Description
A richly detailed collection of transcripts of Henry Kissinger's secretly recorded phone conversations from his time in the Nixon administration that touch on every important issue of Kissinger's day and provide a sweeping view of his era. Henry Kissinger is unquestionably one of the most consequential foreign policy makers in American history. A remarkably influential academic during his long tenure at Harvard, Kissinger became Richard Nixon's National Security Advisor in 1969 and Secretary of State in 1973. Like Nixon, Kissinger left a trail of secretly recorded evidence in his wake. Kissinger began taping in 1969, two years before Nixon did in 1971, and he continued taping for over three years after Nixon's recording system was dismantled in 1973. In The Kissinger Tapes, Tom Wells draws on his expertise in the Nixon era to provide carefully selected, edited, and annotated transcripts of Kissinger's phone conversations, which chronologically highlight the most momentous crises and controversies of the era. They not only provide context and many revelations on Kissinger's role in numerous events but also throw his personality, character, and checkered record into sharp relief. The conversations cover a wide range of issues, including the Vietnam War, the India-Pakistan conflict, the opening to China, the Middle East, the Greek coup in Cyprus, the Nixon administration's illegal wiretapping, and the Watergate scandal. The transcripts reveal Kissinger's opinions and attitudes on important policy matters and his complex relationship with President Nixon, as well as the many battles he fought with other administration officials and his subtle manipulations of well-known journalists.A richly detailed collection of Kissinger's transcripts and commentary, this book provides a novel window into the Nixon administration and offers a genuinely unique perspective on one of the most important figures in modern American history.
Table of Contents
Cast of CharactersIntroduction: Kissinger's Personal TroveChapter One: The Secret Cambodia Bombing and Vietnam Peace TalksJanuary-March 1969Chapter Two: North Korea's Shootdown of a U.S. Spy Plane, Leaks, and Vietnam WithdrawalsApril-June 1969Chapter Three: Secret Vietnam Peace Talks, the Green Beret Murder Scandal, a B-52 Stand-Down, and Golda Meir's First VisitJuly-September 1969Chapter Four: The Moratorium and Mobilization Protests, Nixon's November 1 Ultimatum to Hanoi, the My Lai Massacre, and Warsaw Talks with ChinaOctober-December 1969Chapter Five: French Plane Sales to Libya, B-52s over Laos, Japanese Textile Negotiations, Hitting SAM Sites in North Vietnam, Danielle Hunebelle, and Thai Troops in Laos January-March 1970Chapter Six: Arms to General Lon Nol, Beecher Leaks, the Invasion of Cambodia and the Hunt for Supplies and COSVN, an Explosion of Protest, and the Heaviest Bombing of North Vietnam Since 1968April-May 1970Chapter Seven: Brian McDonnell, Cambodia and the Press, U.S. Air Strikes and South Vietnamese in Cambodia, Frictions with State, and a Tenuous Middle East Cease-Fire and Clashes over CreditJune-August 1970 Chapter Eight: 60 Minutes Debut, Subverting Allende in Chile, Jordan on the Brink and Intervention Planning with Israel, and a Trumped-Up Soviet Facility in Cuba September-October 1970Chapter Nine: The Son Tay Prison Raid and Heavy Bombing of North Vietnam, Charles de Gaulle's Funeral, South Vietnamese Operations and U.S. Bombing in Cambodia, and Laos PlanningNovember-December 1970Chapter Ten: Laird's Vietnam Machinations; More Strains with State; Planning a Meeting with the Kidnapping Plotters; the Ill-Fated U.S.