May 12, 1972

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• Original typewritten diary (PDF)

The President's day began at Camp David, Maryland

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• Proclamation 4135—World Trade Week, 1972

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.

• Federal Register of Friday, May 12, 1972

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.

• News Summaries, Unmarked News Summaries, Box 49, News Summaries - May 1972 [9 of 13] [Note: Due to the way News Summary products were compiled, you should also consult nearby days for potentially relevant materials.]
  • News Summary, May 12, 1972 (Thursday nets, wires, columns)

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)
  Friday, May 12th. The problem at the staff meeting this morning was raised on the news Defense put out last night that they're getting ready to go for supplemental appropriations in '72 and '73, because of the increased cost of Vietnam. Strong feeling in the staff meeting was that we should not allow them to do this, although some, such as Colson, thought it was a good idea. Also had a problem with Defense saying that the blockade wasn't going to work and that we were faced with interdiction problems, this was on the news too. So we have to tighten up on them and some of what they're doing.
  
  Haig gave a briefing at the staff meeting. He did a superb job of explaining the background, making the point that on Vietnamization, we've always cut corners out there to meet the political problems at home, and that the current situation is not a failure of Vietnamization, it's the challenge of it. In January, the President made a basic decision against General Abrams's recommendation not to wipe out the North Vietnamese buildup above the DMZ. He did this because of the public reaction at home and because there had been no attack on their part to provide us with open, open provocation. Then he engaged at that time in a monumental diplomacy effort, which, of course, didn't work. Then came the North Vietnamese invasion across the DMZ. Haig points out that there are two fundamental changes in the concept of Vietnamization. First, the DMZ restriction was violated, as were the '68 understandings. We thought that ICOR was relatively secure to the North, and weren't worrying about that in the Vietnamization program. Secondly, there was the change from a guerrilla warfare to traditional war, which was not perceived by our planners: this has been marked by first, increased antiaircraft. Second, long range artillery on a massive basis. Third, intensified density of armor -tanks primarily; and this created problems, since we had cut everything to the bone anyway on the basis of our original concept. Also the density of our helicopters is severely cut, so they don't have the aerial supply or troop mobility that they had before. He also pointed out that there's a fundamental shift in the strategic environment.
  
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  DECLASSIFIED - E.O. 13526, Sect. 3.4: by MS, NARA, June 12, 2013
  Audio Cassette 21, Side B, Withdrawn Item Number 20 [AC-21(B) Sel 18]
  Duration: 28 seconds
  
  The Chinese and the Soviets have both broken away from each other and to an extent from Vietnam, North Vietnam. Peking especially has a desire to neutralize or break Hanoi from Moscow. The Soviets have a vital interest in our initiatives. Brezhnev has staked is career on it. They've got to quiet down their relations with the West, because their targeted on the Chinese.
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  So this was not a knee-jerk action on the part of the President to save US honor. It was the action of a world leader who has developed a worldwide concept in a way that it's tied to his ability to function. The public image problem now is that we're too far to the dovish side; we've sold out. For example, according to Brinkley...
  
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  DECLASSIFIED - E.O. 13526, Sect. 3.4: by MS, NARA, June 12, 2013
  Audio Cassette 21, Side B, Withdrawn Item Number 21 [AC-21(B) Sel 19]
  Duration: 11 seconds
  
  …the key here though is that we're fracturing the Moscow-Hanoi linkage, and we have to China pushed away from this.
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  He went into much more detail on the military concepts also.
  
  The President called first thing in the morning saying that, he's up at Camp David for the weekend, and he was saying that Kissinger was worried because his meeting with the Senate Doves had been called off, and that he was depressed about the news coverage, especially regarding the Summit. The President told him to relax that a cancellation of the Summit cuts both ways and that it won't hurt us. I talked to Henry later, and he said the President couldn't be more wrong, he wasn't the least depressed. The President also said Haig thinks that Monday was the turning point in the war that the psychology has turned; that the use of air power has changed the whole situation.
  
  He told me to go ahead and see Connally, which I did at 10:30, and we agreed that, we’d go ahead on the announcement Monday. I, in turn, made a pitch for putting it off for a couple of weeks. Connally pitched strongly that it was to the President's interests for him to leave this next week, and get it done with before he goes off to Russia. He did agree that if the Summit got canceled over the weekend he would, of course, hold off for a couple of weeks. He also came up with an idea that he said is kicking around the Defense Department, that he thought should get to the President, which is to send out one member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in an overall command position for a limited period, in charge of all Southeast Asia. And then as a corollary, to make Bunker Ambassador Extraordinare for all Southeast Asia, to really coordinate all the activities, political and military,...
  
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  DECLASSIFIED - E.O. 13526, Sect. 3.4: by MS, NARA, June 12, 2013
  Audio Cassette 21, Side B, Withdrawn Item Number 23 [AC-21(B) Sel 21]
  Duration: 5 seconds
  
  …and try to build some Southeast Asian mercenary forces to go in for sabotage and that kind of thing.
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  He then made the strong pitch that Zumwalt was the guy to do this. He had 20 months out there; knows all the operations, amphibious warfare; is imaginative and creative; full of drive and commitment. I mentioned this to the President and he didn't buy that. He did buy the Connally announcement next week, but asks that we hold until Tuesday, and have the understanding that we'll cancel the announcement if the Summit is canceled.
  
  End of May 12th.
  
  Oh, the other item on May 12th. There was a lot of concern during the day about speculation on the Soviet Summit, and the President and Henry both pushed very hard to have everybody kept quiet on any kind of speculation.
  
