Conversation No. 472-1

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  Unknown between 7:50 am and 7:53 am
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with an unknown person

President=s schedule

The unknown person left at an unknown time before 7:53 am

Conversation No. 472-2

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  7:53 am - 8:02 am
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield

US Capitol bombings

H. R. (ABob@) Haldeman entered at 7:53 am

Capitol bombings
-Suspects
-Possible Congressional action
-John N. Mitchell=s view
-J. Edgar Hoover
-Informants
-Surveillance
-Mitchell
-Possible arrest
-Hoover
-Congressmen
-Mitchell

Butterfield left at 7:55 am

Polls
-George H. Gallup
-Approval ratings
-Laos operation (Lam Son)
-President=s credibility
-President=s previous interview with Howard K. Smith
-Smith=s questioning
-President=s response
-Vietnam War
-Laos operation (Lam Son)
-Joseph C. Kraft column
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-The President
-Military actions
-Effect
-The President=s policies
-Cambodian operation
-President=s November 3, 1969 speech

President=s previous interview with Smith
-Format
-John B. Connally
-Future value

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 7:55 am

President=s schedule
-Republican Congressional leaders
-Robert J. Dole

Bull left at an unknown time before 8:02 am

Connally

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration:  7s  ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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The President and Haldeman left at 8:02 am

Conversation No. 472-3

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  9:56 am - 10:15 am
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with Hugh Scott, Gerald R. Ford, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Clark MacGregor
[Recording begins while the conversation is in progress]

Supersonic Transport [SST]
-Soviet airplanes
-Importance
-Great Britain
-Soviet Union
-Export sales
-Japan, India
-House and Senate action
-House vote
-Ford
-Forthcoming Senate vote
-Scott=s assistance
-Hubert H. Humphrey
-Letter to George Meany
-Forthcoming Senate vote
-Peter H. Dominick

-Ford=s concerns
-Votes
-Dominick
-James L. Buckley
-Margaret Chase Smith
-Pat [Surname unknown]
-An unknown Senator
-Congressman
-Ford=s statement at Republican meeting
-Results
-Democrats
-Southern Democrats
-Robert J. Dole=s efforts
-Future action
-Possible effect on jobs
-Space shuttle
-Exploration of Mars
-Previous Republican leaders= meeting
-Ford=s view
-US role

Vietnam
-Laos operation (Lam Son)
-Possible responses for press
-President=s previous interview with Howard K. Smith
-Defense Department briefings
-President=s previous interview
-Cambodian operation
-US troop withdrawals
-Effect
-Vietnamization
-Effect of operation
-Public opinion
-Casualties
-North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese
-Effect on US troops
-Possible response for press
-Effect
-Casualties
-General Creighton W. Abrams, Jr.
-Future
-Compared with Cambodia

-Photographs
-Distortions
-Casualties
-Photographs
-Coverage
-Abrams
-Effect
-US troop withdrawals
-Vietnamization policy
-Casualties
-Compared with Cambodian operation
-Goals
-Compared with Cambodian operation
-Withdrawals, casualties, Vietnamization
-Army of the Republic of Vietnam [ARVN] withdrawal
-Possible responses to press
-Hanoi Radio claim
-Abrams= comments
-President=s actions
-Casualties
-Effect of action

Ford and Scott=s work
-Ford=s schedule
-A breakfast with the President
-Texas trip

President=s schedule
-Breakfast with Ford, Carl B. Albert, and [Thomas] Hale Boggs
-Leslie C. Arends
-Thomas P. (ATip@) O=Neill, Jr.
-William E. Timmons
-Michael J. (AMike@) Mansfield and Robert C. Byrd
-Robert P. Griffin and Scott
-Edward M. (ATed@) Kennedy
-Griffin, Byrd
-Mansfield
-Forthcoming California trip
-Meeting with Mansfield, Byrd, Griffin, and Scott

SST
-Forthcoming Senate vote
-Byrd or Griffin
-Possible outcome of vote
-Tally
-Dominick
-Possible position

Scott, et al. left at 10:14 am; MacGregor remained

Milk producers
-President=s meeting with Albert H. Quie
-Milk price supports
-Possible Congressional action
-President=s position
-Possible statement

Congress
-John B. Connally
-SST
-Effect of polls
-SST vote

MacGregor left at 10:15 am

Conversation No. 472-4

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  10:16 am
Location:  Oval Office

The President talked with the White House operator

[A transcript of the following portion of the conversation was initially prepared for the Watergate Special Prosecution Force [WSPF] and can be found in Record Group [RG] 460.  The Nixon Presidential Materials Staff has reveiwed the transcript and has made changes as necessary.  This transcript has been reviewed under the provisions of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974 [PRMPA].  The National Archives does not guarantee its accuracy.]

[End of transcript]

Conversation No. 472-5

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  10:16 am
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull

[A transcript of the following portion of the conversation was initially prepared for the Watergate Special Prosecution Force [WSPF] and can be found in Record Group [RG] 460.  The Nixon Presidential Materials Staff has reveiwed the transcript and has made changes as necessary.  This transcript has been reviewed under the provisions of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974 [PRMPA].  The National Archives does not guarantee its accuracy.]

[End of transcript]

Bull left at 10:16 am

Conversation No. 472-6

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  10:16 am - 10:19 am
Location:  Oval Office

The President talked with John B. Connally

[A transcript of the following portion of the conversation was initially prepared for the Watergate Special Prosecution Force [WSPF] and can be found in Record Group [RG] 460.  The Nixon Presidential Materials Staff has reveiwed the transcript and has made changes as necessary.  This transcript has been reviewed under the provisions of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974 [PRMPA].  The National Archives does not guarantee its accuracy.]

