NIXON TAPES: "Kick the sh*t out of " N Vietnam (Kissinger) 2

-Part 2-
Henry Kissinger
April 11, 1972
022-111
White House Telephone

Then-National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and President Richard Nixon discuss the US bombing offensive in North Vietnam in April of 1972. Initially, they talk about First Lady Pat Nixon's tea with the Soviet ambassador's wife, Mrs. Dobrynin. Pat Nixon let Mrs. Dobrynin know that the current North Vietnamese offensive in South Vietnam might threaten the arms negotiation talks (SALT) that were soon to be held in Moscow. Nixon expects that Mrs. Dobrynin will carry this message back to Soviet leaders in the USSR.

The two men then talk more about the American offensive against North Vietnam with Nixon asserting that we're going to "knock the sh*t out of them" and that we're going to win whatever the cost. Nixon says he doesn't want to see any polls about this; he wants to do what in his opinion is right. They furthermore talk about Nixon's specific orders about ships and air strikes and an upcoming briefing on the offensive. They agree that they don't want Defense Secretary Mel Laird or Secretary of State Bill Rogers at the briefing.

(Although I've cleaned up the source recording some, the quality of this tape is poor. Specifically, I raised the volume for Kissinger and lowered it for Nixon in an attempt at partially correcting the horrible imbalance of the source tape, in which Kissinger's voice was almost inaudible.)

(Photo: President Richard Nixon and wife Pat exit from Air Force One.)

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• President
• Richard
• Nixon
• Tapes
• Henry
• Kissinger
• North
• Vietnam
• War
• Dobrynin
• Hanoi
• bombing
• Soviet
• summit
• detente
• Moorer

[nuts4clara]

This phone call sounds more like a CB radio transmission gone wrong. Plus, why does Kissinger sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger over the phone? XD

[forugh3]

@HoGraz I don't understand why so many people are complaining about Newt's suggestion, it's not like kids will be forced to work, or do something that will harm them or whatever. That's the last thing one should have against Newt. But i guess people don't have anything better to say than to complain about anything. I just saw him at the Jewish debate doing like everyone else present, except Ron Paul who was not invited, they were all licking Jewish ass for some reason or other.

[HoGraz]

@HoGraz I just read an article about how Newt Gingrich wants to get kids in poor schools from ages 9-14 to be janitors to cut costs. That's STILL Child Labor which the labor movement in this country helped abolish. They're using this whole 'socialist agenda' bull to make peope unaware ofthe neoliberal agenda that they're trying to use to out muscle free market countires like China taht have less legislation to go through and get the ease of Central Planning some of the econonmy.

[HoGraz]

@aguyfromTennessee Think about the people that lost their houses who got them from guys like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. It's amazing how people attack the poor. It wasn't they're fault at all, but it's easy to solidify public opinion that somehow poor folks are all lazy and moochers. Just cause lots of people are self centered and soulless doesn't mean people who have been blocked out of life and society are always too.

[HoGraz]

@aguyfromTennessee That's never going to happen. The inverse will happen though. Take when housing market bubble popped. Now banks are giving out reverse mortgages. They benefit. This was shortly after the reversal of the Glass Steagall Act signed in by FDR a democrat and abolished under Clinton a Blue Dog Democrat. Now tell me who's redistributing the wealth. We might as well have a command economy at this point.

[HoGraz]

@HoGraz They're an authoritarian state and have no social net at all. We're a diferent country. We have a different history. We also have a constitution which until Bush Cheaney '00 protected us from things like the Patriot Act and we had Habeas Corpus. Germany has had Universal Healthcare sicne the 1890's and they're pulling the rest of Europe out of the gutter. They're also one of the best and soundest economies.

[HoGraz]

@aguyfromTennessee Alright fair enough. Thing about Socliasm is that it has a populist apeal and was made counter to authority. Whether or not the various forms that sprang out of it were true to the ideal or pure is a different question. There's also different forms of it. Besides that just things like a mixed economy vs. a free market where people can tweak markets to reap their own benefit are more something we should focus on. China actually is more free market than us.

[aguyfromTennessee]

@HoGraz Question: How would you feel if the government decided to take your house and "redistribute" it to a poor family even after you have worked and struggled to pay off its mortgage all your life? Would that be fair to you?

[aguyfromTennessee]

@HoGraz Excuse me sir, but if you mean to debate, then do not be condescending. Thanks.

Heritage Dictionary (2006), socialism is “any of various or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that plans and controls the economy."

[HoGraz]

@aguyfromTennessee Well we're movign back to feudalism then.