About this recording
460–23
- President Richard M. Nixon
- Henry Brandon
- Oliver F. "Ollie" Atkins
- Manolo Sanchez
- Stephen B. Bull
- Henry A. Kissinger
February 26, 1971
Conversation No. 460-23
Date: February 26, 1971
Time: 4:01 pm - 5:08 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Henry Brandon
Greetings
Refreshments
-Tea
-Navy coffee
Previous meeting with Brandon
-1960 Presidential campaign
-James B. (“Scotty”) Reston
Brandon’s plans
-Book on Presidency
An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 4:07 pm
Photograph
-Oliver F. (“Ollie”) Atkins
The unknown person left at an unknown time before 5:08 pm
Brandon’s reporting from the United States
-Duration
-Brandon’s view of events
-Internal events
-Foreign policy
Harry S Truman
-Foreign policy
Atkins entered at an unknown time after 4:07 pm
Photographs
Atkins left at an unknown time 5:07 pm
23
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
Truman
-Korean War
-Truman doctrine
-Marshall Plan
Requirements of Presidency
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 4:01 pm
Refreshment
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 5:08 pm
Requirements of Presidency
-Ability to solve complex problems
-Winston S. Churchill
-Leadership
-Vietnam
-Middle East
-East/West relations
-Pacific
-People’s Republic of China
-Japan
-Principles
-Basic freedoms
-Guarantees
-Limits of power
-British understanding
-British history
-[Thomas] Woodrow Wilson
-Presidency
-Intellect
-Vocabulary
-Compared to Thomas Jefferson
-Leadership
-Compared to Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt
-Accomplishments
-Leadership
-Policies
-Popular views
24
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
The President’s mentors
-Foreign policy
-President’s view of world
-President’s previous conversation with Admiral Sir Nigel Henderson
-Dwight D. Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles
-Policies of 1950s
-Brinkmanship
-Massive Retaliation Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Rationale
Cuban Missile Crisis
-John F. Kennedy
-Communists
-Soviet Union
-United States’ policy
-Nuclear parity
-Differences in forces
-Effect
-People’s Republic of China and Soviet Union
North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]
-Need for strength
-Conventional forces
-Rationale
-Changes over time
-President’s view
-Sino/Soviet split
-Eastern Europe
-Examples
-Partnership with Europe
-Changes over time
Complexity of today’s world
-Churchill
-Geopolitical sophistication
-The President’s view
-The Presidency
-Need for flexible and idealistic leadership
-Americans
-Idealistic nature
-People’s Republic of China
-US policy
25
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
-Idealistic nature
-United Nations
-International organizations
-Leaders’ needs
-Sense of history
-Knowledge of real world
-Good organization
-Good overview Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Sense of priorities
-Wilson
-President’s view
-Roosevelt
-Pragmatism
-Present era
-President’s efforts
-Laos (Lam Son)
-Need for perspective
-National Security Council [NSC] meeting
Vietnam
-President’s position
-Effect on world situation
-Laos (Lam Son)
-Effect on future
-Troop strength
-Need for perspective
-Laos
-Cambodia
-Need for perspective
-Outcome of Vietnam conflict
US foreign policy
-President’s previous conversation with Brandon
-Kennedy policy
-Changes in US foreign policy
-Vietnam
-Korea
-Popular views
-Support for policies
-United States’ world view
-Asia
-Europe
26
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
-Latin America
-Africa
-New Isolationism
-Marshall Plan
-Joseph McCarthy
-Proponents
-Disillusionment
-Democratic movements Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Concern over domestic problems
-Compared 1940s and 1950s
-Race
-Students
-Korea
-Eisenhower
Isolationism in Europe
-France and Germany
-Great Britain
-Edward R. G. Heath
-Nixon Doctrine
-State of the World message
-Nuclear War
-Changes
US foreign policy
-Demand for independence in developing nations
-Domestic concern
-Military forces
-Effect on foreign policy
-Isolationism
-Blacks
-Indians
-Old Isolationism
-Europe
-New Isolationism
-President’s view
-Communist powers
-Soviet Union
-People’s Republic of China
-Communist expansionist ambitions
-East/West relations
-Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]
27
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
-Europe’s colonial experience
-United States
-Soviet Union
-People’s Republic of China
-Mao Tse-tung
-Communism
-View of world
-US response Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Need for West to maintain strength worldwide
Cambodia
-The President’s decision
-November 3 speech
-Role of advisors
-Compared to Laos (Lam Son)
-Failure
-Ground forces
-Bombing
-Rationale
-Public opinion
-Rationale
-Casualties
-North Vietnamese sanctuaries
-Possible overthrow of Cambodian government
-Effect on US troop withdrawal
The President’s use of Camp David
-Decisionmaking
-Foreign policy
-Domestic policy
-Davis-Bacon Act
-Law school training
The President’s decisionmaking techniques
-Role of advisors
-John Quincy and Louisa C. (Johnson) Adams portraits ceremony
-Biography of Abraham Lincoln
-Lincoln’s Administration
-Lyndon B. Johnson’s technique
-Compared to the President’s technique
-Unemotional decisionmaking
-The President’s view
28
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
-Wilson
-Effect of television
Historical view of present administration
-Vietnam
-Environment
-Welfare
-Health Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Revenue sharing
-Government reorganization
-Reasonable approach to problems
-Media
-President’s previous press conference
-Leslie T. (“Bob”) Hope
-US need for mature leadership
-The Presidency
-Effect of war
-Role in the world
The President’s view of world
-Present problems
Impact of television
-The President
-News summaries
-Walter L. Cronkite, Jr.
