48. Transcript of a Telephone Conversation Between the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) and the President’s Assistant for International Economic Affairs (Flanigan)1
K: You are avoiding me like the plague. I called you yesterday and today.
F: I didn’t get it yesterday.
K: I have words for you from the President and I quote: “Screw the Canadians and be good to the Venezuelans.” I said Flanigan will not like that and he said Flanigan probably has financial interests there.
F: I have your name on half of it.
K: Keep me in mind when I’m run out of academia.
F: And you can’t get a job.
K: I hold the view that the first banker who gets a good political analyst will be way ahead of the others.
F: But who?
K: I wouldn’t do anything self-serving.
F: We are going to give 12,000 barrels a day crude and [omission in the original] a day ______.
K: Vaky said it should be 60 or 50.
F: We can’t do that. It’s way above Canada.
K: He wants to do more for Venezuela, Iran and a 3rd country.
F: Indonesia. The security aspects.
K: You have that already.
[Page 113]F: We can connect Canada with our pipelines and no one can disturb them but for 10 bucks the Venezuelans can sell their oil somewhere else.
K: Can he tell the Venezuelans tomorrow that we are giving them an increase?
F: Does he have to say it tomorrow?
K: He wants to.
F: We will be giving them 35 thousand barrels of heating oil. It’s more valuable to them than 35 thousand barrels of crude. Tell Caldera that he has talked to his people and we will come up with increases but that it should not be mentioned. It will get out anyway.
K: What, 35,000?
F: The net increase—we are increasing total imports. 12,000 of crude would come from Venezuela.
K: Anyway.
F: But that won’t get ______. Of the 135 [omission in the original] will come from Venezuela a larger portion. None of this is residual.
K: Will you type up something first thing tomorrow that he can say? I think you are dragging your feet. Or is that unfair?
F: I’m not. I’m doing this for the NSC advisor and his leader.
K: Now, will you screw Canada like you have been told?
F: We did and he asked me why. There were no restrictions on imports from Canada until a few months ago. That’s the most pusillanimous way, when they cry for their oil.
K: What does that mean?
F: It’s a sniveling approach.
K: What would you recommend?
F: I would do the same.
K: Did you go to the dinner last night?
F: No, but I talked to Caldera afterwards.
K: Type something positive or he will go to State who are dragging their feet. I will deal with your wife in the future, if you don’t. I’d rather anyway.
F: She’s my business partner.
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Telephone Conversation Transcripts, Box 5, Chronological Files. No classification marking. Blank underscores are in the original. In a June 4 memorandum, Vaky informed Kissinger that Nixon wanted him to call Flanigan with the message of an increase in the quota for Venezuela. (Ibid., NSC Files, Box 796, Country Files, Latin America, Venezuela, Vol. I)↩