Tape 833, Conversation 017 (833-017)

On January 4, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Elliot L. Richardson, Henry A. Kissinger, Stephen B. Bull, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:55 am to 12:42 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 833-017 of the White House Tapes. Topics include: The President met with Elliot L. Richardson and Henry A. Kissinger. Richardson's new job as Secretary of Defense Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 11:55am. The President's instructions Bull left at an unknown time before 12:42 pm. Defense Department - Presidential appointees - Briefings - Grumman Corporation - Litton Industries, Inc. - The President's instructions - Camp David - H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman - Topical list An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 11:55 am. The President's schedule The unknown person left at an unknown time before 12:42 am. Defense Department - Assistant Secretaries - Number - Cuts - Army Secretary, Navy Secretary, Air Force Secretary - Robert S. McNamara system - Dismantling - Military personnel - Commands - Reorganization - Dismissal of McNamara people - Trustworthiness - John Foster - Los Alamos Labratory - Melvin R. Laird - Deputy Secretary - Richardson's role - Budget cuts - James R. Schlesinger - Intelligence operations - Number - Duplication - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps - Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] - Personnel - Quality - Command - Division among services - Tactical air forces - Duplication - Marine Corps - Army - Navy - Air Force - Subsidies of higher education - Salary scales - Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] - California Institute of Technology - Stanford University - University of California, Berkeley - Research and Development [R&D] - Researchers' support for defense Richardson - Political skills - Base closings - Knowledge of international affairs - National Security Council [NSC] - Work with Kissinger - Deputy Secretary of Defense's role - Strategist NSC system - Departmental resentment - State Department - Defense Department - Washington Special Action Group [WSAG] - Richardson's active interest - Kissinger's weekly meeting with Richardson - Laird ***************************************************************** [Previous National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number LPRN- T- MDR-2014-036. Segment declassified on 06/19/2019. Archivist: MM] [National Security] [833-017- W002] [Duration: 31s] National Security Council [NSC] system - Single Integrated Operation Plan [SIOP] - Changes - Option - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR] ***************************************************************** Defense Department - Air defense - Fighter pilots - Interception - Soviet Union - Missiles - Strategy - Expenditures Interservice rivalry - Roles and missions - R&D - Overlapping - Air defense - Intelligence - Richardson's possible role - Louis A. Johnson - James V. Forrestal - Actions of predecessors - Broker between armed services - William P. Clements - Membership - WSAG - Relations with White House - State Department - Relations with NSC - Meetings with the President - Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Attorney General - Cabinet - Health Education and Welfare [HEW] - Laird - Strategic planning - R&D - Weapon systems - MIT - Subsidies - National consensus - Force levels - Weapons capabilities - Soviet Union, Peoples Republic of China, [PRC] - Congress, public - Nixon Doctrine - Vietnam War - Peacetime defense - Richardson's role - Details - Clements - Management skills - Need for strategist - Soviet Union - Briefing - Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty [SALT] talks - Relations with Kissinger - Vietnam settlement - Support for NSC system - Roy L. Ash - Office of Management and Budget [OMB] - Richardson's career - Nelson A. Rockefeller, Ronald W. Reagan - State Department, HEW, Attorney General - Dangers - Reputation - Budget cuts -"Dove" - State Department - Balance of power - William C. Foster - The President's philosophy Volunteer armed force - Laird - Chances for success - Role of Secretary of Defense - Pride of service - Peacetime service - Boredom - Azores - Pilots - Airplanes - Navy - Ships - Army - Haig Command structure - Chiefs of staff - JCS chairman - Criteria for appointments - Intelligence - Toughness - Strength - Haig - Gen. Creighton W. Abrams, Jr. - Dwight D. Eisenhower - Abilities - Division commander - Tanks - Haig - Private talk with Richardson - Army - Air Force - Biases - Intelligence services - Coordination - James R. Schlesinger - Congress - Competent personnel - Haig - Promotions - Army - Navy - Air Force - Gen. John D. Ryan - Son - Vietnam War Military service academies - Number of graduates - Growth - Cuts - Billets Defense Budget - Congressional relations - Loss of Republicans on House Appropriations Committee - Senators on floor - Armed Service Committee - J. Strom Thurmond, John G. Tower, Peter H. Dominick, and Barry M. Goldwater - Votes - Richard S. Schweiker, William B. Safire - Margaret Chase Smith - Tower - Political skills Defense Department reorganization - Articulation of policy and strategy - Force structure - Forrestal - Unification - Opportunity - Budget competition -1930s - Force requirements - Vietnam settlement - Europe - Latin America - Middle East - The President's support - Cambodia - Need for competence - The President's reading skills - Harvard University - Winston S. Churchill - Book recommendation - Account of World War I - Eastern front - Compared to account of World War II - Military mind - The President's view - Strategic thinking - Eisenhower - Politician - Gen. George S. Patton - Field Commander - Gen. Douglas MacArthur - Haig - Gen. Charles A. J. M. De Gaulle - Last war thinking - World War I - Gallipoli campaign - Royal Navy - Churchill - Tanks and maps - Artillery - World War II - Churchill - France, Great Britain - Civilian mind - The President's meeting with Moorer - Tactical air power - December 1972 bombing - Small wars - Jets - Helicopters - Vulnerability - Army Air Corps - Clements - Compared to Air Force - Air Force - Fighter pilots - Soviet Union - Bombers - B-52s - Missiles - JCS - Change in attitudes - Successor NSC meeting - Spiro T. Agnew - Executive Committee - Clements - Rogers, Laird - Informal discussions - Briefings for Richardson - Moorer, Rogers - Kissinger's past meetings - Rogers -[David] Kenneth Rush - State Department - The President's role - Public statements - Post Vietnam settlement plans - Richardson's preparation Defense Department - Clements - Detailed work - Control of expenditures - Compared to HEW - The President's technical expertise - Waste - Personnel - Bravery - Leadership - Richardson's program - Confirmation hearings - Coordination Richardson and Kissinger left at 12:42 pm. Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Richardson, Elliot L.; Kissinger, Henry A.; Bull, Stephen B.; [Unknown person(s)].