Conversation 881-002

TapeTape 881StartFriday, March 16, 1973 at 10:18 AMEndFriday, March 16, 1973 at 10:33 AMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Kissinger, Henry A.Recording deviceOval Office

On March 16, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:18 am to 10:33 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 881-002 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 881-2

Date: March 16, 1973
Time: 10:18 am -10:33 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Henry A. Kissinger.

       US-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR] relations
           -Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
           -Leonid I. Brezhnev's message to President
           -Human Rights Commission
                 -Resolution
                 -Geneva
                 -Free emigration
                 -Kissinger's call to [David] Kenneth Rush
                       -Andrei A. Gromyko
                       -Dobrynin
                 -Rush's call to Kissinger
                       -US resolution
                              -Handling
                                    -Jewish protests
           -US representative to Human Rights Commission
                 -Ties to Jewish organizations
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           NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                               (rev. July-2010)
                                                       Conversation No. 881-2 (cont’d)

          -Explanation of actions
     -US resolution on free emigration
          -William P. Rogers
          -Recall of US representative
          -State Department’s role
                 -Rogers, Rush
          -Dobrynin's reaction
          -Brezhnev
          -Rush
          -Jewish emigration
                 -President's message to Congress
                       -Impact
                              -Support for President
          -Written report
                 -Rush
                 -Dobrynin
          -Senate Democratic Caucus
                 -Overseas troops
                 -Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson
          -Jewish protests
                 -President's sympathies
          -Congressional action
                 -President's opposition
          -Max Fisher
          -Statistics of Soviet Jewish emigrants
                 -Publicity
          -Message for Dobrynin
                 -Recall of US representative
                 -President's meeting with Jewish leaders
          -Brezhnev
                 -President’s note
          -Rush
                 -Telephone call
                       -Apology

Overseas troops
     -Mutual and Balanced Force Reduction [MBFR]
            -European concerns

Vietnam
                                          -3-

            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                 (rev. July-2010)
                                                         Conversation No. 881-2 (cont’d)

      -US military action
           -Timing
           -President's message to North Vietnam
                  -Timing
                  -President's press conference
                  -Effectiveness
           -Options
                  -Troop withdrawals
                        -Appearance of weakness
                  -Prisoners of War [POWs] release
                        North Vietnam’s action
                  -Bombing
                  -Economic commission [?]
                        -Mining
                  -Safest course
                        -POW release
                        -President’s statement on television [TV]
                        -Nguyen Van Thieu’s visit
           -Peace settlement
                  -Enforcement
                        -Public reaction
                               -Respect for President
                        -Violations
                  -1969 chances for peace
           -Thieu
                  -South Vietnam
           -President’s message to North Vietnam
                  -North Vietnam’s response

President's press conference
      -New York Times
      -TV
      -Dr. David K. E. Bruce
             -Vietnam
      -Questions
      -Watergate
             -John N. Mitchell
             -Reasons for break-in
             -Public reaction
             -Disclosure of information
                                              -4-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                       (rev. July-2010)
                                                              Conversation No. 881-2 (cont’d)

                   -White House staff testimony
                         -Position
                   -Kissinger's talk with Joseph A. Califano, Jr.
                         -Clark M. Clifford
                         -Califano's reaction to Watergate trial
                               -Court system
                               -Senate hearings
                   -Controversy
                         -Comparison with India-Pakistan War
                         -International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT]

       Brezhnev’s visit to US
            -Public interest
                  -“Big plays”

       Vietnam
            -Possible defeat
                  -Bombing
                  -1974 election
                        -Impact
                  -1975, 1976 predictions
                        -Prospects
                              -Peace settlement
                              -US handling of North Vietnam

       Cambodia
           -Bombing
                -B-52s
                -Intelligence reports
                -Targets
                -Adm. Thomas H. Moorer

       President's meetings with John W. Dean, III

       Human Rights Commission resolution
           -Kissinger's message to Dobrynin
                 -Rush
                       -Personal apology

Kissinger left at 10:33 am.
                                             -5-

                  NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                      (rev. July-2010)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