  Henry met with Dobrynin in the afternoon, and the discussion was so strongly substantive that both Henry and the President now believe that there's no chance of the Summit being canceled. They even got to the question of the exchange of gifts: the Soviets want to give the President a hydrofoil to play with in Key Biscayne, and in return, Brezhnev wants a hot sports car from us.
  
  The President called me a couple of times, emphasizing the need to get to everybody to keep quiet on speculations, since there had been some optimistic stories in the press this afternoon.
  
  End of May 12th.
• Original audio recording (MP3)

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Nixon Library Holdings

• Text search for May 12, 1972
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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.

• President's Daily Brief of 12 May 1972

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. XIV, Soviet Union, October 1971-May 1972

Summit in the Balance: U.S.-Soviet Relations and the Decision to Mine Haiphong, April 26-May 12, 1972

• 220. Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) and the Soviet Ambassador (Dobrynin), Washington, May 12, 1972, 11:15 a.m.

  Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 372, Telephone Conversations, Chronological File. No classification marking.

• 221. Memorandum of Conversation, Washington, May 12, 1972, 4:22-5:05 p.m.

  Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 494, President’s Trip Files, Dobrynin/Kissinger, 1972, Vol. 2. Top Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. Kissinger and Dobrynin met in the White House Map Room. The closing time of the meeting is from Kissinger’s Record of Schedule. (Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 438, Miscellany, 1968–1976)

• 222. Memorandum From the Executive Secretary of the Department of State (Eliot) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, May 12, 1972

  Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL 7 US/NIXON. Confidential. Drafted by Herbert Okun and Wayne Smith (EUR/SOV) on May 11, and cleared by Matlock and Deputy Assistant Secretaries for European Affairs Richard Davies and George Springsteen.

• 223. Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between President Nixon and his Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, May 12, 1972, 5:21 p.m.

  Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 372, Telephone Conversations, Chronological File. No classification marking.

Vol. XIX, Part 1, Korea, 1969-1972

Republic of Korea Troops in Vietnam and Force Modernization, April 1971-December 1972

• 140. Memorandum From John A. Froebe, Jr., of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, May 12, 1972

  Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 543, Country Files, Far East, Korea, Vol. V, 1972, Part 2. Top Secret; Sensitive. Sent for information. Initialed by Kissinger and Haig.

Vol. XX, Southeast Asia, 1969-1972

Thailand

• 163. Telegram From the Embassy in Thailand to the Department of State, Bangkok, May 12, 1972, 1201Z

  Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL 23 THAI. Confidential; Immediate;Limdis.

Vol. XXXII, SALT I, 1969-1972

Kissinger's Secret Trip to Moscow and Aftermath, April 19-May 17, 1972

• 273. National Security Decision Memorandum 166, Washington, May 12, 1972

  Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H–Files), Box H–233, National Security Decision Memoranda, NSDMs 145–164. Top Secret; Nodis; SALT.

Vol. E-4, Documents on Iran and Iraq, 1969-1972

Iran 1972

• 192. Memorandum From Secretary of State Rogers to President Nixon, Washington, May 12, 1972

  Rogers submitted to Nixon a summary of the Shah’s concerns and recommended themes the President might wish to touch upon in Iran.
  
  Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, Presidential Trip Files, Box 479, Briefing Book, Visit of Nixon to Iran, May 1972. Secret. The attached briefing book is not published.

Iraq 1972

• 307. Intelligence Memorandum No. 0865/72, Washington, May 12, 1972

  The memorandum analyzed Soviet policies in the Persian Gulf, with a focus on Moscow’s relations with Iraq and Iran.
  
  Source: Central Intelligence Agency, OCI Files, Job 79T00832A, Box 8, Folder 8, Moscow and the Persian Gulf, No. 0865-72. Secret; No Foreign Dissem. Prepared in the Office of Current Intelligence and coordinated within the Directorate of Intelligence. This memorandum was included in the Presidential Briefing materials for Nixon’s May 1972 trip to Iran.

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

U.S. Relations with India and Pakistan, 1972

• 262. Telegram 5892 From the Embassy in India to the Department of State, New Delhi, May 12, 1972, 0835Z

  The Embassy submitted to the Department of External Affairs a list of AID personnel working in India with an indication of those leaving by September who would not be replaced.
  
  Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, AID (US) INDIA. Confidential; Priority; Nodis. Eyes Only for Sisco and Hannah.

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.

The White House Photo Office collection consists of photographic coverage of President Richard Nixon meeting with prominent social, political, and cultural personalities; speaking engagements and news conferences of the President and various high-ranking members of the White House staff and Cabinet; Presidential domestic and foreign travel, including Presidential vacations; social events and entertainment involving the First Family, including entertainers present; official portraits of the President, First Family, and high-ranking members of the Nixon administration; the 1969 and 1973 Inaugurals; the President’s 1972 Presidential election campaign appearances (including speeches) and other official activities of the White House staff and the President’s Cabinet from January 20, 1969 until August 9, 1974 at the White House and the Old Executive Office Building; other locations in Washington, DC, such as The Mall; and the Presidential retreats in Camp David, Maryland, Key Biscayne, Florida, and San Clemente, California. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

Roll WHPO-9058 Photographer: Kightlinger, Jack | Color or B&W: Color

• Frame(s): WHPO-9058-, James Falk, John Evans, Ed Morgan standing on the South Lawn with White House as background. 5/12/1972, Washington, D.C. White House, South Lawn. James Falk, John Evans, Ed Morgan.

Roll WHPO-9089 Photographer: Schumacher, Karl | