Date: April 9, 1973
Time: 5:03 pm – 6:21 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Gen. John B. Flynn and Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft. The White House
photographer was present at the beginning of the meeting.
Introductions
Photographs
-Arrangements
President’s schedule
Photograph location
-Hands of state
Refreshments
-Coffee
-President’s habits
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 5:03 pm.
Flynn
-Meeting with President in 1964
-National War College
-Manila, Philippines
-President’s private trip
-Hotel
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(rev. April-2011)
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 6:13 pm.
Maj. Gen. James D. (“Don”) Hughes
-Acquaintanceship
-Thailand
-13 Air Force [?]
th
-White House dinner for Prisoners of War [POWs]
-Role as President’s military aide
-National League of Families of American POWs and Missing in Action in
Southeast Asia
-Liason
White House dinner for POWs
-Guests
-Absence of Cabinet members, VIPs
-POW families
-President’s conversations with Capt. Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr. and Col. Robinson
Risner
-Scheduling
-POWs’ readjustment to US
-Arrangements
-Weather
-Tent
-Capacity
President’s trips to Philippines
-Bataan survivors
-Flynn meetings with past Presidents
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
-Meeting with Flynn
-President’s kindness
-Vietnam
-National War College trip
Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 5:03 pm.
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Spanish language
-Sanchez’s background
-Spain
-Transportation to United States
-Cuba
-Possible return
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 6:13 pm.
Vietnam War
-Flynn’s role as POW leader
-National morale
-National weariness
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-Antiwar riots, demonstrations
-[October Moratorium] [?]
-Cambodia
-Opponents of war
-Peaceniks
-Appearance
-Quakers
-Presidential travel in US
-1972 campaign
-Demonstrators
-Viciousness
-Young women
-Attitude
-Future of US
-Leader class
-Press
-Intellectuals
-Business lenders
-Congress
-Attitude of common people
-Support for President’s policies
-Vietnam settlement
-Violations
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-Laos
-Cambodia
-Infiltration
-South Vietnam
-Non-Communist government
-End of war
-Return of POWs
-POWs’ understanding of situation
-POWs’ political orientations
-Political pressures on President
-Return of POWs
-Honor
-US role in world affairs
-Peacemaker
-Importance
-Allies
-Enemies
-Chance of peace
-POWs
-Treatment
-Pride
-“Return with Honor”
-Commemorative plaque
-White House dinner for POWs
-Plaque presentation to President
-Arrangements
-Foreign policy briefing by President
-People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-Soviet Union
-Arms control
-Vietnam
-Attire
-Dinner
-Reception
-Receiving line
-POWs’ feelings for President
-President’s appreciation
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-POWs
-Effect on nation
-Antiwar movement
-Character
-Lack of faith in country
-“Peace at any price”
-Pride
-Caliber of servicemen
-Air Force
-December 1972 bombing
-B-52 raids
-POW recognition
-Sound
-Bomb loads
-Effects on North Vietnamese
-Fear
-POW reaction
-Cheering
-Threat of bayoneting
-Camp commander
-End of war
-Prior attacks
-Selectivity
-B-52s
-Selectivity
-Devastation
-Carpet bombing
-Opponents of President’s war policy
-Press reaction
-President’s insanity
-Carpet bombing
-Genocide
-Effects on North Vietnamese
-Attitude towards President
-Continued bombing
-President’s determination
-Henry Kissinger’s theory
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-North Vietnamese ignorance of Western attitudes
-1972 election victory
-Mining of Haiphong
-October 26 agreement
-December 1972 bombing
-Difficulty of decision
-Christmas
-Chicago Tribune
-Criticism of President
-Flynn’s promotion in 1971
-Rank
-Backpay
-Vietnam settlement
-North Vietnam’s violations
-Cambodia
-Infiltration
-Terms for aid to North Vietnam
-Congress
-Compliance with settlement
-Investment
-POW atrocities
-Public opposition
-Leverage
-Uneasy peace
-Survival of South Vietnam
-War’s goal
-Survival of Laos and Cambodia
-Uncertainty
-Thailand
-Treaty
-Obligation to protect
-Testing of US will
-Possible US military response
-Congress
-Ho chi Minh Trail
-Mon Tri
-Alexander M. Haig, Jr.’s mission to Southeast Asia
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)
-Cambodia, North Vietnam, South Vietnam
-US war goals
-Lack of public support
-Non-Communist government in South Vietnam
-International misunderstanding
-Flynn’s leadership
-Morale
-US objectives
-Achievement
-Flynn’s prediction for POW release
-May 8, 1972 decision
-1970 Cambodian operation
-Campus protests
-Kent State University shootings
-Antiwar demonstration
-Riots
-Effects of closing Sihanoukville
-Elimination of sanctuaries
-1971 Laos operation