[End of transcript]

Conversation No. 472-7

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  10:20 am - 10:24 am
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with Leslie C. Arends

Supersonic Transport [SST]
-President=s morning meeting with Republican leaders
-House vote
-US role in world
-President=s view
-Soviet Union
-Japan
-Great Britain
-Defense spending compared with domestic spending

Congress

Federal Communications Commission [FCC]
-A letter to Arends
-Dean Burch
-Augie Meyer
-A letter to Arends
-William L. Springer
-Robert C. (ABob@) Wilson
-Contents
-Burch
-Burch=s actions
-Networks
-[Forename unknown] Rench [?]
-Actions

President=s nominees [?]
-Congressional scrutiny
-William J. Casey
-John B. Connally [?]
-Casey

Congress
-Arends= work

-Laos operation (Lam Son)
-A planned briefing
-Clark MacGregor
-A meeting, March 23, 1971
-[Thomas] Hale Boggs
-Democrat and Republican attendees

President=s previous interview with Howard K. Smith
-Questions

Congress
-A meeting, March 23, 1971
-Democrat attendees

Arends left at 10:24 am

Conversation No. 472-8

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  10:25 am - 10:35 am
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with H. R. (ABob@) Haldeman

George H. Gallup poll
-Results
-Gallup
-Release date
-Trial heats

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration:  1m  ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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-Results
-Changes in figures
-Timing
-President=s April speech
-Laos operation (Lam Son)
-Trial heats and approval rating

Louis Harris poll
-Timing
-Release date
-Charles W. Colson
-Timing
-Laos operation (Lam Son)
-William P. Rogers
-Laos operation coverage

President=s interview with Smith, March 22, 1971
-Smith=s questions
-President=s responses
-Colson=s talk with Smith
-Smith=s questions
-Telephone poll
-Coverage
-Impact
-Number of viewers
-American Broadcasting Company [ABC] audience
-President=s attire
-Thelma C. (Ryan) (APat@) Nixon and daughters= view
-Lighting
-President=s skin tone
-Mrs. Nixon=s view
-John D. Ehrlichman=s view
-Nixon=s daughters= view
-President=s attire
-Mrs. Nixon=s response
-President=s view
-President=s makeup
-President=s view
-Compared with AToday@ Show interview
-Mark I. Goode
-Content

-Seating arrangement
-Barbara Walters
-Location
-William H. Carruthers
-President=s view
-Ruth McC. (Bell) Graham=s response

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 10:25 am

President=s schedule
-Dairy industry group
-Clifford M. Hardin

Bull left at an unknown time before 10:33 pm

President=s interview with Smith
-Seating arrangement
-Content

Haldeman left and Hardin entered at 10:33 am

Dairy industry
-President=s conversation with John B. Connally
-Parity
-Congressional action
-Hardin=s conversation with Page Belcher
-Upcoming meeting
-President=s attendance
-Attendance at prior meeting
-Forthcoming meeting of President, Connally, Hardin, and George P. Shultz
-Camp David

[General conversation]

The President and Hardin left at 10:35 am

Conversation No. 472-9

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  11:30 am - 12:13 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with Peter G. Peterson

Textile negotiations
-Peterson=s report
-US strategy
-Congress
-A meeting in Albuquerque
-Possible negotiations
-Defense Department
-Agency for International Development [AID]
-Chief negotiator
-Peterson
-Textile industry
-Requirements
-Asian countries
-Loyalty to the President
-President=s policy
-US textile industry
-State Department
-Philip H. Trezise
-Peterson=s talk with Harry S. Dent
-Anthony J. Jurich
-Okinawa experience
-David M. Kennedy
-Textile
-Shoe imports
-Jurich and Trezise
-Support for President=s policies
-Peterson=s conversation with Dent
-President=s view
-Role
-Jurich
-Background
-Dent
-Role

-Kennedy
-Jurich
-Trezise
-President=s view
-Kennedy
-Jurich
-Kennedy
-Textile industry
-Japanese experience
-Trezise, Kennedy, and Jurich
-Negotiating position
-Peterson=s view
-Japan
-Peterson=s view
-Defense Department
-Korea
-Taiwan

Shoe imports
-Spain
-Italy
-Peterson=s view
-Potential political problems
-Political impact
-Wilbur D. Mills, John W. Byrnes
-US producers
-Effect
-Byrnes
-Political impact
-Options
-Compared with textiles
-Scope
-Support of shoe manufacturers in Congress
-Kentucky
-US industry
-Kennedy
-Possible trip to Italy and Spain
-Peterson=s conversation with Italian ambassador
-Possible actions
-Options
-Tariffs
-Spain

-Kennedy=s role
-President=s position
-Italy, Spain
-President=s public statements
-Kennedy=s role
-Possible trip
-Strategy
-Congress
-Administration position
-Forthcoming conversation with Peterson

A council [Council for International Economic Policy [CIEP]?]
-Kennedy
-William P. Rogers
-George P. Shultz
-Kennedy

Monetary policy
-Current situation
-Balance of payments
-Peterson=s meeting with John B. Connally, Arthur F. Burns, Paul W. McCracken, and Shultz
-Philosophy
-Exchange rates
-US dollar
-Foreign aid and military aid
-Response
-Issue of currency devaluation
-France, Great Britain
-Future
-Need for change
-West Germany currency study
-Effect of trade balances
-Japan
-Currency
-Connally, Burns, McCracken, Shultz, Peterson group
-Balance of payments
-Exchange rates
-Negotiating position
-Need for leadership
-Exchange rates
-Japan, Okinawa, trade

-Situation in Chile
-Taxes on foreign business
-Potential problems
-Maurice H. Stans

Trade with Japan
-Okinawa, defense issue
-Previous agreement
-Industrial policy
-Military, politics
-People
-Compared with British
-US textile policy
-Negotiations
-Possible leaks
-Kennedy
-Legal considerations
-Senators

Adjustment program
-Current program
-Effect
-Need for changes
-Congressmen and Senators
-Big companies, little companies
-Consolidation
-Antitrust laws
-Byrnes= concerns about shoe company in Wisconsin
-Retooling and retraining
-Economists= views
-Aerospace industry

Poverty program
-Past experience
-Investment policy
-Management
-Focus

Adjustment program
-A council meeting
-Attendees
-Businessmen

-Congress

International initiatives
-Agriculture
-European imports
-Citrus fruit
-Tobacco
Non-tariff barriers
-Spain, Morocco
-Latin America, Japan, Southeast Asia
-Meeting blocs
-Mediterranean countries
-US military role
-Cooperation with US
-Multinational corporations
-Mergers
-Labor view
-Jobs
-Need for US policy

