1. Home
  2. Research
  3. Almanac

April 18, 1972

Introduction

This almanac page for Tuesday, April 18, 1972, pulls together various records created by the federal government and links to additional resources which can provide context about the events of the day.

Previous Date: Monday, April 17, 1972

Next Date: Wednesday, April 19, 1972

Schedule and Public Documents

Archival Holdings

Any selection of archival documents will necessarily be partial. You should use the documents and folders identified below as a starting place, but consult the linked collection finding aids and folder title lists and the collections themselves for context. Many documents to be found this way do not lend themselves to association with specific dates, but are essential to a complete understanding of the material.

  • Selective document listing

    President's Office Files

    The President's Office Files consists of materials drawn together by the Special Files Unit from several administrative subdivisions within the White House Office. It is the handwriting and sensitive papers sent to the Staff Secretary that now comprise much of the President's Office Files. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

  • The H. R. Haldeman Diaries consists of seven handwritten diaries, 36 dictated diaries recorded as sound recordings, and two handwritten audio cassette tape subject logs. The diaries and logs reflect H. R. Haldeman’s candid personal record and reflections on events, issues, and people encountered during his service in the Nixon White House. As administrative assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, Haldeman attended and participated in public events and private meetings covering the entire scope of issues in which the Nixon White House engaged in during the years 1969-1973. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    • Transcript of diary entry (PDF)
      Tuesday, April 18th. Back to the Kleindienst strategy again, mainly concerned about the steps to keep Gleason out of testifying, offering other people, and so forth, trying to develop a plan that will work there.

      We're going ahead with the Flanigan testimony. That’s now set for Thursday. We’ve got to deal with Ervin on our terms, and actually, even a little better, through a committee vote.

      I had a long meeting with Connally this afternoon, over two hours, covering the resignation question. He's obviously determined that he's got to go. He admitted that a lot of the problem he has with the White House staff is his fault and that the way he works, he wants to control everything that affects him. He will not allow others to make decisions for him, and especially he will not allow low-level staff people whose judgment isn't as good as his to do so. He assured me that he would leave on a very sound political basis. He has no intention of supporting any of the Democrats, and in fact suggested that he could, after the Convention or the primaries, perhaps surface as the Chairman of the Democrats for Nixon or something of that sort. I'm convinced after the discussion that it's better for him to go. That we're going to continue to have relational problems with him and that they will deteriorate, as he feels, into a point where at some point he's going to blow up and walk out mad, which would be highly undesirable. If he leaves and stays solid politically and is willing to spend time counseling and speaking for the President, as he says he is, he perhaps could do more than he can at Treasury, so we may be gaining rather than losing on the whole thing. He completely agreed with my suggestion of Shultz as his replacement, and we're going to go ahead on that basis, as far as he's concerned. We had a good talk. I think he is leaving for a combination of reasons rather than any single thing. The staff problem is one factor, but it's obvious he's concerned about his health, he thinks his blood pressure is up and he's doing a lot of doctor checking. He's, Nellie wants to get back to Texas. He's concerned about his ranch and financial interests. And I just don't think he likes Washington very well. I reported all this to the President and he asked me to meet with Connally again tomorrow to work out the details, then the President will meet with him on Thursday.

      Kissinger came in with a fascinating story. He had a message yesterday afternoon...

      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      DECLASSIFIED - E.O. 13526, Sect. 3.4: by MS, NARA, June 12, 2013
      Audio Cassette 20, Side B Withdrawn Item Number 20 [AC-20(B) Sel 18]
      Duration: 1 minute 3 seconds

      …saying that the Chinese had a message to deliver in New York. It had to be delivered at 1:00 am last night. Henry tried to get the time changed, but they wouldn't do it. So he finally agreed to receive the message. Sent someone up to get it, stayed up 'till 2:30 to get the report on it. He was afraid that they were cancelling the Scott-Mansfield trip or the ping-pong team visit today, or something worse. Turned out that the note said that the Chinese wanted to point out that when our bombers went to bomb Hanoi and Haiphong, one of them flew over a Chinese island, and the Chinese request that in the future we not fly over their islands on such missions. This was a laughably and surprisingly mild protest under the circumstances, and leads, lends further credence to the point that we're having an effect by our hard line.

      The Russians still want Henry to come. The North Vietnamese still apparently will not meet with him on Monday.
      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      So as of now, our efforts appear to be working in the way we want them to. The President went out tonight on the Sequoia all alone. It was a beautiful spring evening for the first time and I guess he couldn't resist the lure.

      End of April 18th.
    • Original audio recording (MP3)

  • The National Archives Catalog is the online portal to the records held at the National Archives, and information about those records. It is the main way of describing our holdings and also provides access to electronic records and digitized versions of our holdings. 

    The Catalog searches across multiple National Archives resources at once, including archival descriptions, digitized and electronic records, authority records, and web pages from Archives.gov and the Presidential Libraries. The Catalog also allows users to contribute to digitized historical records through tagging and transcription.

    Nixon Library Holdings

    All National Archives Units

National Security Documents

  • The President's Daily Brief is the primary vehicle for summarizing the day-to-day sensitive intelligence and analysis, as well as late-breaking reports, for the White House on current and future national security issues. Read "The President's Daily Brief: Delivering Intelligence to Nixon and Ford" to learn more.

  • The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Visit the State Department website for more information.

    Vol. VIII, Vietnam, January-October 1972

    The Easter Offensive, March 30-May 7, 1972

    • 85. Conversation Between President Nixon and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, April 18, 1972

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Oval Office, Conversation 711–3. No classification marking. The editors transcribed the portions of the tape recording printed here specifically for this volume. The transcript is part of a larger conversation, 9:20–10:02 a.m. Portions of this transcript are printed in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XIV, Soviet Union, October 1971–May 1972, Document 121.