-Supported South Vietnamese Invasion of Laos, the News Blackout and PR; and Slowing and Toning Down State on the Middle EastJanuary-February 1971Chapter Eleven: The Laos Invasion-Tchepone, the Hasty South Vietnamese Retreat, Rout Stories and Bad Press, the PR Offensive, Upbeat Military Reports, and Whistling in the Dark; Kissinger's Meeting with the Kidnapping Plotters, Cover Stories, and Lies; and Another Round of Bombing of North Vietnam and "Protective Reaction" ClaimsMarch 1971Chapter Twelve: My Lai; More Troop Withdrawals; U.S. "Moral Bankruptcy" in Pakistan; the Opening and Invitation to China, the Soviet Game, and Picking an Envoy; Creighton Abrams's Indiscretion on Laos; Allen Ginsberg's Overture; and an Ambiguous SALT Announcement Negotiated in the Back Channel April-May 1971Chapter Thirteen: Secret Senate Sessions on Laos; Retreat at Snuol; Pinning Laos on Kennedy; the Pentagon Papers-"This Is Treason," Kissinger's Distancing ("I Didn't Know the Thing Existed"), and Appealing to Lyndon Johnson; Kissinger's Secret Trip to China; Announcing Nixon's Visit to China and the New Public Mood; More Secret Vietnam Talks and the Impasse over Thieu; the Upcoming Rigged South Vietnamese Election; and Bypassing State on BerlinJune-August 1971Chapter Fourteen: Defense Leaks on U.S. Withdrawal from Vietnam and More Unguarded Remarks from Abrams, Another Round of Heavy Bombing in Southern North Vietnam (Nixon--"I Am Not So Goddamned Concerned about the Civilian Population"), Egyptian-Israeli Clashes and Retaliations, Upheaval in China and the China Summit, Kissinger's Second Trip to China, Reining in State on the Middle East, and SALTSeptember-October 1971Chapter Fifteen: The Pakistan-India Conflict--the United Nations, a "Soviet-Indian Naked Power Play," Border Clashes and Escalation, Cutting Off Aid to India, Disputes with State, Pakistan's Surprise Attack, Blaming India, Illegal Arms Shipments, Preventing "a Dismemberment of West Pakistan," Coordinating with China, Pakistan's Surrender and Gandhi's Cease-fire; a Cuban Attack on a Suspect Freighter; and Massive Bombing of North Vietnam November-December 1971Chapter Sixteen: Relations with India and Bangladesh, the Radford Leaks and JCS Spying Operation, in Nixon's Doghouse and under Attack in the Press, Bemoaning Rogers and Talk of Resigning, Haldeman's Incendiary Today Show Charge, Preparing for the Enemy Offensive and Intensified Bombing in the South, and the China Summit and Shanghai CommuniqueJanuary-February 1972 Chapter Seventeen: The Enemy Offensive in South Vietnam--U.S. Bombing and Shelling of the North, Weather Delays, Bombing in the South, Discord with Abrams and Laird, Expanding the Bombing Northward, Rolling Out the B-52s, and the Heavy Weekend Bombing of Haiphong and Hanoi; Kissinger's Secret Trip to Moscow; and Nixon's Threats to Cancel the Summit and Blockade the NorthMarch-April 1972 Chapter Eighteen: A Futile Meeting in Paris; Prodding the South Vietnamese; Soviet Summit in the Balance; Mining North Vietnam's Ports, Bombing Its Rail Lines, Resuming Heavy Bombing in the Hanoi-Haiphong Area, and Internal Dissent; a Supreme Commander in Vietnam?; the Battle and B-52s in South Vietnam; the SALT Agreements; and Danielle Hunebelle's Dear HenryMay-June 1972Chapter Nineteen: The Disturbed Bobby Fischer; the Cockamamie Jimmy Hoffa Pardon and POW Scheme; George McGovern, Pro-Nixon Democrats, and the Thomas Eagleton Debacle; Bombing Dikes; the Nixon Campaign and Fundraising; Swifty Lazar's Pursuit of Kissinger's Memoirs; and the Jackson Amendment on SALT July-August 1972Chapter Twenty: Maligning and Attacking George McGovern; Nixon's Backing of the Jackson SALT Amendment; Connally and Resignation Rumors; Kissinger: The Adventures of Super-Kraut; the October Peace Agreement--Leaning on Thieu, His Rejection and "Suicide," Hanoi's Demand That It Be