Future administration action on trade
-Congressional action
-Outside advice
-Businessmen
-Compared with government workers

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 11:30 am

President=s schedule
-Press

Bull left at an unknown time before 12:05 pm

Edwin D. Etherington
-Background
-New position

A meeting of CIEP
-Importance
-Henry A. Kissinger
-Kissinger, Shultz, John D. Ehrlichman

-Domestic Council
-Compared with National Security Council [NSC]
-Membership
-Role of State Department
-Role of Stans
-Kennedy=s role
-Connally=s role
-Balance of payments
-Burns and Shultz relations
-H. R. (ABob@) Haldeman
-Burns
-Burns, Connally, McCracken, and Shultz
-Balance of payments
-Quadriad meetings
-Shultz
-Burns
-Connally, Burns
-Role of State Department
-Projects
-Adjustment program
-Connally
-Rogers

Etherington and Robert H. Finch entered at 12:05 pm

Greetings

Etherington=s acquaintance with Peterson

President and Peterson=s meeting
-International economic issues
-Spain, Italy, Japan

A statement

Peterson left at 12:05 pm

A plan

Photo arrangements

Photographers entered at an unknown time after 12:05 pm

American Stock Exchange

Stock market

[Unintelligible]

President=s dinner
-George W. Romney

An unknown woman

Etherington=s staff

The photographers left at an unknown time before 12:13 pm

-Romney
-Henry E. Ford, II
-Romney, Max M. Fisher
-Charles B. (ABud@) Wilkinson

Volunteer agencies
-Administration proposed
-Volunteers in Service to America [VISTA]
-Peace Corps
-Teachers= Corps
-Effect on Etherington=s Center for Voluntary Action
-Women=s role
-Lenore Romney, Thelma C. (Ryan) (APat@) Nixon=s role
-G. W. Romney=s role
-Blacks= role
-Mrs. Nixon=s role
-President=s role
-Needs

Ford

President=s dinner

Etherington and Finch left at 12:13 pm

Conversation No. 472-10

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  Unknown between 12:13 pm and 12:16 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull

President=s schedule
-Henry A. Kissinger
-John D. Ehrlichman and George P. Shultz
-Location
-James L. Buckley
-Kissinger
-Ehrlichman and Shultz
-Kissinger

Bull left at an unknown time before 12:16 pm

Conversation No. 472-11

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  12:16 pm - 1:07 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with John D. Ehrlichman

George P. Shultz=s location

Election reform
-Robert J. Dole
-President=s statement
-Ehrlichman=s assessment
-Hugh Scott
-Congressional hearings
-Marlow W. Cook
-Congressional hearings
-Administration position

-Constitutional issues
-Justice Department

Interior Department
-Appointment of Under secretary
-Rogers C. B. Morton
-Dr. James R. Schlesinger
-Shultz
-Morton=s conversation with Ehrlichman
-William T. Pecora
-Norbert Tiemann from Nebraska
-Roman L. Hruska
-Tiemann
-Needs for Under secretary
-President=s view
-Pecora
-Tiemann

Shultz entered at 12:18 pm

Economy and construction industry
-March 25, 1971 meeting of James D. Hodgson=s commission
-Proposal
-Wage Board
-Operations
-Effect
-Davis-Bacon Act
-Options
-Shultz=s view
-Wage increases
-Hardhats

Army Corps of Engineers
-David Packard
-Reorganization
-Water and natural resources
-Defense Department
-Roles
-Packard
-Melvin R. Laird
-Office of Management and Budget [OMB] staff
-Possible compromise

-Department of the Interior
-Laird
-Possible actions in Congress
-Defense Department
-President=s view
-Bureau of Reclamation
-President=s view
-Department of Natural Resources
-Bureau of Reclamation=s position

Abortion
-Laird
-Dr. Louis M. Rousselot
-A press conference response
-Abortions in military hospitals
-Department of Defense policy
-Roman Catholic response
-State legislature actions
-Laird=s staff
-White House staff
-Laird=s conversations with Terence Cardinal Cook and unnamed Cardinals
-Charles W. Colson=s conversation with Cardinal Cook
-President=s view
-Ehrlichman=s instructions
-Laird=s response
-President=s possible actions
-Letter from the President to Laird
-President=s convictions
-President=s policy
-Previous statements

Welfare reform bill
-Congressional action
-Amount of aid
-Food stamps
-State and federal programs
-Amount of aid
-Effect on budget
-Food stamps
-State and federal programs
-Labor Department role
-Department of Health, Education, and Welfare [HEW]

-Work requirement
-President=s view
-Funding
-OMB work with Congress
-Transition period
-Time frame
-Work requirement
-Possible letter from President
-Manpower
-Public service employment bill
-Possible Administration compromise
-Special revenue sharing
-Shultz=s view
-Public service employment bill
-Possible compromise
-Shultz=s role
-Presidential authority

Government reorganization
-Department of Natural Resources
-President=s view
-Congressional committee
-Previous Republican leadership meeting with the President
-Gordon L. Allott, Peter H. Dominick
-Arnold R. Weber=s role
-Briefing
-President=s view

Revenue sharing
-Forthcoming message to Congress
-Meeting of working group
-President=s schedule
-Special revenue sharing meeting
-Work of working group
-President=s appreciation
-Meeting of working group
-Attendees
-President=s view
-Location
-Number of attendees
-The President

-Pamphlets
-Preparation
-Distribution
-Stephen B. Bull
-Subjects
-Distribution
-Congressmen
-Edwin D. Etherington, Donald McI. Kendall

Milk prices
-March 24, 1971 meeting
-John B. Connally
-Upcoming Congressional action
-Connally, Clifford M. Hardin, Ehrlichman, John C. Whitaker, Donald B. Rice
-Meeting with the President
-Deadline

An unknown man entered at an unknown time after 12:18 pm

President=s schedule
-Mayors
-Etherington
-James L. Buckley
-Mayors
-Length of meeting
-John V. Lindsay
-Buckley
-Meeting with Connally, Hardin, Whitaker, Ehrlichman, and Rice
-Date and time
-Follow-up
-President=s conversations with Connally and Hardin