-Historians’ misinterpretation
-South Vietnamese armed forces
-US air support
-Prevention of 1971 offensive by North Vietnam
-1972 North Vietnamese offensive
-1972 election
-1972 Moscow Summit
-Pressures for conciliation
-Compromised negotiating position
-Soviet tanks
-Hue
-Popular support for President’s reaction
-Press reaction
-December 1972 bombing
-Popular reaction
-President’s explanation
-Effect on negotiations
-Opposition to bombing
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Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)
-President as “madman”
-North Vietnam’s refusal to negotiate
-US Congress
-Weather
-B-52s
-Role of fighters
-Surface to air missiles [SAM]
-Effect of B-52s
-Fear among North Vietnamese
-Treatment of POWs
-Goals of North Vietnam
-Topples US leadership
-Compared to France
-Pierre Mendes-France
-1968 Tet Offensive
-1972 North Vietnamese offensive
-1972 election
-1972 North Vietnamese offensive
-Scale of attack
-US mining and bombing
-Attack across Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
-Mistake
-Tanks
-Press reaction
-US goals
-Defense against Communism
-North Vietnam’s soldiers in South Vietnam
-Viet Cong
-North Vietnam’s support
-Socialist world’s support
-Denials
-US advantage
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-Motives
-Staff
-Mistakes
-Involvement in Vietnam
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Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)
-President’s Silent Majority speech
-November 3, 1969
-Defense of US role
-President’s public war goals
-Legitimacy of course
-President’s visits to Vietnam
-Gradual escalation
-Opinion of US military intervention
-Primitive Communism
-North Vietnam
-Bombing of North Vietnam
-Selective targeting
-Diplomatic purposes
-Military purposes
-1968 bombing halt
-Effects on Johnson’s successor
-Paris peace negotiations
-Charade
-1970 Cambodia operation
-May 8, 1972 decision
-Provocation
-North Vietnam’s attack across DMZ
-Effect on conduct of war
-December 1972 bombing
-Psychological effects
-POWs
-Effect on US policy
-President’s determination
-POW attitudes
-North Vietnamese attitudes
-Mistakes
-Lack of reasoned judgment
-President’s previous meetings
-Adm. James B. Stockdale
-Risner
-Denton
-North Vietnam’s desire for US aid
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
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(rev. April-2011)
-Compliance with Vietnam Settlement
-North Vietnam
-Shrewdness
-Possible future actions
-South Vietnam
-Strategy
-Economic aid
-Laos And Cambodia
-Soviet Union and PRC
-Support
-Soviet Union and PRC
-Role in world
-Leadership of Communist movement
-Competitors
-Relations with US
-Improvement
-US influence interests
-North Vietnam
-North Vietnam
-Violations of Vietnam Settlement
-Notification of Soviet Union and PRC
-Soviet Union
-Military aid to North Vietnam
-South Vietnam’s capabilities
-Manpower
-Tanks
-Airforce
-Navy
-Commitment
-Soviet message
-Trustworthiness
-President’s visit to Soviet Union and PRC
-Peking
-Moscow
-US foreign policy goals
-Competition between Soviet Union and PRC
-Communist leaders
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(rev. April-2011)
-US friendship
-Price
-Vietnam
-North Vietnam
-South Vietnam’s role
-Stability
-Military capability
-US reaction to invasion by North Vietnam
-Air strikes in South Vietnam
-External aid for North Vietnam
-South Vietnam’s government
-Autonomy
-US interests
-Possibility of collapse
US role in world
-Neo-isolationism in US
-American First
-World War II
-Fortress America
-Disarmament sentiment
-Unilateralism
-US defense capabilities
-Soviet Union
-World War I
-Possibility by Germany
-Benefits for Europe
-World War II
-Germany’s occupation of France
-Great Britain
-US assistance
-Japan
-Attack on Pearl Harbor
-Great Britain, France
-Role of great powers
-Germany
-Japan’s potential
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-Collapse as great powers
-Gen. Charles A. J. M. de Gaulle
-Withdrawal from Algeria
-Italy
-Germany
-Divided nation
-Willy Brandt
-Socialism
-Policy toward Eastern Bloc
-Anti-Americanism in West Germany
-US brokering of peace
-Leonid I. Brezhnev’s goals
-Georges J. R. Pompidou, Edward R. G. Heath, Brandt
-Division of Europe
-PRC’s relationship with Europe
-PRC’s relations with US and Soviet Union
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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[National Security]
[Duration: 2 s ]
US-PRC RELATIONS
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
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US role in world
-US brokering of peace
-PRC’s relationship with US and Soviet Union
-Restraint
-Soviet Union’s relations with US
-US wealth
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Tape Subject Log
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-US deterrent
-Need for US strength
-Soviet Union
-Toughness
-History of expansionism
