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

207. Backchannel Message From Richard T. Kennedy of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Haig) in Saigon¹

Washington, December 20, 1972.

1. It appears that 4 (and possibly 5) B–52s were lost during some 100 B–52 sorties over North Vietnam today.² Three were lost in the first wave, although one plane crashed in friendly territory.³ The fourth (and possible fifth) plane was lost in the last strikes of the evening. The crew may be recovered in Laos. An A–6 also was lost. The number of B–52s over the Hanoi-Haiphong complex will be thirty daily from here on but maximum pressure will be continued using all assets. A broadened target list will be attacked and HAK approved going into buffer zone with extreme care to avoid PRC overflight. You will be happy to know that Hanoi radio is having almost as much difficulty communicating as your knee-cap aircraft.⁴

2. Your messages reporting on your meetings in Saigon, Vientiane, and Phnom Penh have been greatly appreciated. HAK is considering the options based upon your Haigto 09⁵ and I am sure has discussed them with the President. Though I do not think his views have fully crystalized, my feeling is that at the moment he is tending toward an effort to an early reopening of the talks with a view to concluding an agreement if they will do so but if not, proceeding to a straight bilateral based on successful Vietnamization.

3. We have received protests from the Soviets and the Poles for damage to ships in Haiphong Harbor. The Soviet protest was relatively low key and received little publicity. The Polish protest was a little tougher emphasizing deaths alleged to have been caused by the bombing of the ship and was accompanied by a public statement calling upon the U.S. to sign the agreement with the DRV. DOD investigations thus far, not surprisingly, can not confirm that the damage was caused by our aircraft. Murphy indicates that the pilots were all interviewed and some indicated that the ship was on fire before they arrived in the objective area.

4. CBS news this evening carried pictures of your departure from Saigon and stated that you were carrying a letter from the President which amounted to an ultimatum. The source of the story apparently was in Saigon although this was not clearly stated.

5. Sullivan gave a backgrounder this afternoon on the way the talks went. This was done after consultation with HAK.⁶ It was helpful in that it put another participant in the talks out telling the same story, albeit in a bit more detail than HAK had conveyed, of North Vietnamese stalling and intransigence.

6. Percy made a supportive statement in Djakarta and separately advised HAK by wire that he had done so and noted Quote There is strong backing in this entire area for President’s position on negotiations. Unquote. Lehman called to say that Senator Taft had expressed strong support for the President’s position.

Warm regards.

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1020, Alexander M. Haig Special File, Gen. Haig’s Vietnam Trip, Tohaig/Haigto & Misc., December 17–22, 1972 [3 of 3]. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. Printed from a copy that was approved for transmission as WHS 29929.
2. Surface-to-air missiles downed 6 B–52s and damaged a seventh that day as the Air Force continued bombing the Hanoi-Haiphong region. (Clodfelter, The Limits of Air Power, p. 187)
3. Nixon, Kissinger, and Haldeman met that day to discuss the bombing and the negotiations. According to Haldeman’s diary, “The P kept coming back to the B–52 loss problem, saying we can’t back off, but will we get three losses every time? If so, it’s going to be very tough to take.” ( Haldeman Diaries: Multimedia Edition, December 20)
4. A reference to the Boeing EC–135J Stratolifter, a flying command post for the President in an emergency; called the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP, pronounced “knee-cap”).
5. Document 206.
6. Some of the information Sullivan provided in the backgrounder appeared in the Murrey Marder story, “Break-Up of the Peace Talks: Undocumented Accusations,” in The Washington Post, December 23, 1972, p. A19. Sullivan’s consultation with Kissinger took place over the telephone at 12:58 p.m. on December 20. (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, Kissinger Telephone Conversations, Box 17, Chronological File)