    • 86. Conversation Between President Nixon and the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, April 18, 1972

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Oval Office, Conversation 711–5. No classification marking. The editors transcribed the portions of the tape recording printed here specifically for this volume. The transcript is part of a larger conversation, 11–11:24 a.m. Portions of this conversation are printed in Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XIV, Soviet Union, October 1971–May 1972, Document 123.

    Vol. XIV, Soviet Union, October 1971-May 1972

    U.S.-Soviet Relations and the Spring Offensive in Vietnam, March 30-April 18, 1972

    • 120. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon, Washington, April 18, 1972

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 718, Country Files, Europe, USSR, Vol. XXI. Secret. Sent for information. A notation on the memorandum indicates the President saw it. Sonnenfeldt forwarded the memorandum, and the texts of Soviet statements analyzed in the memorandum, to Kissinger on April 13. (Ibid.) According to an attached routing form, the memorandum was “noted by Pres” on April 20.

    • 121. Conversation Between President Nixon and his Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, April 18, 1972

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Oval Office, Conversation No. 711–3. No classification marking. According to his Daily Diary, Nixon met with Kissinger in the Oval Office from 9:22 to 10 a.m. (Ibid., White House Central Files) The editors transcribed the portion of the conversation printed here specifically for this volume.

    • 122. Minutes of Washington Special Actions Group Meeting, Washington, April 18, 1972, 10:01-10:29 a.m.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–115, WSAG Minutes, Originals. Top Secret; Sensitive. No drafting information appears on the minutes. The meeting was held in the White House Situation Room.

    • 123. Conversation Between President Nixon and his Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, April 18, 1972

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Oval Office, Conversation No. 711–5. No classification marking. According to his Daily Diary, Nixon met with Kissinger in the Oval Office from 11 to 11:24 a.m. (Ibid., White House Central Files) The editors transcribed the portion of the conversation printed here specifically for this volume.

    • 124. Intelligence Memorandum Prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, April 18, 1972

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–085, WSAG Meeting, Vietnam, 4/17/72. Secret; Sensitive. According to the minutes of the WSAG meeting on April 19, the participants all agreed that the memorandum was “very good” but failed to discuss its conclusions in detail. (Ibid., Box H–116, WSAG Minutes, Originals)

    Vol. XVII, China, 1969-1972

    China, March-December 1972

    • 222. Memorandum of Conversation, New York, April 18, 1972, 5:30-5:55 p.m.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 849, President’s File—China Trip, China Exchanges. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. No summary memorandum of this conversation has been found.

    Vol. XXXII, SALT I, 1969-1972

    Narrowing the Issues, October 19, 1971-April 18, 1972

    Vol. E-7, Documents on South Asia, 1969-1972

    U.S. Relations with India and Pakistan, 1972

    • 250. Memorandum From Harold Saunders of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, April 18, 1972

      Kissinger approved a telegram to Ambassador Keating instructing him to explain to the Indian Government the presentation being made to Congress on the proposed “provisional” assistance program for India.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 598, Country Files, Middle East, India, Vol. V, 31 Dec 71–July 1972. Limited Official Use. Sent for action. Sent to Kissinger through Haig. Kissinger initialed the approval line. Saunders added a handwritten note in the margin that reads: “with addition conveyed orally by Kennedy.” The addition is not marked on the attached draft telegram. A comparison of the draft text with the telegram as sent on April 19 reveals that Kissinger added the penultimate sentence before approving the telegram. That sentence contained an important qualification: “Decisions on allocation will depend on the results of that review and on the circumstances at the time, and you should make clear that no inference should be drawn one way or the other regarding what amounts, if any, might be made available.” See Document 253.

    • 251. Letter From Pakistani President Bhutto to President Nixon, Rawalpindi, April 18, 1972

      Bhutto wrote to request that the U.S. intervene on behalf of the Pakistani prisoners of war being held he alleged as bargaining chips by India and under threat of prosecution by Bangladesh for war crimes.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 760, Presidential Correspondence File, Pakistan, President Bhutto. Secret. The letter was delivered to the Department of State on April 25, under cover of a transmittal letter from Charge M. Akram Zaki. The letter was forwarded to the White House on the same day. (Memorandum from Eliot to Kissinger, April 25; ibid., RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL PAK-US) The text of the letter was transmitted to Islamabad on April 26 in telegram 72027. (Ibid., POL 15–1 US/Nixon)

    Vol. E-13, Documents on China, 1969-1972

    • 122. Memorandum of Conversation, New York, April 18, 1972, 1-1:35 a.m., New York, April 18, 1972, 1-1:35 a.m.

      NSC staff member Rodman and Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Huang Hua discussed the historians and philosophers Rodman had studied while a student at Harvard University. The Chinese note, which constituted a protest, stated that a U.S. military aircraft had intruded into Chinese airspace and that the aircraft was “very obviously one of the U.S. planes that bombed Haiphong on the same day.”

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 849, President’s File-China Trip, China Exchanges, March 1, 1972-June 24, 1972. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. The meeting was held at the PRC Mission at the UN. Shih Yen-hua was also present. Brackets in the source text. Published from a copy that bears Rodman’s initials. Attached is the Chinese note, which bears the handwritten notation: “Amb. Huang handed to Rodman 4/18/72-1:00 AM

  • The Kissinger telephone conversation transcripts consist of approximately 20,000 pages of transcripts of Kissinger’s telephone conversations during his tenure as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (1969-1974) and Secretary of State (1973-1974) during the administration of President Richard Nixon. Visit the finding aid for more information.

    Digitized versions can be found in the National Archives Catalog.

Audiovisual Holdings

Context (External Sources)