-Western Europe
-North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]
-Dissolution
-Soviet Union’s role
-European Economic Community [EEC]
-Withdrawal of US forces
-US Congress
-Possible negotiations with Warsaw Pact
-Mutual force reduction
-Soviet Union’s goals
-Destruction of NATO
-Effects of détente
-Perceptions of Soviet threat
-NATO’s strength
-US diplomacy
-Arms reduction
-Trade
-President’s meetings with European leaders
-Brandt, Pompidou, Giulio Andriotti
-Purpose
-NATO strength
-Warsaw Pact
-Future
-Europe’s role
-US role
-US strength
-Military
-Leadership
-Balance to Communist threat
-Great Britain
-Resolve
-Heath
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(rev. April-2011)
-Economic problems
-Leadership
-World War I, World War II
-Germany
-Leadership
-France
-Need for US strength
-Europe’s lack of resolve
-Life in US
-Wealth
-Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark
-President’s visits
-National goals
-Youth
-Cheese
-Weakness
-Comparison with US
-Vietnam War
-Respect
-Uruguay
-Significance of citizenship
-South America
-Extension of Western democracy
-POWs’ concern
-Communists’ program
-US response
-Use of military
-Land reform
-Enhanced medical care
-Education
-US approach
-Freedom
-Brazil
-Emilio Garrastazu Medici
-Political system
-Economic health
-Land reform
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Tape Subject Log
(rev. April-2011)
-Medici
-Land reform, education, health care
-Dehumanization
-Soviet Union, PRC
-Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania
-President’s visits
-Standard of living
-Freedom
-Negotiations with PRC and Soviet Union
-Economic relations with US
-Communist leaders’ responsiveness
-Communist ideology
-Cadre
-Russian people
-Strength, rigor
-Chinese people
-Sophistication
-Value of contact with Communist world
-Potential for change
-Avoidance of world destruction
-Gradualness
-Alternative of US isolation
-Anger
-Potential for violence
-Irrationality in leaders
-US presidents
-Josev Stalin
-Insanity
-Adolf Hitler
-Insanity
-US system
-Removal of unstable leaders
-Dialogue with Soviet Union
-Understanding
-Trade
-Economic strength of Soviet Union and PRC
-Soviet military expenditures
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-Consumer goods
-Soviet industrial productions
-Flynn’s thesis
-Cost
-Comparison with US
-Communist exposure to West
-Indoctrination
-Conditions in US
-Western Europe
-Spain
-Gen. Francisco Franco
-Poverty
-Madrid
-President’s welcome during visits
-Compared to Budapest
-Popular response to President’s visits to Communist nations
-Soviet Union and PRC
-Effects of US strategy in Vietnam
-Romania
-Poland
-Hungary
-President’s visit as private citizen
-Youth
-Czechoslovakia
-Eastern Europe
-Concerns for Soviet Union
-East Germany
-Organization
-Success of Communism
-Soviet Union
-Leningrad
-Kiev
-President’s future trip
-End of Vietnam War
-Crowds
-Russians’ attitude toward Americans
-World War II
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(rev. April-2011)
-Cooperation
-Brezhnev
-President’s trips to Soviet Union and PRC
-Improved communications
-POWs’ reaction
-Soviet and Chinese magazines for POWs
-Soviet
-Sophistication
-China
-Revolutionary tone
-Publication quality
-Life
-James Keogh
-United States Information Agency [USIA]
-Time
-Effectiveness of Communist propaganda
-Prison guards
-Discipline
-Insight into Communist world
-Efficacy of Communist propaganda
-Latin America
-Education
-Health care
-Land reform
-Literacy for indoctrination
-Communist doctors
-Quality
-Doctors during France’s rule in Vietnam
-South Vietnamese programs
-Schools
-Doctors
-Land reform
-Thieu
-Possible U.S. response in Latin America
-Radio
-Loudspeakers
-Villages in Vietnam
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-Television [TV]
-Youth
-Language classes
-Local governments’ role
-Ease
The President talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 5:03 pm and
6:13 pm.
Request for call
[Conversation No. 891-7A]
[Begin telephone conversation]
[See Conversation No. 44-113]
[End telephone conversation]
Keogh’s schedule
-Travel
-Potential meeting with Flynn
Flynn’s schedule
-Joint chiefs of Staff [JCS]
The President talked with Keogh between 6:13 pm and 6:15 pm.
[Conversation No. 891-7B]
[Begin telephone conversation]
[See Conversation No. 44-114]
The President conferred with Flynn.
[Begin conferral]
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Flynn’s schedule
-Call to Keogh
[End conferral]
[End telephone conversation]
Keogh
-Reliability
-Anticommunism
-Time-Life
US role in world affairs
-Competition with Communists
-Ideas
-Military
-US strength
-Latin America
-US ingenuity
POWs’ experience
Flynn’s meeting with President
-Photograph
Rose Garden
-Plants
Red River Raiders
-Invitation to President
-Reunion
-Dinner in President’s honor
Flynn and Scowcroft left at 6:21 pm.
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