Upheld and Signed, "Peace Is At Hand," and Fear of a Blow-Up September-October 1972Chapter Twenty-One: McGovern--"He's an Awful Man," Pressuring and Appeasing Thieu and Reneging on a Peace Agreement That Was "Good Enough," Moving without and Threatening Thieu, the Connally Problem--"He's a Total Lightweight," Nixon's Distancing, Visit of a Thieu Emissary, Breakdown in Paris, and the Christmas Bombing November-December 1972 Chapter Twenty-Two: PR on the Christmas Bombing; Agreement in Paris; Facing Down and "Turning the Screw" on Thieu, Threatening a Separate Peace and an Aid Cutoff, and Contingency Planning for a "Tragedy"; Initialing and Signing the Agreement; "Peace with Honor"; Memoirs and Interviews January 1973Chapter Twenty-Three: Israel's Shootdown of a Civilian Libyan Airliner; Flacking Kissinger's Hanoi and China Visits; POW Releases, Peace Agreement Violations, and the Paris Conference; Diplomatic Killings in Sudan; Cambodia and Laos Bombing; and Aid to Pakistan February-March 1973Chapter Twenty-Four: "Trouble-Making" Cables; Stepped-up Bombing in Cambodia and Two Days of Air Raids in Laos; Watergate Explodes, Getting "Blood Flowing" and "Total Disassociation," Plotting with Garment and Shultz, and Pleading Ignorance of Watergate; the Wiretapping Breaks and Kissinger's Evasions and Lies; and Kalb Book IntriguesApril-May 1973Chapter Twenty-Five: Watergate, the Wiretaps, and the Plumbers; the Brezhnev Summit; Another Grain Deal; the Looming Cambodia Bombing Cutoff; Morton Halperin's Wiretapping Lawsuit; Memoirs; Nixon's Pneumonia; Dan Rather's Report on Kissinger's Move to State; the Butterfield Taping Revelation; and the Uncovering of the Secret Cambodia BombingJune-July 1973Chapter Twenty-Six: The Safire Wiretap and Safire's Angry Crusade; Nixon's Watergate Speech and Statement; Senate Hearings and Pentagon Releases on the Secret Cambodia Bombing; Legal Pleadings on the Halperin Wiretap; Nixon's Press Conference on Kissinger's Nomination as Secretary of State; Kissinger's Confirmation Hearings and the Wiretap Problem; Kissinger as Wiretap Victim?; the Coup Against Allende; and the Joe Kraft Wiretap August-September 1973Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Yom Kippur War--Egypt's and Syria's Surprise Attacks, Restraining Israel and Egypt, the Soviets and the UN, Regaining the Prewar Lines, Warplanes, Tanks, and Ammo to Israel, Israel's Counterattacks, the Cease-Fire and Its Collapse, Israel's Strangulation of Egypt's Third Army, and Brezhnev's Threat of Unilateral Action; the Watergate Tapes; and Elliot Richardson's ResignationOctober 1973Chapter Twenty-Eight: Golda Meir's Visit, Middle East Negotiations, the Arab Oil Embargo, and Wiretapping of Kissinger RevisitedNovember-December 1973Chapter Twenty-Nine: Kissinger's Shuttle Diplomacy and Israeli-Egyptian Disengagement, More Resignation Threats, the JCS Spying Operation Breaks, and the Oil Embargo in LimboJanuary-February 1974Chapter Thirty: The Lifting of the Oil Embargo, Israeli-Syrian Disengagement, Tensions with Schlesinger, Israeli Raids in Lebanon, and More Wiretap QuestioningMarch-June 1974Chapter Thirty-One: The Greek Coup in Cyprus-the Ousting of Makarios, Consulting and Excluding the Soviets, the Unsavory Nikos Sampson, Collaboration and Conflict with Britain, Sisco's Missions, and Keeping U.S. Options Open; the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus-the Clerides Solution, Preventing War with Greece, Frustrations with Sisco and Underlings at State, Schlesinger's Arms Cutoff and Dissociation from Greece, and Threatening a Turkey Arms Cutoff; and More Wiretap Testimony July 1974 Chapter Thirty-Two: Nixon's Resignation and Kissinger's Role, and MemoirsAugust 1974AbbreviationsNotesReferencesIndex
