97. Telephone Conversation Between President Nixon and his Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)1
[Omitted here is discussion of the President’s meeting with Joseph Sisco.]
Nixon: Now, on Moscow I think we ought to give that to State as a career appointment.
Kissinger: That’s fine.
Nixon: And it’ll—it’ll—so, tell the second—who’s the guy, the second man that we’ve got over there now?
Kissinger: Toon?2
Nixon: No! God no! No, n-n-n-no, no, no, no. I mean our man in the State Department.
Kissinger: Oh, Rush?
Nixon: No. God, no. No.
Kissinger: Casey?3
Nixon: No. [chuckles] You get, get—no, the career guy, the Alex Johnson job.
Kissinger: Oh, oh. Porter?4
Nixon: Just tell Porter I want the man that they want that they think is best qualified in the career service to become Ambassador to Moscow because it doesn’t make any difference to us. Does it, Henry?
Kissinger: No. No. We want—
Nixon: Not at all.
Kissinger: —to do our business here.
Nixon: We’re going to do the business here. So tell them that. That’s—
Kissinger: [unclear] the better off we are.
Nixon: Right. So let’s get it, then that’ll, that’ll give them—they’ve all been, you know, screaming that they don’t have any major appointments. Let’s give that one to them.
[Page 318]Kissinger: Right. On—I think that’s absolutely right—
Nixon: Good, good.
Kissinger: I think—
Nixon: You—you take care of that. Ok?
Kissinger: Right.
Nixon: Fine.
[Omitted here is discussion of Thailand.]
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Oval Office, Conversation No. 38–11. No classification marking. The editor transcribed the portion of the conversation printed here specifically for this volume. This is part of a conversation that took place from 6 to 6:07 p.m.↩
- Malcolm Toon, Ambassador to Yugoslavia. Adolph Dubs was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy in Moscow.↩
- William J. Casey, Under Secretary of State for Economic and Agricultural Affairs.↩
- William J. Porter, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.↩