-Thomas E. Jarriel
-[Arnold] Eric Sevareid
-Effect on populace
-Compared to previous generations
-Effect on future
-The Presidency
-Press conference
-The President’s image
-Timing
-Questions and answers
-Brandon
-Future press conferences
-The President’s methods and preparations
-Briefings
Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 4:01 pm
29
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
The President’s schedule
-William P. Rogers
Bull left at an unknown time before 5:08 pm
Press conferences
-Answers to questions Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Brevity
Vietnam
-US policy for Southeast Asia
-US troop withdrawals
-US policy
-Southeast Asia
-US assistance
-Independence
-Prisoners of War [POWs]
-US troop withdrawals
-Compared to South Korea
-Mutual withdrawal of forces
-South Vietnam
-Laos and Cambodia
-Prospects for future
-Difficulties
-Casualties
-Region
-Press reports
-Army of the Republic of Vietnam [ARVN]
-South Vietnamese
-Roy H. Thomson
-Henry A. Kissinger
-Follow-up meeting with Brandon
The President’s schedule
-Follow-up meeting with Brandon
-Kissinger
[The President talked with Kissinger at an unknown time between 4:01 pm and 5:08 pm]
[Conversation No. 460-23A]
30
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
Follow-up meeting with Brandon
-Schedule
[End of telephone conversation]
Vietnam
-Laos (Lam Son)
-President’s view Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Compared to Cambodian operation
-Bombing
-Hanoi
Farewells
Brandon left at 5:08 pm
Date: February 26, 1971
Time: 4:01 pm - 5:08 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Henry Brandon
Greetings
Refreshments
-Tea
-Navy coffee
Previous meeting with Brandon
-1960 Presidential campaign
-James B. (“Scotty”) Reston
Brandon’s plans
-Book on Presidency
An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 4:07 pm
Photograph
-Oliver F. (“Ollie”) Atkins
The unknown person left at an unknown time before 5:08 pm
Brandon’s reporting from the United States
-Duration
-Brandon’s view of events
-Internal events
-Foreign policy
Harry S Truman
-Foreign policy
Atkins entered at an unknown time after 4:07 pm
Photographs
Atkins left at an unknown time 5:07 pm
23
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
Truman
-Korean War
-Truman doctrine
-Marshall Plan
Requirements of Presidency
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 4:01 pm
Refreshment
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 5:08 pm
Requirements of Presidency
-Ability to solve complex problems
-Winston S. Churchill
-Leadership
-Vietnam
-Middle East
-East/West relations
-Pacific
-People’s Republic of China
-Japan
-Principles
-Basic freedoms
-Guarantees
-Limits of power
-British understanding
-British history
-[Thomas] Woodrow Wilson
-Presidency
-Intellect
-Vocabulary
-Compared to Thomas Jefferson
-Leadership
-Compared to Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt
-Accomplishments
-Leadership
-Policies
-Popular views
24
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
The President’s mentors
-Foreign policy
-President’s view of world
-President’s previous conversation with Admiral Sir Nigel Henderson
-Dwight D. Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles
-Policies of 1950s
-Brinkmanship
-Massive Retaliation Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Rationale
Cuban Missile Crisis
-John F. Kennedy
-Communists
-Soviet Union
-United States’ policy
-Nuclear parity
-Differences in forces
-Effect
-People’s Republic of China and Soviet Union
North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]
-Need for strength
-Conventional forces
-Rationale
-Changes over time
-President’s view
-Sino/Soviet split
-Eastern Europe
-Examples
-Partnership with Europe
-Changes over time
Complexity of today’s world
-Churchill
-Geopolitical sophistication
-The President’s view
-The Presidency
-Need for flexible and idealistic leadership
-Americans
-Idealistic nature
-People’s Republic of China
-US policy
25
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
-Idealistic nature
-United Nations
-International organizations
-Leaders’ needs
-Sense of history
-Knowledge of real world
-Good organization
-Good overview Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Sense of priorities
-Wilson
-President’s view
-Roosevelt
-Pragmatism
-Present era
-President’s efforts
-Laos (Lam Son)
-Need for perspective