The unknown man left at an unknown time before 1:07 pm

Public works project
-Ehrlichman=s previous conversation with the President
-House Public Works Committee
-Public broadcasting
-Position of Republicans
-Possible veto of bill by President
-Environmental impact
-White House position

Airlines

George W. Romney group=s meeting, March 22, 1971
-Ehrlichman=s attendance
-Further meeting
-Unions, business
-Possible freeze on prices and wages in construction
-Executive order
-Wage raises
-Arthur F. Burns
-Enforcement
-Department of Labor or Commerce
-A wage and price board
-Extension to longshoremen and other industries
-Steel
-Deadline
-John A. Volpe
-Ehrlichman=s view
-Attendees
-Volpe, Romney, Maurice H. Stans, Hardin, Winton M. (ARed@) Blount, Burns, and Paul W. McCracken
-Ehrlichman=s conversation with Stans
-Stans= position
-Romney, Volpe

Burns
-Wage-Price Stabilization Board
-Call to Ehrlichman
-Rowland Evans and Robert D. Novak column
-Taxes, Vance Hartke
-Support for President
-President=s meeting
-Statements on taxes
-Upcoming meeting with Shultz
-Relations with Connally, President
-Positions on investment tax policy
-Meeting with President
-Statements by Burns
-Economic policy discussion
-Wages and prices

Henry A. Kissinger entered at an unknown time after 12:18 pm

President and Kissinger=s schedules

Kissinger left at an unknown time before 1:07 pm

Burns
-Meeting with President
-White House staff
-McCracken, Shultz
-Wage-Price Stabilization Board

Wage-Price Stabilization Board
-Possibility for success
-President=s view
-Prices
-Future
-Shultz=s view
-President=s view
-Price increases

Davis-Bacon Act
-Administration=s position
-Burns= possible response
-Shultz=s upcoming meeting with Burns
-Business community=s position
-Burns

Wage-Price Stabilization Board
Parity
-Burns
-Connally
-Burns=s position
-Blount=s question
-Construction industry
-Burns
-Scope
-Possible Executive Order
-Possibility of success
-Shultz=s position
-Ehrlichman=s view
-President=s position
-President=s policies
-Steel workers

-Dates of operation
-Cause and effect
-Steel industry
-Effect of possible strike
-McCracken=s position
-Construction industry
-History
-Timing
-1972

Economy
-President=s talk with Connally
-Dow-Jones average
-Federal budget
-Goal
-First quarter of 1971 figures
-Direction
-Second half of 1971
-President=s view
-Steel
-Consumer Price Index [CPI]
-Direction
-Inflation
-Unemployment
-President=s position
-Last quarter of 1971
-President=s position
-Economists
-Direction
-Dow-Jones average
-1972 actions
-Money supply
-Burns
-Federal budget
-Shultz=s view
-Monetary policy
-Effects
-Future
-Otto Eckstein=s position
-Gross National Product [GNP] forecast
-Compared with Shultz=s forecast

-Stock market
-Etherington
-American Stock Exchange
-Effect on economy
-President=s view
-Profits
-Arthur B. Laffer=s model
-Institutional investors
-Peter Winant [?]
-Ehrlichman=s conversation
-Expectations for 1972, 1971

Shultz=s schedule
-Burns

Government reorganization
-Department of Transportation
-Volpe=s response
-Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] head
-Volpe
-Possible meeting with President
-Shultz, Ehrlichman
-Position on Supersonic Transport [SST] control
-National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]
-Department of Agriculture
-Hardin
-Extension service
-Possible compromise
-Volpe=s position

SST
-Upcoming Senate vote
-Tally
-Thornton A. (AT@) Wilson of Boeing
-Previous conversation with Shultz
-President=s position
-President=s position
-House leaders
-Gerald R. Ford, Scott
-Position on SST, rapid transit
-Labor=s position
-Kenneth E. BeLieu

-[Name unintelligible]
-George Meany
-Forthcoming call from Shultz
-Jobs
-US position in world
-Andrew Biemiller
-Location
-BeLieu

Shultz=s meeting with Burns
-Wage-Price board

Ehrlichman and Shultz left at 1:07 pm

Conversation No. 472-12

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  Unknown between 1:07 pm and 1:10 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with Manolo Sanchez

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration:  5s  ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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Sanchez left at an unknown time before 1:10 pm

Conversation No. 472-13

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  1:10 pm - 2:12 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with H. R. (ABob@) Haldeman

President=s schedule
-Meeting with Haldeman and Henry A. Kissinger
-John A. Scali
-Meeting with editors
-James L. Buckley

Supersonic Transport (SST)
-Upcoming vote
-William E. Timmons
-Tally
-President=s previous meeting with Republican leaders
-Margaret Chase Smith
-President=s arguments

Kissinger entered at an unknown time after 1:10 pm

-House and Senate members
-Concerns about re-election
-Winston L. (AWin@) Prouty
-White House support
-President=s role
-Position

Howard K. Smith
-Comment
-President=s interview

Scali
-Possible appointment
-Kissinger=s previous meeting with Scali
-Possible meeting with the President
-A check

-Areas of responsibility
-Domestic, foreign issues, and television
-Scope
-Government reorganization
-Revenue sharing
-Blacks
-Riots in city
-Agriculture
-Economy
-Role
-Previous conversation with Kissinger
-Knowledge of State and Defense Departments
-Leaks

President=s schedule
-Possible meeting in California
-Ellsworth F. Bunker
-Foreign policy
-Press
-A poll
-Delay
-Reasoning

President=s interview with H. K. Smith
-Telephone poll by White House
-New York overnight ratings
-Competition
-National Broadcasting Company [NBC] movie
-Doris Day
-Carol Burnett
-Possible national audience
-West Coast showing
-Timing
-Telephone poll by White House
-Rating compared with share
-Haldeman=s view
-Advertisements, March 22, 1971
-Benefits for American Broadcasting Company [ABC]
-Ratings
-John F. Kennedy interview
-Meaning

