Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume IX, Vietnam, October 1972–January 1973

232. Telephone Conversation Between President Nixon and Richard T. Kennedy of the National Security Council Staff¹

Washington, December 28, 1972.

Kennedy: Hello, sir.

Nixon: Yeah?

Kennedy: We did get that message.²

Nixon: Yeah?

Kennedy: And they accept.

Nixon: They did?

Kennedy: Yes sir.

Nixon: Good.

Kennedy: So, it’s the 2d, and then the 8th.

Nixon: Right.

Kennedy: And I called Henry—

Nixon: Yeah?

Kennedy: —and he’s going to be calling you.

Nixon: [unclear] the conditions?

Kennedy: None that we hadn’t already spoken of.

Nixon: Yeah.

Kennedy: So they—

Nixon: What about the bomb halt then? When—? That’s the—that’s the problem, isn’t it?

Kennedy: Yes sir. Well, we’ll have to go through with that.

Nixon: I mean—[laughs]—starting when?

Kennedy: Well, it’ll probably—well, it’ll have to be tomorrow night.

Nixon: Because we’d announce tomorrow, huh?

Kennedy: Right.

Nixon: That’s all right. I don’t—do you think one extra day makes—

Kennedy: Oh, it isn’t going to make any difference, sir.

Nixon: Today is—what is today? The 28th or 29th—?

Kennedy: The 28th.

Nixon: Because we were—no—

Kennedy: It’ll be tomorrow night, our time.

Nixon: Tomorrow night—and, basically, we would have had to have had stopped the following?

Kennedy: The night—well, let’s see. The night of the 31st, our time.

Nixon: Was when we would have stopped?

Kennedy: Right.

Nixon: Well, we’ll miss two days, then, don’t we? Well, what the hell.

Kennedy: Not really.

Nixon: Because—

Kennedy: Just—just, actually, a full day.

Nixon: Right. Well, that’s good—

Kennedy: Well, we’ll have to—we weren’t—we wouldn’t get much—we wouldn’t get much—

Nixon: Well, actually, this is—

Kennedy: [unclear]—

Nixon: This is really, from our standpoint, I think, a rather significant development. What do you think?

Kennedy: Yes, sir. I think so. As I—as I mentioned this morning, I—you know, if they were going to accept I must say I couldn’t figure out why.

Nixon: Would you tell Henry to call me soon because—

Kennedy: Yes, sir.

Nixon: —I’m leaving for Camp David at 4:30, so—

Kennedy: Right.

Nixon: —if he’s going to call, he’d better call then, ’cause other—now or I’ll be leaving this [unclear]—

Kennedy: Right, he—

Nixon: —in about ten or fifteen minutes—

Kennedy: —he said he was going to call very shortly.

Nixon: All right, fine.

Kennedy: All right, sir.

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Oval Office, Conversation 35–34. No classification marking. According to the President’s Daily Diary, Nixon and Kennedy spoke from 3:43 to 3:45 p.m. (Ibid., White House Central Files) The editors transcribed the portions of the conversation printed here specifically for this volume.
2. Document 231.