Ask the Scholar

{
    "localId": "498693748",
    "label": "December 9-16, 1969",
    "core": "doc",
    "dtoType": "document",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/498693748"
}

{
    "id": "498693748",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/498693748",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "December 9-16, 1969",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/498693748",
    "collections": [
        "National Security Files (Nixon Administration)",
        "Henry A. Kissinger Telephone Conversation Transcripts (Telcons)"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/nixon/rn-nsf/579113/Batch0002/37-natsec-kissinger_telcons-579113-03-06/37-natsec-kissinger_telcons-579113-03-06-001.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/nixon/rn-nsf/579113/Batch0002/37-natsec-kissinger_telcons-579113-03-06/37-natsec-kissinger_telcons-579113-03-06-001.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/nixon/rn-nsf/579113/Batch0002/37-natsec-kissinger_telcons-579113-03-06/37-natsec-kissinger_telcons-579113-03-06-001.jpg",
    "imageCount": 78,
    "hasImages": true,
    "source": "import",
    "hasTranscription": false
}

{
    "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/498693748",
    "naId": 498693748,
    "levelOfDescription": "fileUnit",
    "recordType": "description",
    "ocrSource": "nara-archive"
}

{
    "seq": 63,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/nixon/rn-nsf/579113/Batch0002/37-natsec-kissinger_telcons-579113-03-06/37-natsec-kissinger_telcons-579113-03-06-063.jpg",
    "mediaId": "b0982a24d3607a13",
    "ocrText": "TELECON\nThe President\n6:28 p. m. , December 15, 1969\nMr. Kissinger called the President to congratulate him on his speech.\nHe told the President it was the best talk he had ever heard him give --\nit had been tremendously effective. The President said, 'even better\nthan November 3? K said in terms of pure delivery, the November 3\nspeech was not as good. In terms of the whole context, he had not been\nSO assertive on November 3; it would not have been right for that speech.\nThis statement was assertive the Commander-in-Chief stating where\nhe is and where he is going. On November 3, he had been stating the\ncase and appealing to the human being. K then said that some of the\npress people who came to his backgrounder said it was getting easy.\nThere was no mood of tension -- it had been very positive. It hadn't\nbeen so hard for K. The President asked, 'on the delivery, what did\nK like -- the assertiveness? K said it was a strong speech, strongly\ndelivered, like his press conference last Monday. It wasn't aggressive,\nbut it was the Commander-in-Chief talking. K said some of his staff\nmembers, who are tough critics, had listened with him; and they couldn't\nhave been more delighted. It was a very effective delivery. But it\nwon't get a response. The President agreed -- no more than the other\ntroop withdrawal announcements. K said it will do one thing the others\ndidn't. The others ushered in a period of controversy. The first one\nhad ended with a press conference on Clifford; the last one was the\nbeginning of the Moratorium outcry. The President said this one was\nimportant because it was a report to the people -- the people like to be\nlet in on. K said this is the first time the President is withdrawing\nwhen he is not under pressure. The President mentioned that Manolo\nhad liked the statement about Sir Robert Thompson. K said the press\nhad liked that; they had asked a lot of questions; such as, \"Does the\nPresident go along with everything Thompson said [apparently, he said\nyesterday in Britain that a large force has to be kept there after victory].\nK said no, the primary purpose was to make an analysis. The President\nwas looking for someone to make such an analysis. The President asked\nK if he had indicated that he had a long talk with Sir Robert both before\nand after he went to Vietnam.\nThe President said he had added the part about listening to the people\nbecause it seemed to him that method, while it will have no Republican\nimpact, it will have a reassurance for the people. He asked K if he\ngot that across in his backgrounder. K said he had said it was one of\nthe qualifications. We had looked for someone who didn't owe us anything.\nK said one can sense when you talk to the press. On November 3, it was\nan emotional experience -- they were outraged. Every question was\nReproduced at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library\nDECLASSIFIED\nThis document has been reviewed pursuant to Executive Order 13526 and has been determined to be declassified."
}