-Telephone poll by White House
-Approval ratings
-Questions and answers
-Age distribution
-Political affiliation
-Further calls
-Questions
-Importance
-Congressional response
-Mark O. Hatfield
-President=s credibility
-College students
-Robert A. Taft, Jr.
-Length
-William E. Brock, III
-Length
-President=s demeanor
-Southeast Asia
-Blacks= response
-Robert J. Brown=s poll
-National Insurance Association head
-Comments on housing
-National Bar Association head
-Vietnam
-Cities
-Maurice Dawkins of Opportunities Centers
-Integration
-Housing
-National Business League president
-Housing
-President=s appearance
-Robert Walker [?], head of National Medical Association
-Domestic policy
-Revenue sharing
-Open housing
-Integration
-A judge [[Forename unknown] Newman?]
-Equal opportunity
-Higher education
-Housing
-Peace

-Judge William B. Thompson of Washington, DC Superior Court
-Housing
-President=s handling of questions
-Importance
-Bob Flanigan=s [?] response
-Vietnam
-Vic Morris=s [?] response
-George=s [Surname unintelligible] response
-President=s demeanor
-President=s credibility
-Senate Foreign Relations Committee
-J. William Fulbright
-John B. Anderson=s [?] response
-George Will=s response
-President=s credibility
-Richard A. Moore=s response
-Laos
-Format
-Compared with Afireside chats@
-President=s interaction with H. K. Smith
-Questioning
-President=s personality
-Jane G. (Swift) Moore=s response
-Vice-Presidential question
-Camera angle
-William H. Carruthers
-ABC
-Carruthers
-Preparation for interview
-Head of Paramount Television=s conversation with Kissinger
-Response
-Camera angles
-Work with ABC crew
-President=s appearance
-Mark I. Goode=s response
-Camera angles
-Lighting
-Future interviews
-R. A. Moore=s response
-President=s credibility
-Future interviews
-Possible interviewer

-Educational television
-Audience size
-Metromedia
-Audience size
-Congressional response
-Hatfield
-Brock
-Hugh Scott and Robert P. Griffin
-Hatfield
-Position on Vietnam
-Brock
-President=s demeanor
-Kissinger=s response
-Format
-Telephone poll
-Viewers
-Ages
-Approval ratings
-Clifford M. Hardin=s response
-Format, issues covered
-James D. Hodgson=s response
-Length
-People=s demeanor
-Issues covered
-Hardin
-Cabinet officers= responsibilities
-John A. Volpe=s response
-President=s schedule
-President=s answers to questions
-Congressional response
-Hatfield
-Taft
-Brock
-Taft
-Republicans
-Donald H. Rumsfeld=s response
-Questions
-President=s performance
-Pace
-H. K. Smith
-President=s performance
-John D. Ehrlichman=s response

Congress
-Support for Administration
-President=s view
-Haldeman=s view
-Attitudes of members toward President
-Southern Democrats
-John C. Stennis
-Republicans
-Role

President=s interview with H. K. Smith
-Future interviews with other networks
-Audience
-ABC=s audience
-Competition
-Movies
-Public opinion
-News coverage
-Laos
-Future interviews
-Use of networks
-Audience
-Forthcoming statement on troop withdrawals
-Reiteration of President=s comments
-Rowland Evans
-Previous breakfast with Kissinger
-Articles on Laos

President=s schedule
-Possible March 24, 1971 breakfast with George Meany
-Charles W. Colson, George P. Shultz
-Publicity
-Laos
-Asia
-Middle East
-North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]
-Economy
-Kissinger, Shultz
-Colson
-Timing

-Possible meeting with executive council [of American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations [AFL-CIO]?]
-President=s view

Meany
-Support for SST
-Possible call from Hodgson
-Possible breakfast with President

President=s schedule
-Breakfast with Meany
-Shultz, Kissinger, and Hodgson=s attendance
-Publicity
-Hodgson
-Shultz
-Topic

H. K. Smith interview
-Position of H. K. Smith
-Selection for interview with President
-ABC advertisements
-Ratings
-Effect
-ABC
-Format
-Length
-Haldeman=s view
-Congressional response

Congress
-Support for the President=s policies
-President=s view
-Revenue sharing
-Laos
-President=s television appearances
-Republicans

President=s schedule
-Quadriad meeting in California
-Another meeting in California

An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 1:10 pm

Federal Communication Commission [FCC]
-Letter from Leslie C. Arends

The President=s schedule

FCC
-Letter from Arends
-Peter M. Flanigan

The unknown person left at an unknown time before 2:12 pm

Kissinger=s briefing
-Gerald R. Ford, Arends and Anderson

Melvin R. Laird=s schedule
-A 3:00 meeting
-Democrats and Republicans

Kissinger=s briefing
-Time

Vietnam
-A possible meeting in California with General Nguyen Van Thieu
-Kissinger=s view
-Rationale
-Implications
-President=s view

President=s interview with H. K. Smith
-President=s comments on Laotian operation (Lam Son)
-Coverage
-John W. Chancellor
-Columbia Broadcasting System [CBS] radio
-News lead
-President=s statement on troop levels
-Call to Kissinger by Laird
-President=s visibility

President=s schedule
-California trip
-Presentation of Medal of Freedom to Samuel Goldwyn
-Goldwyn=s health

-Effect on movie community
-Goldwyn
-Career with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Vietnam
-Laos operation (Lam Son)
-Morning report
-Forthcoming Washington Special Action Group [WSAG] meeting
-Military situation
-Army of the Republic of Vietnam [ARVN] withdrawal
-Press coverage
-Casualties
-President=s statement in H. K. Smith interview
-Commentators= response
-Chancellor
-Military situation
-Kissinger=s view
-US role
-South Vietnamese performance
-Bunker
-General Creighton W. Abrams, Jr.
-Kissinger=s role
-General Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
-Laird
-Abrams
-Visits to family in Thailand
-General William C. Westmoreland=s advice
-Military strategy
-Tchepone
-Abrams
-Role
-Kissinger=s view
-South Vietnamese performance
-A cable
-Strategy
-Problems
-Kissinger=s view
-Tchepone
-Admiral Thomas H. Moorer
-US military command
-Haig=s view

