparently on the 8th, which, of course, I'm discussing default.

All of us have a goal on that, which is this.

I just think people move up two to one and say, you know, we see it.

So it's going to be a tough time.

Of course, they may take it off.

They look back.

What they did to us, I found again that that son of a bitch in Cambodia

Neither.

We never knew about it, and Helms never told us about it.

I told Schlesinger today, it is no excuse that you're obeying Ambassador Doris if it's against what you think is the President's intent.

I'm trying to have one out of there, and about $48.

I believe you can get it out of there.

Now, another thing, Mr. President, is farming the Ho Chi Minh trade.

I'm sending in a paper to you.

There's no doubt that there might have been some trade in that.

Now we have, we can say, and we shouldn't do anything until this next tranche is out.

Yes.

The argument then, the question is to be bombed before the very last group is out or to be bombed right after the last one is out.

Because the argument against bombing before everyone is out is obvious.

We might give them a pretext to elope from us.

On the other hand, the argument for it is they will have to decide

the risk of starting in November.

And the more we can do something that shows that you do the unpredictable, the unexpected, the more it tends to help us when these paranoids have to make a decision.

I don't believe you can run the risk that they hold up the last relief.

I have to be honest.

I don't believe they'll do it because they'll be afraid of self-harming normally enough.

And we have now built a long record of massive violations on their part.

So I must say, I honestly, I lean towards the 48 hours, sir.

I mean, I asked you, though, about the violation.

About the violation.

The state can't believe it.

You can see what I meant this morning.

They're really running around there now.

There's no effort being made at all to feature ceasefire.

I can't believe it.

Well, in Cambodia, the situation is very confused.

The government is so weak.

I'm not sure that it's their forces who are doing the fighting.

In fact, I'm rather sure it's not their forces who are doing the fighting.

It's mostly the Khmer Rouge.

And they don't have total control over it.

It's loud, so there's no possible excuse.

Aren't they supposed to be out of Dallas at one time?

In Dallas, they're supposed to be out within 60 days after March 23rd, if they fulfill the political conditions of March.

On March 23rd, a new government should be formed, unless they've also tracked their feet.

So we may, in fact, be taking off the economic aid, who, on the other hand, for some reason, they're sufficiently interested in it that it does give us a lot of leverage on it.

Well, actually, let's face it, Henry.

We will not ask for aid if their troops are still at loss.

And if they're still infiltrating, that is.

But now, how are their troops still in Cambodia?

Well, we'd have to see just what the status of their troops is.

Right now, we think they only have 3,500 troops in Cambodia.

Now, because they're shifting them back into South Korea now, it's a more and more difficult situation.

Their troops are not the determining feature now.

And even about their infiltration, you could say, Mr. President, that what they're doing now is to infiltrate until our prisoners are advanced because they figure you will not get them while their prisoners are there.

My instinct is, Mr. President, not now.

These 48 hours won't be decided.

or even course, but they do show when they make their next decision.

I can remember that you're just too dangerous to tackle.

And if we can get to task with the members in the next year, that's much better.

Yeah.

In 74, whether I would recommend to use the language of 74 or that we should start bombing into China, I'm not sure.

I think that would be much better.

Nixon & Kissinger on Foreign Policy and People's Republic of China

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on March 13, 1973

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