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OCR Page 1 of 44TELECON
Mr. Kissinger/Dave Kraslow
2:35 m., June 4, 1971
K:
How are you? If your paper starts putting me on the front page,
check with me in the future. I am looking into the article on the POW's
but the mere fact that I am looking into it doesn't mean I ordered it.
The article says a White Office or Henry Kissinger ordered it
knowing full well it would fail. That's crap by some middle-level sorehead
in the Embassy. I am looking into it, SO I can't tell you details. It came
to me as a proposal from the departments from the Vietnam Working
Group which is an interdepartmental working group. It is true we
approved it, but no one said this is going to be turned down. This is a
cheap trick which we wouldn't do. I have not been able to reach all the
responsible people. I never had any reason.
You are addressing a
narrow point of whether we rammed it down the throats of the inter-
departmental group -- it is an absurdity. I think before you put something
on the front page saying Kissinger ordered it.
Kr:
Did it use your name?
K:
Yes; it said it was a Kissinger proposal [read from the LA Times]
This was not the case -- it says officials in Saigon blamed the White
House think-tank of Henry Kissinger.
Kr:
You don't want to say anything for the record yet?
K:
It is true we have been urging in general that they release
as many prisoners as are willing to go, and this would generate a requirement
for a response.
Kr:
This specific allegation is that whoever recommended it to you
gave you knowledge it would be rejected, or that you had knowledge of
this?
K:
It is incorrect to say we ordered this specific operation.
Secondly , it is incorrect to say we ordered knowing they would refuse.
The first time I heard of it was last Saturday -- a week ago tomorrow.
But they've got me on the front page about it twice.
Kr:
I think it's a legitimate complaint. I didn't know about the article
until this morning. The proposal you got in the working group was this
precise prisoner exchange?
K:
That is right. We approved it. We have done at hers like this
before. I thought it was a normal exchange.