The Nixon Tapes by Douglas Brinkley

Author:Douglas Brinkley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

NIXON: The point that you should make, of course, that everyone should make out there, is that putting it in its coldest terms: South Vietnam should get demoralized if they concluded that the peacenik portions in this country led to not just an American withdrawal, but led to withdrawal of our aid programs—

BUNKER: Oh, yes.

NIXON: —military and economic, in the future, which is their real objective.

BUNKER: Yes.

ROGERS: Yeah.

NIXON: Now, the revelation of our peace initiative has bought a little time in that respect. The Congress, I mean the jackasses who are ready to go off on another one of their kicks, not just a withdrawal date, but to cut aid, cut sorties, and cut everything else. I think if the point could be strongly made, that public support at the moment, which is reflected in congressional support, support which is in turn reflected in the appropriations, is more solid than it has been for a long time—

BUNKER: Yeah. Yes.

NIXON: —and therefore they can have confidence that they’re going to continue to have economic and military aid so that they will be able to fight the enemy. That’s the key point—

BUNKER: Yes. Yes.

NIXON: —if they take the long view.

BUNKER: Yeah.

NIXON: Then, of course, you have the short problem, the short-view problem. That’s what you’re addressing [unclear]. There you say they think they’re ready for it.

BUNKER: Yes, sir.

NIXON: They’re not frightened to death of them, huh?

BUNKER: No.

NIXON: I don’t think they would feel ready if, as I say, if I had an air force and a navy, and short communication lines up against an enemy with a long communication line, no air force, and no navy. Good God, if they aren’t building morale now, what can? They never, they can’t make it alone, can they, if they cannot at this time? Do you agree, Admiral?

MOORER: Yes, sir. I think this is a critical test of leadership—

NIXON: Good. It’s pretty good, pretty good odds on their side.

LAIRD: They’ve gone from two—a little under, about two hundred attack aircraft to over a thousand that they’re operating, in a period of twenty-four months.

NIXON: Who? The South Vietnamese?

LAIRD: The South Vietnamese.

NIXON: On their own? On their own. That’s right—

LAIRD: No, I—I, I just feel that, Mr. President, that we have accomplished something here in giving these people this capability, and I don’t want them to get into a panic situation. I want to do everything we can to protect them, but I don’t want to give the impression, as far as this country is concerned, particularly in view of the—I’ve got to testify before the Congress. Maybe everything is all right, but I’ll tell you it’s not going to be easy to get that economic aid through for Vietnam.

NIXON: Sure.

LAIRD: It’s a tough damn problem right now. We’re three hundred million dollars light right at the present time. Maybe others think that the atmosphere has changed and that we can get these—this money through easily, but it hasn’t changed as far as the damn gut questions in those committees.

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