-National Security Council [NSC] meeting
Vietnam
-President’s position
-Effect on world situation
-Laos (Lam Son)
-Effect on future
-Troop strength
-Need for perspective
-Laos
-Cambodia
-Need for perspective
-Outcome of Vietnam conflict
US foreign policy
-President’s previous conversation with Brandon
-Kennedy policy
-Changes in US foreign policy
-Vietnam
-Korea
-Popular views
-Support for policies
-United States’ world view
-Asia
-Europe
26
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
-Latin America
-Africa
-New Isolationism
-Marshall Plan
-Joseph McCarthy
-Proponents
-Disillusionment
-Democratic movements Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Concern over domestic problems
-Compared 1940s and 1950s
-Race
-Students
-Korea
-Eisenhower
Isolationism in Europe
-France and Germany
-Great Britain
-Edward R. G. Heath
-Nixon Doctrine
-State of the World message
-Nuclear War
-Changes
US foreign policy
-Demand for independence in developing nations
-Domestic concern
-Military forces
-Effect on foreign policy
-Isolationism
-Blacks
-Indians
-Old Isolationism
-Europe
-New Isolationism
-President’s view
-Communist powers
-Soviet Union
-People’s Republic of China
-Communist expansionist ambitions
-East/West relations
-Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]
27
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
-Europe’s colonial experience
-United States
-Soviet Union
-People’s Republic of China
-Mao Tse-tung
-Communism
-View of world
-US response Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Need for West to maintain strength worldwide
Cambodia
-The President’s decision
-November 3 speech
-Role of advisors
-Compared to Laos (Lam Son)
-Failure
-Ground forces
-Bombing
-Rationale
-Public opinion
-Rationale
-Casualties
-North Vietnamese sanctuaries
-Possible overthrow of Cambodian government
-Effect on US troop withdrawal
The President’s use of Camp David
-Decisionmaking
-Foreign policy
-Domestic policy
-Davis-Bacon Act
-Law school training
The President’s decisionmaking techniques
-Role of advisors
-John Quincy and Louisa C. (Johnson) Adams portraits ceremony
-Biography of Abraham Lincoln
-Lincoln’s Administration
-Lyndon B. Johnson’s technique
-Compared to the President’s technique
-Unemotional decisionmaking
-The President’s view
28
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
-Wilson
-Effect of television
Historical view of present administration
-Vietnam
-Environment
-Welfare
-Health Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Revenue sharing
-Government reorganization
-Reasonable approach to problems
-Media
-President’s previous press conference
-Leslie T. (“Bob”) Hope
-US need for mature leadership
-The Presidency
-Effect of war
-Role in the world
The President’s view of world
-Present problems
Impact of television
-The President
-News summaries
-Walter L. Cronkite, Jr.
-Thomas E. Jarriel
-[Arnold] Eric Sevareid
-Effect on populace
-Compared to previous generations
-Effect on future
-The Presidency
-Press conference
-The President’s image
-Timing
-Questions and answers
-Brandon
-Future press conferences
-The President’s methods and preparations
-Briefings
Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 4:01 pm
29
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
The President’s schedule
-William P. Rogers
Bull left at an unknown time before 5:08 pm
Press conferences
-Answers to questions Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Brevity
Vietnam
-US policy for Southeast Asia
-US troop withdrawals
-US policy
-Southeast Asia
-US assistance
-Independence
-Prisoners of War [POWs]
-US troop withdrawals
-Compared to South Korea
-Mutual withdrawal of forces
-South Vietnam
-Laos and Cambodia
-Prospects for future
-Difficulties
-Casualties
-Region
-Press reports
-Army of the Republic of Vietnam [ARVN]
-South Vietnamese
-Roy H. Thomson
-Henry A. Kissinger
-Follow-up meeting with Brandon
The President’s schedule
-Follow-up meeting with Brandon
-Kissinger
[The President talked with Kissinger at an unknown time between 4:01 pm and 5:08 pm]
[Conversation No. 460-23A]
30
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 9/08)
Follow-up meeting with Brandon
-Schedule
[End of telephone conversation]
Vietnam
-Laos (Lam Son)
-President’s view Conv. No. 460-23 (cont.)
-Compared to Cambodian operation
-Bombing
-Hanoi
Farewells
Brandon left at 5:08 pm