-Kissinger=s view
-Replacements
-Abrams
-Performance
-Role in air strikes
-Information
-Strategy
-Political effects
-Laos operation
-Kissinger=s view
-Effects on President
-Kissinger, Bunker
-Tchepone
-South Vietnamese performance
-Kissinger=s view
-Withdrawal
-Photographs
-President=s comments
-President=s interview with H. K. Smith
-Coverage of US, North Vietnamese forces
-Distortion
-Kissinger=s view
-People=s Republic of China [PRC]
-ARVN troops
-Fear of invasion
-Casualties
-Air strikes
-Effect on North Vietnam
-Abrams=s plans
-US troop withdrawal
-Thieu
-Bunker
-Us Air Force
-North Vietnam=s situation
-Possibility of an offensive
-US troop withdrawals
-Level
-Military
-Thieu
-President
-Bunker, Thieu
-Announcement

-Defense Department
-William P. Rogers
-Laird
-Timing
-Kissinger
-Level
-Timing
-South Vietnam
-Election
-Nguyen Cao Ky
-Bunker
-Networks
-Military equipment
-Laird
-Economic aid
-US troop withdrawals
-Negotiations
-Bunker
-North Vietnam
-Timing
-Laos operation (Lam Son)
-Enemy casualties

Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
-Politburo
-Soviet policy on Vietnam
-Domestic considerations
-Strategic Arms Limitations Talks [SALT]
-Vietnam negotiations [?]
-Timing
-Effect of Party Congress= meeting

Vietnam
-Enemy forces
-Intelligence information
-US command
-Need for coordination
-President=s view
-Laos operation (Lam Son)
-Enemy forces
-After-action assessment
-Strategy

-Effect
-Possible time limit
-President=s comments
-Effect
-Congress
-Enemy forces
-Intelligence information
-President=s decision
-Strategy
-Moorer
-US forces
-Role
-Kissinger=s assessment
-Polls
-Justification for operation
-US troops
-I Corps
-Possible North Vietnamese Army invasion
-Tanks
-Material
-Hue
-Timing
-Enemy supplies
-Bunker
-South Vietnam
-Political situation
-Forthcoming call to Bunker
-Laos operation
-Effect
-ARVN and South Vietnam
-US newspapers and television
-Junior officers

President=s interview with H. K. Smith
-Evaluation
-Brock, Hodgson, Hardin, Hatfield
-Length
-Content
-Differences of opinion
-Hatfield and George S. McGovern
-Taft
-President=s demeanor

Liberals

1970 election
-Economy
-Stock market
-Effect
-Burns and the money supply
-Stock market
-Effect
-Interest rates

Liberals
-Kissinger=s efforts

President
-Leadership
-Joseph W. Alsop
-Call to President, Kissinger
-AThe Establishment@
-President=s policies
-Column, March 22, 1971

President=s interview with H. K. Smith
-Cambodia
-PRC
-New York Times
-Hatfield
-Taft

Vietnam
-Laos operation
-Effect compared with Cambodian operation
-Enemy supplies
-North Vietnamese forces
-President=s credibility
-President=s critics
-Compared with Cambodian operation
-Public opinion
-Effect
-Hue, Da Nang
-Thieu

-Possible effect on peace negotiations
-North Vietnamese

Martha (Beall) Mitchell
-Previous call to Kissinger

Haldeman and Kissinger left at 2:12 pm

Conversation No. 472-14

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  Unknown between 2:12 pm and 2:44 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull

President=s schedule
-3:00 meeting

Bull left at an unknown time before 2:44 pm

Conversation No. 472-15

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  Unknown between 2:12 pm and 2:44 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President talked with the White House operator

Call to Charles W. Colson

Conversation No. 472-16

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  2:44 pm - 2:50 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President talked with Charles W. Colson

President=s previous interview with Howard K. Smith
-President=s meeting with H. R. (ABob@) Haldeman
-Congressional response
-Audience share
-Reason
-Congressional response
-President=s forthcoming troop withdrawal announcement
-Format
-Haldeman
-White House telephone poll
-Press conference compared with interviews
-John B. Connally
-Audience

Louis Harris poll
-Release
-Timing
-Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday

-Harris= location

******************************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration:  13s  ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

******************************************************************************

Conversation No. 472-17

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  2:50 pm - 3:00 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with H. R. (ABob@) Haldeman

President=s previous interview with Howard K. Smith
-Format
-Compared with press conference
-Patrick J. Buchanan
-Raymond K. Price, Jr.
-Buchanan
-Leonard Garment
-Length
-Smith=s questioning
-Foreign policy emphasis
-Blacks
-Price
-Buchanan
-Smith compared with [Arnold] Eric Sevareid
-Questions
-Length of interview
-Difficulty
-President=s responses
-President=s demeanor
-William E. Brock, III
-John B. Connally
-Clifford M. Hardin
-Public opinion
-Camera angles
-Placement of cameras
-White House control
-Barbara Walters interview
-President=s seating position
-Hardin=s view
-White House control
-William H. Carruthers
-Placement of cameras
-Effect
-Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman conversations

******************************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration:  1m 6s  ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

******************************************************************************

President=s schedule
-An announcement concerning Davis-Bacon Act, March 26, 1971
-A prison dedication in Oklahoma
-Richard G. Kleindienst
-Another Oklahoma dedication
-Oklahoma City logistics
-President=s role
-Remarks
-Tour
-Precedent
-President=s role
-Prisoners

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 2:50 pm

-3:00 meeting

Bull left at an unknown time before 3:00 pm

President=s interview with Smith
-Public response
-White House telephone call

The President and Haldeman left at 3:00 pm

Conversation No. 472-19

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  Unknown between 4:45 pm and 4:46 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield

One item

[Unintelligible]

Recording was cut off at an unknown time before 4:46 pm

Conversation No. 472-20

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  4:46 pm - 5:04 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler
[Recording begins while the conversation is in progress]

An unknown person=s office
-Publicity

President=s previous interview with Howard K. Smith
-Coverage
-Public response
-Format compared with press conference
-Clifford M. Hardin
-Response

James L. Buckley and William E. Timmons entered and Ziegler left at 4:47 pm

John V. Lindsay
-President=s previous meeting with mayors
-President=s call to Nelson A. Rockefeller
-Lindsay

