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February 15, 1973

Introduction

This almanac page for Thursday, February 15, 1973, 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: Wednesday, February 14, 1973

Next Date: Friday, February 16, 1973

Schedule and Public Documents

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    The President's day began at The White House - Washington, D. C.

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  • The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other Presidential documents.

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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.

    President's Personal File

    The President's Personal File is essentially a President's secretary's file, kept by Rose Mary Woods, personal secretary to the President, for two purposes: (1) preserving for posterity a collection of documents particularly close to the President, whether because he dictated or annotated them, or because of the importance of the correspondent or the event concerned and (2) giving appropriate attention–letters of gratitude, invitations to White House social events, and the like–to members and important friends and supporters of the Nixon administration. This generalization does not describe all the varied materials of a file group which is essentially a miscellany, but it does identify the reason for the existence of the file group's core. 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)
      Thursday, February 15.

      The President got me first thing this morning on the plans for Kissinger’s return. Ziegler had apparently announced that Henry was gonna have a press conference, because Henry and his people told him to. So the President was disturbed because he feels that he has to make the first statement on the aid to North Vietnam question. He was also concerned about the fact that Henry didn't submit the communiqué to him before he put it out-- the joint communiqué to the North Vietnamese, and he was wondering about that. I hadn't seen it either, which I had also found surprising. He feels there's a real problem with the Kissinger news conference on return. He got Scowcroft in to talk about it, making the point that we have the toughest sale we ever had on the aid to North Vietnam, and that the President has to do it. Then Kissinger should follow-up with a background. He made the point, also, that he didn't get a copy of the communiqué and Scowcroft said it was his error. He wanted to be sure that Timmons takes a positive line on the aid to North Vietnam question also.

      Later in the day, he told me to send a wire to Henry saying that the President would have a press conference on Thursday morning to do an overview on the situation; that Kissinger should plan on a briefing on Friday, not on television, because of his agreement to go on the Barbara Walters thing, but that he should work on a briefing book for the President on his way back so that he'll have the answers ready for him.

      He got into the POW question again as he does generally. He wants to be sure we have some recognition of them, such as a Presidential Citation, a ribbon with a star for each year, or something like that. He wanted to discuss this at noon today when he went over to the Pentagon for lunch and raised it with Scowcroft to cover. He also raised the question of the Presidential letter to the families of MIA’s, expressing concern with their problem. He's worried about the POW's coming back and telling of the torture that they had, and all that sort of thing, which will make the aid to North Vietnam especially difficult.

      He got back into the social plan question again as to getting Congressmen in; he had Timmons come in regarding his ideas of the House and Senate attending the "Evenings at the White House" and church services. Told Timmons to get going on a list immediately to get that set-up.

      He got to talking this afternoon about some sort of general strategy. He feels that the next dove move now is going to be regarding aid to North Vietnam and trying to tie it to amnesty and to aiding the ghettos here. He feels that we'd gotta get off the line and use the Lincoln example regarding aid to North Vietnam, that Lincoln granted total amnesty to the South and assistance in reconstruction. That there will be no amnesty to deserters or draft dodgers in the North.

      He raised the question of the Secret Service problem, which has been a flap in the papers the last few days––blaming me for the firing of Bob Taylor––and wondering how it had been put out.

      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      PRIVACY- Reviewed and released under Deed of Gift, DR, NARA, September 11, 2014
      Audio Cassette 31, Side A.
      Duration: 29 seconds

      He thinks on the basis of a note he got from Julie that it was Rose––which I also feel. And he told me to talk to her about it which I did. She-- I didn’t hit her directly on putting out the story but did go into the situation with her in the background. She didn’t react very favorably and I think that’s a good part of the problem.
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      The President’s apparently been talking to Ehrlichman about how to deal with this whole problem of my PR and effect and is obviously concerned about the effort that's being made internally to get at me, which he thinks has yet to be cured by my doing more of an internal personal relations job.

      He went through some concern about the reaction he had to George Bush's report yesterday. He senses that he's discouraged regarding all the horrors that he keeps running into in the State Committees and National Committee, and then in sitting down with the Congressmen in the cloakroom. He feels that I should tell him he shouldn't submit himself to too much grousing and bitching of that kind; he should stay above the Congressmen, don't get down to their level. It's not fair or productive to him to submit to all the negatives; that instead he should invite them to his ground and meet with them in his place for lunch and that kind of thing.

      We got into trip plans, and he came up with the idea of doing a South Carolina legislature Tuesday on the way back from Florida. He asked me to talk to Harry Dent about it, who thought it was a great idea. Also wanted me to talk to Moore, Bill Rogers, and a few others, about what they think on the Nobel Prize matter. He needs an answer to the question on it his press conference, in case anything comes up. His inclination is still not to accept it, but thinks we ought to check their views on it.

      End of February 15.
    • 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. 

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    Nixon Library Holdings

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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. XVIII, China, 1973-1976

    Kissinger's Visits to Beijing and the Establishment of the Liaison Offices, January 1973-May 1973

    • 8. Memorandum of Conversation, Beijing, February 15, 1973, 5:57-9:30 p.m.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 98, Country Files, Far East, HAK China Trip, Memcons & Reports (originals), February 1973. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. The meeting was held in the Great Hall of the People. Kissinger visited Beijing as part of an 11-day trip to East Asia that included stops at Bangkok, Vientiane, Hanoi, and Tokyo.

    Vol. XXXI, Foreign Economic Policy, 1973-1976

    The End of Fixed Exchange Rates, January-March 1973

    Vol. XXXV, National Security Policy, 1973-1976

    National Security Policy

    • 6. Memorandum of Conversation, Washington, February 15, 1973, 1:00 p.m.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Presidential/HAK MemCons, Box 1026, January–March 1973. Secret; Nodis. The luncheon meeting ended at 2:36 p.m. Also in attendance were: Clements, Warner, Seamans, Moorer, Zumwalt, Abrams, Cushman, Goodpaster, Foster, Ziegler, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Jerry W. Friedheim, Under Secretary of the Army Kenneth E. BeLieu, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense Jonathan Moore, Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense Admiral Daniel J. Murphy, and General Horace M. Wade, Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force, who was substituting for Ryan. (Ibid., White House Central Files, President’s Daily Diary)

    Vol. XXXIX, European Security

    Opening Negotiations, December 1972-July 1973

    • 127. Memorandum From Secretary of State Rogers to President Nixon, Washington, February 15, 1973

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 248, Agency Files, CSCE and MBFR, 1973. Confidential. In an attached correspondence profile, Hyland wrote “no action necessary per Sonnenfeldt” on May 17.

    Vol. E-8, Documents on South Asia, 1973-1976

    India-Pakistan 1

    • 107. Intelligence Note RNAN–9 Prepared in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Washington, February 15, 1973

      On February 10, the Pakistani military seized a cache of Soviet-made arms in the Iraqi Embassy in Islamabad, which the Government of Pakistan claimed was being used to support separatist elements in Baluchistan. The Bureau of Intelligence and Research compiled a brief synopsis of the events and analyzed the political repercussions.

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, DEF 12 PAK. Secret; No Foreign Dissem. It was drafted by Howells and Gerth; cleared by Jones, and approved by Mark.

    Vol. E-9, Part 2, Documents on the Middle East Region, 1973-1976

    Middle East Region

    Vol. E-15, Part 1, Documents on Eastern Europe, 1973-1976

    German Democratic Republic—Berlin

  • 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)