502–12

Conversation No. 502-12

Date: May 20, 1971
Time: 12:05 pm - 12:48 pm
Location: Oval Office
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)



The President met with H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

President's announcement of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT] agreement
-Haldeman’s assessments
-Foreign policy statement
-Effect on viewers
-Press
-Dan Rather Conv. No. 502-12 (cont.)
-Herbert E. Kaplow
-John W. Chancellor
-Rather's comments
-Surprise
-Moscow
-Time in Washington, D.C. and in Moscow
-Drama
-Evening news
-Length of President's statement
-SALT talks
-Limitation of nuclear arms
-Text of President's announcement, May 20, 1971
-Introduction

Ronald L. Ziegler entered at 12:10 pm.

-Ziegler's views
-Compared to Kissinger's earlier press briefing
-Anti-ballistic missiles [ABM]
-Rather's comments
-President
-Aleksei N. Kosygin
-Leonid I. Brezhnev
-Camera coverage
-Wire service coverage
-Kissinger's response

Kissinger entered at 12:27 pm.

-New Republic
-U. Alexis Johnson [?]
-Marianne Means [?]
-Charles G. (\"Bebe\") Rebozo
-Text of President's announcement, May 20, 1971
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)



-Change of wording
-Soviet response
-Kissinger's earlier press briefing, May 20, 1971
-Chancellor's response
-Rather
-Marvin L. Kalb [?]
-Preliminaries to President's announcement
-North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] Conv. No. 502-12 (cont.)
-Paris
-Domestic policy
-Soviets
-President’s relations with the press
-Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield
-Charles W. Colson
-President's instructions
-Senate
-Soviets
-Strategy for pursuing negotiations with Soviets
-Offensive
-Defensive

President's briefing of Congressional leaders, May 20, 1971
-Senators
-J. William Fulbright
-Mansfield
-Allen J. Ellender
-Fulbright
-Smoking habits
-Reading
-Newspaper
-Carl B. Albert's absence
-Meeting with Capitol Architect
-Informing the press
-Spiro T. Agnew
-Press
-Veracity

SALT announcement
-Kissinger's calls on May 20, 1971
-George Meany
-Response
-Lyndon B. Johnson
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)



-Response
-Howard Stein
-Jack J. Dreyfuss, Jr. (?)
-John J. McCloy
-Response
-Nelson A. Rockefeller's views
-People's Republic of China [PRC]
-SALT Conv. No. 502-12 (cont.)
-Kissinger's earlier press briefing on SALT, May 20, 1971
-Press
-Compared to Kissinger's Vietnam press briefings
-ABM
-Offensive weapons
-Cameras
-Press
-Chinese
-Message
-Pakistani Ambassador
-Joseph S. Farland

[Unintelligible]

-Navy
-Farland
-Agha Muhommad Yahya Kahn
-Official communication
-John A. Scali
-Reaction to announcement
-Soviet reaction

An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 12:27 pm.

Request for Scali

The unknown person left at an unknown time before 12:31 pm.

SALT announcement
-National Security Council [NSC] members
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)



-Gerard C. Smith
-Arms Control and Disarmament Agency [ACDA] staff
-Photograph session in Oval Office
-William P. Rogers
-Melvin R. Laird

President's briefing of Congressional leaders on SALT, May 20, 1971
-Smith's performance Conv. No. 502-12 (cont.)
-Smith
-Negotiating efforts with the Soviets
-George H. Mahon, F. Edward Hébert and Robert F. Byrd's comments
-Republicans
-Fulbright

Scali entered at 12:31 pm.

Scali's briefing on SALT, May 20, 1971
-Smith
-Howard K. Smith
-Smith
-Johnson
-SALT
-US and Soviet Union positions
-Negotiating strategy

SALT announcement
-Press
-Rather
-United Press International [UPI]'s and Associated Press [AP]'s lead stories on
President's SALT announcement, May 20, 1971
-Timing
-Coverage

President's previous Congressional briefing
-Ellender, Hébert, Byrd, Mahon, John C. Stennis
-Congressional response
-ABM

Kissinger left at 12:36 pm.

[The President talked with Tricia Nixon between 12:36 pm and 12:39 pm]
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)



[Scali and Haldeman can be heard in the background]

[See Conversation No. 3-83]

[Conversation No. 502-12A]

[End of telephone conversation]
Conv. No. 502-12 (cont.)
President's SALT agreement announcement
-Chancellor
-Tricia Nixon's views on length of President's comments
-Drama
-Scali
-Chancellor
-Meeting with Kissinger

Scali's press briefing, May 20, 1971
-Kissinger's press briefing, May 20, 1971
-Senate
-Negotiations with Soviets
-Press
-Post World War II world
-Importance of SALT
-Historical perspective

Kissinger entered at an unknown time after 12:39 pm.

-US relations with Soviet Union and PRC
-Since World War II
-Means

Kissinger, Ziegler, and Scali left at 12:43 pm.

Soviets

President’s critics

PRC

Vietnam

Rose Mary Woods entered at 12:45 pm.
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)



Letter to Acheson

President's SALT agreement announcement
-Length
-Drama
-Television
-Drama
-Length Conv. No. 502-12 (cont.)

Acheson letter

The President, Haldeman, and Woods left at 12:48 pm.