Office of the Historian

247. Conversation Between President Nixon and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)1 2

Washington, December 9, 1971, 9:13–10:04 a.m.

Kissinger: Two major things. First, in the talks with the Brazilians, Mr. President.

Nixon: The separate channel?

Kissinger: Yeah, the separate channel.

Nixon: [Unclear] being worked on at State?

Kissinger: Yes, and that we have worked out with them. There’s one thing: I was at the Brazilian Embassy yesterday, at the reception the Foreign Minister took me aside and said they are willing to go all the way with us on Cuba in the OAS. But they want to make sure we are not just quiet, but that we’re going to fight to keep them out. In other words, that we don’t just say we go with the majority vote.

Nixon: Is there some sort of an indication that we wouldn’t fight?

Kissinger: Well, they weren’t sure about it. I said—

Nixon: And there’s gonna be a fight on it?

Kissinger: He said if they—if we don’t fight together, there’ll be a majority against us. But if we fight together—

Nixon: [Unclear] Do what? What? What is the subject?

Kissinger: The subject is does Cuba—

Nixon: To keep them out?

Kissinger: Does Cuba come in? I mean, they’re now out. So, I said to him two things: We would maintain our policy and fight together with them. They’re willing to fight.

Nixon: All right.

Kissinger: And secondly, that if we were to ever change our policy—

Nixon: We’re not going to change it.

Kissinger: No, no. But what they want to make sure is that they don’t read in the paper one morning that we’ve had somebody in Cuba. So, I said, “In the event that we should ever have a second thought, they will be told months ahead of time.”

Nixon: I won’t even raise that with them, because I’m not going to change the policy.

Kissinger: Ok.

Nixon: I’ve said that I’m not going to change the policy. [Unclear] several papers about it—

Kissinger: I know.

Nixon: [Unclear]. I’m not changing the policy towards Castro as long as I’m alive.

Kissinger: All right. Well, then—

Nixon: That’s absolute. Final. No appeal whatever. I never want you to raise it with me again.

Kissinger: All right. Could you—

[Unclear exchange]

Kissinger: Well, if you could make that hard as possible to him—

Nixon: Yeah.

Kissinger:—it would help. I—I told him you would express your own views on Castro to [Emilio Garrastazu] Médici—

Nixon: I did.

Kissinger:—again. I mean on the OAS issue.

Nixon: Yeah. All right. Good.

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Conversation No. 633–4, Oval Office. No classification marking. The discussion transcribed here is part of a larger conversation from 9:13–10:04 a.m. The editors transcribed the portions of the tape recording published here specifically for this volume.↩
  2. During a discussion with Kissinger on Latin American efforts to reintegrate Cuba into the OAS, President Nixon asserted that he would not change U.S. policy toward Cuba.↩