Office of the Historian

26. Conversation Between President Nixon and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)1

Washington, May 11, 1973.

[Omitted here is discussion of the summit announcement.]

Kissinger: Now, we have a massive problem with the Chiefs and Clements, who’s stupid but well meaning on SALT.

Nixon: Ah, yes.

Kissinger: And I’m not going to bother you with the technical details, but they are digging in on almost everything. The point is, the Russians will turn down almost anything, and we—

Nixon: I know.

Kissinger: —just the—the issue is they want to nail the Russians now to agree to equal numbers on both sides before they will talk about MIRVs. Now, the MIRV proposal they are making is so unilaterally advantageous to us. Namely, that we should stop deployment of our land-based missiles, MIRVs, of which we have already completed nine-tenths of our program. If they don’t put any MIRVs on their land-based missiles, there’s no chance that it will ever be accepted, but if we can make it and get them to turn it down—but, if they did accept it, it would be spectacularly advantageous to us because we—our program would be nearly complete—

Nixon: Um-hmm.

Kissinger: —and they would never start theirs.

Nixon: That’s right. Right. Right. All right, what do you want me to do? To get the Chiefs—

Kissinger: I—

Nixon: —in and what else?

Kissinger: No, no—

Nixon: And tell them—

Kissinger: No, no—

Nixon: By God, then, I will—

Kissinger: I—

Nixon: —because I’ve had enough with these goddamn Chiefs.

[Page 84]

Kissinger: I’ll draft a memo for your signature today to send over to them.2

Nixon: All right, let me say: make it tough. Say that I have—you know, I have thought this thing through. This is a decision, and I expect it to be loyally and scrupulously adhered to, and I’m placing personal responsibility on everyone who gets the memorandum to see that there is no undercutting, and no playing members of the Congress, or with the press—

Kissinger: Right.

Nixon: —on this matter. How’s that sound to you?

Kissinger: That’s excellent.

Nixon: Put the words in to that effect. Ok?

[Omitted here is discussion of issues unrelated to SALT.]

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Oval Office, Conversation 916–14. No classification marking. The editor transcribed the portion of the conversation printed here specifically for this volume.↩
  2. Not found.↩