Date: December 16, 1972

Time: 12:45 pm – 1:25 pm

Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler, Henry A. Kissinger and Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

Vietnam War

-Henry A. Kissinger’s press conference

-Ziegler’s view

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-Tone

-Settlement agreement

-Conditions

-Prisoners of War [POWs]

-No coalition government

-Cease-fire

-US withdrawal

-October 1972

-South Vietnam’s position

-The President’s position

-Signing

-North Vietnam’s position

-Decision

-Press relations

-Negotiations

-Linguistic changes

-Settlement agreement

-Conditions

-Question and answer [Q & A] session

-Wires

-Cease-fire

-Tone

-Kissinger’s “peace is at hand” comment, October 26, 1972

-Negotiations

-Status

-Progress

-Settlement agreement

-North Vietnam’s duplicity

-US military action

-US bombing of North Vietnam

-News reports [media and press relations]

-B-52s

-Reseeding mines

-Public Information Officers [PIOs]

-South Vietnam

-The President’s May 8, 1972 decision

-Prevention of enemy buildup and offensive

-Gen. Frederick C. Weyand

-Reseeding mines

-Press relations

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-Settlement agreement

-The President’s May 8, 1972 decision

-US bombing north of 20 Parallel

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-October 23, 1972

-B-52s

-Hanoi

-Haiphong

-The President’s May 8, 1972 decision

-Negotiations

-Defense Department

-State Department

-South Vietnam

-Kissinger’s press conference

-Press relations

-Telephone calls

-National Security Council [NSC]

-Follow-up stories

Ziegler left at 12:55 pm.

Vietnam negotiations

-The President’s letters

-Haig’s trip to Saigon

-Nguyen Van Thieu

-Notification

-The President’s letter

-Draft

An unknown man entered at an unknown time after 12:55 pm.

Refreshment

The unknown man left at an unknown time before 1:25 pm.

Vietnam negotiations

-Thieu

-The President’s letter

-Vice President Spiro T. Agnew’s trip

-Purpose

-Settlement agreement

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-October and week of November 20, 1972

-Saigon radio

-North Vietnam

-Concessions

-Demands

-Kissinger’s press conference

-Press relations

-Comparison to US action in Cambodia and Laos

-Misleading US people

-“Peace is at hand”

-Thieu

-Agnew

-Settlement agreement

-The President’s intentions

-Guarantees

-Cease-fire

-Free elections

-Helen Thomas

-Peter Lisagor

-Timing

-Options

-Kissinger’s press conference

-Scale

-US public opinion

-Number of sorties

-Effect on North Vietnam

-North Vietnam’s delays

-Agnew

-William P. Rogers

-Melvin R. Laird

-Settlement agreement

-Duration

-B-52s

-Number

-Effect on North Vietnam

-Kissinger’s view

-Vietnamese intransigence

-Christmas pause

-Breakdown

-North Vietnam

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-North Vietnam’s strategy

-Settlement agreement

-Timing

-1973 Inauguration

-US bombing north of 20 Parallel

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-Duration

-Effect

-Christmas

-Possible North Vietnam message

-Settlement agreement

-Signing

-Targets

-Settlement agreement

-North Vietnam’s delays

-Number of sorties

-North Vietnam’s air defense

-Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]

-Surface to air missiles [SAMs]

-Transport

-Messages

-Ellsworth F. Bunker

-US domestic reaction

-Sophisticates

-Press relations

-Resumption of bombing

-PIOs

-North Vietnam

-Propaganda

-Kissinger’s message to North Vietnam

-US bombing

-Thanksgiving [November] understandings

-“Administrative structure”

-Demilitarized Zone [DMZ]

-US bombing north of 20 Parallel

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-Moonshot analogy

-Public relations [PR]

-Cambodia invasion, the President’s May 8, 1972 decision

-Congressional relations

-Michael J. Mansfield, Charles H. Percy, Charles McC. Mathias

-Thieu

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-Meeting with Haig

-Agnew’s trip

-Advisability

-The President’s meeting with Agnew

-Relations with US

-The President’s letters

-Ambassador briefings

-Saigon Radio

-Laird

-Options

-US bombing north of 20 Parallel

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-Nuclear weapons

-Soviet Union

-People’s Republic of China [PRC]

-North Vietnam

-US bombing, mining

-North Vietnam’s offensives

-Vietnamization

-US withdrawal

-POWs

-George S. McGovernites

-Mansfield Amendment

-US bombing north of 20 Parallel

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-Bilateral deal

-US interests

-US aid to South Vietnam

-Laos, Cambodia

-Settlement agreement

-Thieu’s survival

-South Vietnam

-Ambassador briefings in Paris

-Leaks to North Vietnam

-Congressional relations

-US military involvement

-Nguyen Phu Duc

-Bunker

-US withdrawal

-POWs

-US domestic reaction

-South Vietnam

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-North Vietnamese troops in Cambodia, Laos

-PRC

-October 1972 agreement

-Effect

-Clauses

-DMZ

-Thieu

-Surprise

-Settlement agreement

-North Vietnam

-Delays

-Kissinger’s possible trip

-Effect

-US bombing

-Incentive

-Kissinger’s previous trips

-The President’s May 8, 1972 decision

-Status

-Soviet Union, PRC

-Kissinger’s message to the PRC

-Reply

-Forthcoming briefing

-Timing

-Florida

-Anatoliy F. Dobrynin

-Transcript of December 13, 1972 talks

-Tone

-Conversation with Kissinger

-The President’ possible action

-Timing

-Christmas

-Haig’s conversation with an unknown Chinese

-US bombing north of 20 Parallel

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-“Doves”

-McGovern

-1972 election

-Congressional relations

-Thieu

-November 1972

-Kissinger’s press conference

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-Press relations

-Tone

Haig and Kissinger left at 1:25 pm.