Supersonic Transport [SST]
-Upcoming Senate vote
-Importance
-President=s view
-Non-partisan issue
-International implications
-Environmental concerns
-President=s policy
-Safeguards
-Noise
-White House review
-Administration policy
-The President=s assurances
-Economy
-Jobs
-Balance of payments
-Transportation
-Tax revenues
-Administration=s position
-Technology innovation
-Exploration
-National spirit
-Leadership role
-Opposition
-Use of funds for domestic programs
-Space program
-US position
-Soviet Union
-France
-Great Britain
-Future
-President=s view
-Environment
-Use of funds for domestic programs
-Effect on national spirit in future
-Environment
-President=s position
-Buckley
-Environmental concerns
-Administration=s environmental policies
-Alaskan pipeline
-Background in contract negotiations

-Possible action in Congress
-Timmons= view
-Congressional committee review
-Environment
-The President=s assurances
-Possible action in Congress
-Presidential review of bill
-Buckley=s review
-Environment
-Safeguards
-Review
-Compared with Anti-ballistic Missiles [ABM]
-Soviet Union
-The President=s assurances
-Appropriations
-Upcoming vote
-Tally
-Hubert H. Humphrey
-Labor unions
-W[illiam] Stuart Symington
-Timmons= concerns
-Humphrey
-George Meany
-Margaret Chase Smith
-Committee vote
-Kenneth E. BeLieu
-President=s meeting with Republican leaders
-Handling
-Winston L. (AWin@) Prouty
-Total to be cast
-Abstentions
-Prouty
-Reelection
-Campaign statements
-Buckley=s support
-The President

Buckley=s ride

Thomas E. Dewey funeral
-Buckley=s presence on Air Force One
-President=s role
-Dewey=s support for President

Buckley and Timmons left at 5:04 pm

Conversation No. 472-21

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  5:05 pm - 5:38 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with Clifford M. Hardin, J. Philip Campbell, George P. Shultz, John D. Ehrlichman, John C. Whitaker, Donald B. Rice, and John B. Connally

[A transcript of the following portion of the conversation was initially prepared for the Watergate Special Prosecution Force [WSPF] and can be found in Record Group [RG] 460.  The Nixon Presidential Materials Staff has reveiwed the transcript and has made changes as necessary.  This transcript has been reviewed under the provisions of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974 [PRMPA].  The National Archives does not guarantee its accuracy.]

William Fitz-Patrick entered at an unknown time after 5:05 pm, during the transcribed portion

Fitz-Patrick left at an unknown time before 5:35 pm, during the transcribed portion

Hardin, et al. left at 5:35 pm, during the transcribed portion; Connally remained

[End of transcript]

Schedule
-Meeting
-Connally and Peter G. Peterson

Peterson
-Meeting with the President
-Proposed meeting with Connally
-Connally=s relations with Arthur F. Burns
-Connally=s relations with State Department
-Previous meeting with Peterson

-President=s meeting with Peterson
-Tariffs
-Spaniards and Italians
-Shoes
-Japanese textiles
-Possible role for David M. Kennedy

Connally left at 5:38 pm

Conversation No. 472-22

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  Unknown between 5:38 pm and 6:07 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with H. R. (ABob@) Haldeman

President=s schedule [?]

[Pause]

President=s preparation

Patrick J. Buchanan

President=s previous interview with Howard K. Smith
-Public opinion
-President=s demeanor
-Format

President=s schedule

******************************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration:  1m 55s  ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

******************************************************************************

Dairy industry
-President=s decision
-John B. Connally
-Campaign contributions to President
-Parity level
-Connally
-Relations with dairymen
-Possible additional contributions by dairymen
-Campaign contributions to President
-Amount

Supersonic Transport [SST]
-Upcoming vote
-Meeting at 6:00
-Possible meeting of President and Marlow W. Cook, John Sherman Cooper, Winston L. (AWin@) Prouty, Jack R. Miller, and Clifford P. Hansen
-Upcoming vote
-Tally
-Hubert H. Humphrey
-Cooper
-W[illiam] Stuart Symington
-Peter H. Dominick
-Humphrey
-Labor
-Cooper
-Symington
-Connally
-Dominick
-Clark MacGregor
-Pairing

-Cook
-Quentin N. Burdick
-Karl E. Mundt
-Possible pairing with Burdick
-Milton R. Young
-J. William Fulbright
-Location
-Mark O. Hatfield
-Joseph M. Montoya
-Henry M. (AScoop@) Jackson and Warren G. (AMaggie@) Magnuson
-Possible pairing
-Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr.
-Connally
-Campaign promise
-Cook
-Possible compromises
-James L. Buckley
-Margaret Chase Smith
-Prouty
-Hugh Scott
-Environmental concerns
-Lawton M. Chiles, Jr.
-George A. Smathers
-David H. Gambrell
-Herman E. Talmadge
-Aerospace industry
-Chiles
-Smathers
-Possible meeting with President
-Prouty
-Possible meeting with President
-Environmental concerns
-Buckley

President=s schedule
-Connally
-John N. Mitchell
-Thomas A. Pappas and Mitchell
-John A. Scali
-Health

Whitney M. Young, Jr. funeral
-President=s eulogy
-Distribution
-Leonard Garment
-Ministers, black leadership, white civil rights supporters

President=s schedule
-Black Congressmen
-John D. Ehrlichman
-Comparison with President=s meeting with mayors
-Cabinet role
-James D. Hodgson, George W. Romney
-Size of group
-Agenda
-Housing
-Romney

******************************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration:  3m 3s  ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3

******************************************************************************

President=s interview with H. K. Smith
-President=s credibility
-William F. (ABilly@) Graham
-Telephone poll by White House
-Unknown persons= response
-Questions
-Raymond K. Price, Jr. and Buchanan=s response
-Garment=s response
-Background

Hatfield

Dairy industry
-Campaign contribution
-President=s decision
-Congressional action

President=s schedule, March 24, 1971
-Afternoon

******************************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration:  2m 20s  ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4

******************************************************************************

News summaries

Marjorie P. Acker entered at an unknown time after 5:38 pm

Rose Mary Woods
-Location
-A letter

Acker left at an unknown time before 6:02 pm

News summary
-Use

Crisis atmosphere
-White House staff

President=s schedule
-California trip
-Weather
-Florida comparison

Alexander P. Butterfield entered at 6:02 pm

-A briefing
-[Name unintelligible] [Burdick?]
-A call
-Henry A. Kissinger

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 6:07 pm

An unknown man [Burdick?]