Yeah, we're having a problem.
The Russians were just being caused by a total lack of discipline.
And to say, call me with a message from Brazil to you that they had heard that we were submitting a resolution at the Human Rights Commission in Geneva, calling for free immigration of people all over the world.
I called Raj.
Raj said he would stop it.
He would stop our doing something.
I notified Pramika that we were not proceeding to bring in a new behind, saying you had ordered it to stop.
This morning, Raj holds me in extreme agitation, saying AJ had never understood, had never realized that we were in fact submitting a resolution, that the fellow had gone ahead and submitted the resolution anyway.
That we will not have a referendum of withdrawing, which we can't do because the Jewish people would scream their heads off if we withdrew a resolution on free immigration.
You say wrong, President.
But that I've already done.
But we don't pay any price for that.
I think it is reassuring.
I told him to call the guy back to give an explanation of how he could proceed without instructions.
He's unfortunately the head of some Jewish organization.
On top of it, the guy that got there.
I know, I must say this, I know this is not, this is not Rogers, I know he, you know, I know this is not Rogers, it is certainly not somebody, it is not a son of a bitch, and you know it when I, I tell you what I do, I think the pastor ought to be recalled, I read it, he did, he did this without,
Now, you know, Mr. President, that these lads have sung submit resolutions without somebody covering their tail in the department.
Now, may I agree, Rosted had nothing to do with this.
He, he himself, Rush, was trying to stop it, and he is even more burned up than I because they lied to him.
But I told the Breedons he went through the roof and he had a lucid temper.
He says it makes him look like a fool.
Well, I think it's too dangerous for you, Mr. Preston.
Oh, screw that.
I'm running.
No, but you need some support.
But I've asked Russia to send up the written report, and I'm going to send that to the Bremen.
Senator, I have a question for resolution.
I'm pretty much ready to substantiate the use of the particular, all of those three treasurers, three senators, more or less, as soon as possible.
It is a national disease of people.
I got a picture.
I'm scared.
I don't think so.
I want you to get one back for me.
How many Jewish people were not immigrated in 71 compared to 72 after ?
What I had is I think if we could show, without saying we did, the number that have immigrated after our meetings with the Russians were greater, there was a substantial increase in 72, I think, .
Just saying that I called you on the carpet this morning.
I raised hell, and I, uh, I, I, I, the man, the man you brought back, and it's all I had to be, the Jewish leaders here in the office yesterday, and laid down a law to them, that I would totally oppose it publicly, if they didn't insist.
We wanted to do that.
I put a note for me, personally, to break that law.
I really think I should do it, and I think I'm, I'm going to have to call up the president to vote, uh,
It's just so the Europeans know they've been harassing us because we're going too fast on MBFR.
MBFR is the only way we can stop this.
I think we've got to get them next Tuesday and Friday.
Wednesday night and Thursday night.
We've got to get them this weekend to reply.
We're moving up a day.
But I think it's best that once we have
If we wait till Wednesday, because on Sunday they're giving .
And I think it was about the right level, but there was not any bad trend or anything like that.
So now if we do it, it'll be .
And it can get a lot less than people .
Well, the trouble is it looks a little weak then.
It looks as if we waited and
I mean, this really puts the tulip in market head.
Oh, we put it in tulip.
Let's put it down.
And they do say the hell with them.
They're in a check-in situation.
All right, we're in a check-in situation.
What do we do?
Well, I'd first cancel the economic commission.
Stop the mining again.
Just re-mine.
and start re-mining.
They won't risk it, in my view.
The President, you, it's easier to do it the other way.
It's safer.
And they can do almost nothing in reply if we wait till the day after the President's death.
Then you'll be on television, you'll say it's an agreement, and then the thing after you hit them, then she'll come see it.
It's the safe, of course.
There's no question about it.
My idea is that, uh, it's in person, isn't it?
I think it is.
If it happens, it can't be.
I think the American public will respect you for defending the Americans
We're not going to let these batteries get away with that because it's a hell of a trade.
The idea that you could have done it in 69 is ridiculous.
But that's a fact.
It's all we have in these.
The tubes come out of here.
It's ridiculous.
It does.
Well, maybe they'll give us a very conciliatory answer, in such case we won't hit them.
I don't think they will.
I don't know, too, because I want to keep their options.
You know, I think it's too late.
As far as the general news was concerned, despite the first reaction, the times that they had the assholes in there, the television and the other television, it was all recognized, for one, as the annoncer, which is what we're trying to look at, and then, don't they, so we shouldn't be, it's these guy-guesses out here that you just mustn't judge your future on that.
No, I think, I think the news conference had a very good impact, and
And I don't know a damn thing of what really happened in the Watergate thing, but my impression is that... Well, what happened, you know very well.
It's total stupidity.
As I told you, Mitchell was a tenant in the store, and some jackasses did some things, and that's all.
Oh, it's total stupidity.
I'm not against...
I believe in playing around.
It was stupidly done.
But that's another matter.
What I'm saying is, leaving aside what happened,
I think the public respects you for hanging tough.
They don't understand all the nuances of all this crap.
It was the only problem we had on that .
But they wanted to have a television show.
But they hauled one up there and they're not going to do that.
They're not going to destroy it.
They're not going to do it to you.
They're not going to do it to any of us.
And so we will not allow this.
Congress is not interested in getting the vaccine.
They're interested in embarrassing the administration.
No, Clifford.
And all of you.
No question.
We agree.
Of course, I remember I learned in the California who's actually a decent guy.
Is he?
Well, he's a partisan, but he's not like Clifford.
He's a decent guy, but still very much opposed to you.
I learned in the California in January.
And he was.
Practically salivating then at the prospect of what the trial would do to us.
Because he figured that, he said, oh, don't worry, he said, these judges are very much influenced by the newspapers.
And the conduct of their trial, well, that didn't turn out to be true.
Now they have high hopes of the Senate here, probably.
Oh, yes, that would be a big deal.
Everybody around here would worry about it.
What we always have to do is to remember the people we can't take the heat out of them.
Remember the heat we took for about a month or three weeks on India-Pakistan?
Remember?
These things always look at us, remember?
They always look as if it's the end of the world.
ITT, remember?
Everybody's worried about ITT.
This is the same.
Well, you'll get freshness here in June.
Well, it will create some energy.
Oh, that will create energy.
That's about our only play this year.
But at the meantime, what you and I got to do is just to work on these big games, the big plays, and that's what we're going to do, by the way.
And essential to this, it's not about them.
It's because of the cast.
to a Senate in Vietnam this year.
We can't let that happen.
That's why we respond to the news.
After the summer of 74, that's a different story.
No, after the election of 74.
After the election of 74.
In fact, if it's going to happen in the spring of 75, it's better than the spring of 76.
I know it's going to happen.
I don't think it's going to happen, Mr. President, if we pull him up shore a few times.
Well, we just don't have enough intelligence in Cambodia.
Well, they just say they don't know what the targets are in there.
I guess something's all right.
You know, you know, we've been around the track before anyway.
Are we getting direction from Mora or not through a hitch?
No.
Mora.
I had Mora in here yesterday.
And a thief out there, you said?
Sure, that's right.
You tell, be sure you tell the friends that I, that I have directed, rush to call the person involved on the track.