On January 13, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, William L. Safire, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:15 pm to 5:00 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 314-013 of the White House Tapes. Topics include: The President met with William L. Safire. Draft for Vietnam speech of January 25, 1972 - Foreign policy -[National Security Council [NSC]] - Henry A. Kissinger - Personality - Drafts - Construction - Theme - State of the World - Negotiations - Kissinger - May 31, 1971 - Troop withdrawal deadline - Prisoners of war [POWs], ceasefire - August 1971 - Nine month deadline - October 1971 - June 1971 - Kissinger's draft - Phrasing - Last paragraph - Possible audience - Negotiations - Peace offer - Opening paragraph - Troop withdrawal deadline - POWs - The President's draft - The President's pledge - Negotiations - Kissinger - William P. Rogers - Ellsworth F. Bunker - David K.E. Bruce - William J. Porter - Henry Cabot Lodge - Bruce - Bunker - Rogers - Kissinger - Page seven - Public concern over the peace issue - The President's memorandum - Peace plan - Deadline - Troop withdrawal - Ceasefire - October 1971 proposals - Deadline - Ceasefire, POWs - Proposals - Kissinger - Deadline - Troop withdrawal, return of POWs - Ceasefire - The President's proposal - Nguyen Van Thieu - Possible resignation - Reference to North Vietnamese - State Department - Page eight - Congress - Kissinger - Page eleven - Nine month proposal [The President talked with an unknown person at an unknown time between 4:15 pm and 5:00 pm.] [Conversation No. 314-13A] Schedule [End of telephone conversation] Speech draft - Negotiations - Secrecy - Deadlock - Thieu's offer to resign - Free elections - Communists - Exchange of POWs - New South Vietnamese elections - Agreement on principles - Kissinger's draft - Troop withdrawal, return of POWs - Paris negotiations - Safire's possible talk with Kissinger - US relations with South Vietnam - Public opinion Vietnam - Possible military action - The President's 1966 proposal - Mining Haiphong Harbor - Bombing railroads, dykes - Blockade - World Wars I and II - Civil War - Robert E. Lee Speech draft - Cuts - Public trust - Support - Ending of wars - Tone - Negotiation record - Troop withdrawal Kissinger - Safire's meeting with the President - Call from the President - References to in speech - Le Duc Tho - Work with Safire on draft - The President's schedule - State of the Union speech - Record of negotiations - Publication of proposals - Speech draft - Thieu - Submission to Rogers - Possible briefing of Thieu Final draft - Submission to the President - Date - Dinner - Study by the President - Florida - Meeting with Safire and Kissinger - Trip to the People's Republic of China [PRC] Forthcoming Vietnam speech - Resolutions by Senators in Congress - John Sherman Cooper, Frank F. Church,, Michael J. Mansfield amendments - Impact on negotiating position - Possible public reaction - Secret negotiations - Thieu - POWs - Secret negotiations - Kissinger's draft - Vietnamization - Effectiveness - Withdrawals - Peace in Vietnam, Southeast Asia Final draft - Rogers - Kissinger - Thieu - Rogers - References to Kissinger - Consultation - Timing - Kissinger and Safire - Thieu, Bunker - Winston Lord - Draft preparation Cabinets - Conflict - Kissinger, Rogers - Cordell Hull, Harry Hopkins - Abraham Lincoln - Winston S. Churchill - Lord Melbourne, Benjamin Disraeli - Rogers and Kissinger - Opinions - State Department - Rogers - Qualities - Tactical skills - Public relations - Deficiencies - Kissinger - Self- Confidence, knowledge - Compared with Rogers Kissinger - Visit by Safire - Draft - Congress - Thieu - Rogers Rogers- Kissinger conflict - The President's relationships with others - Melbourne and Disraeli - Lack of conflict Safire left at 5:00 pm. Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Safire, William L.; [Unknown person(s)].
- Parte de White House Tapes: Sound Recordings of Meetings and Telephone Conversations of the Nixon Administration, Executive Office Building Sound Recordings