President=s schedule
-National Security Council [NSC] meeting
-Time
-Compared with Congressional leaders= meetings

Haldeman left at an unknown time before 6:07 pm

Conversation No. 472-23

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  Unknown between 6:02 pm and 6:40 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with H. R. (ABob@) Haldeman and Alexander P. Butterfield

[Unintelligible]

The President left at an unknown time after 6:07 pm

[Pause]

The President entered at an unknown time before 6:10 pm

Items for President=s signature

President=s schedule
-March 23, 1971 evening
-An unknown man
-Edwin D. Etherington

[Pause]

Butterfield left and Henry A. Kissinger entered at 6:10 pm

Laotian operation (Lam Son)
-Washington Special Actions Group [WSAG] meeting
-Purpose
-Admiral Thomas H. Moorer and General John W. Vogt, Jr.
-Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]
-U. Alexis Johnson
-Future meeting

An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 6:10 pm

Refreshment order

The unknown person left at an unknown time before 6:14 pm

Laos operation (Lam Son)
-Upcoming WSAG meeting
-Purpose
-Public relations
-Moorer
-General Creighton W. Abrams, Jr.
-Military actions
-April plans
-Raids
-Purpose
-Publicity
-Army of the Republic of Vietnam [ARVN] ability

[The President talked with the White House operator at 6:14 pm]

[Conversation No. 472-23A]

Call to the Vice President

[End of telephone conversation]

[The White House operator talked with the President at 6:14 pm]

[Conversation No.  472-23B]

Call to Vice President Spiro T. Agnew

[End of telephone conversation]

Haldeman left at 6:15 pm

Vietnam
-Laos operation
-WSAG meeting
-Johnson, General Robert E. Cushman, Jr., Moorer
-Effect
-Participant=s view
-Public relations efforts
-President=s interview with Howard K. Smith
-President=s April 7, 1971 speech
-National Security Council [NSC] role
-Compared with Smith interview
-Charts
-William P. Rogers
-Chart preparation
-Nixon Doctrine in Asia
-Effect
-President=s interview with Smith
-President=s position
-President=s credibility
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-Speeches
-Public opinion
-Press
-L. B. Johnson
-Smith=s comment
-Public opinion
-Press
-Call to Kissinger from Washington Post=s Phil Shelan [?]
-Kissinger=s previous lunch at Washington Post
-David S. Broder
-Kissinger=s comments

-Shelan=s [?] call to Kissinger
-Laotian operation (Lam Son)
-Position on Vietnam
-Call from Shelan [?]
-Kissinger=s comments

President=s previous interview with Smith
-NSC staff=s response
-General Alexander M. Haig, Jr.=s response
-Call to Kissinger at Soviet embassy

Vietnam
-US forces
-Haig=s assessment
-President=s assessment
-President=s statement to Smith
-Support for ARVN
-Kissinger=s view
-Air support
-ARVN forces
-Laotian operation (Lam Son)
-General Do Cao Tri
-Cambodia, Laos
-Laos operation (Lam Son)
-US forces
-Abrams= trip to Bangkok
-President=s role
-Moorer=s role
-Effect
-WSAG meeting
-Public statements
-Administrative comments
-Forthcoming US troop withdrawals
-Rogers
-Relations with President
-Melvin R. Laird
-View of Administration position

******************************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Privacy]
[Duration:  23s  ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3

******************************************************************************

-President=s role and plans
-Laird=s role
-Kissinger=s comments to Rowland Evans
-President=s meeting with General Nguyen Van Thieu
-Abrams
-President=s record
-Compared with 1968 anti-war Democrats= platform
-Evans= recollections
-President=s April 7, 1971 speech
-Effect
-Public opinion
-Figures
-Negotiations
-Troop levels
-Prisoners of War [POWs]
-Kissinger=s actions
-Withdrawal of forces
-Timing
-Cease fire
-President=s previous comments to Smith
-Mark O. Hatfield, George S. McGovern
-President=s previous interview with Smith
-Laird
-Troop levels
-Negotiations
-Negotiations
-Timing
-POWs

-Laird=s role
-Future
-Kissinger=s relationship with Laird
-Laos operation (Lam Son)
-Publicity
-US support for ARVN
-President=s view
-Abrams= previous interview
-Haig=s conversation with Kissinger
-Lieutenant General James W. Sutherland, Jr.
-Abrams= actions
-Kissinger=s cables
-Ellsworth F. Bunker
-Abrams
-Response to President=s previous interview with Smith
-Kissinger=s forthcoming call to Bunker
-Report to President
-President=s schedule
-Morale
-ARVN
-US forces
-Support for ARVN
-Performance in Laos and Cambodia
-Chup area of Cambodia
-Success
-General Do Cao Tri
-Laotian operation
-North Vietnamese
-South Vietnamese forces
-Withdrawal
-Kissinger=s assessment
-Number
-Press coverage
-Status
-US air support
-Future US military actions
-Timing
-Weather
-Scope
-Laos operation (Lam Son)
-Purpose
-President=s position

-Effect
-Forces employed
-US military support of ARVN
-Effect on North Vietnamese Army
-Effect
-Military assessment
-Richard M. Helms
-Cushman
-ARVN
-Tactical air support
-Military supplies
-ARVN air power
-Laird
-US surplus military equipment
-US program
-David Packard

President=s interview with Smith
-Kissinger=s call to Bunker
-Time
-Report to President

Kissinger left at 6:40 pm

Conversation No. 472-24

Date:  March 23, 1971
Time:  Unknown between 6:40 pm and 6:45 pm
Location:  Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield

Items for President to sign
-John D. Ehrlichman

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 6:45 pm

Conversation No. 472-25

Date:  Unknown between March 23 and March 24, 1971
Time:  Unknown between 6:45 pm, March 23 and 9:32 am, March 24, 1971
Location:  Oval Office

Unknown people [Secret Service agents?] met

President=s location

Recording was cut off at an unknown time before 9:32 am, March 24, 1971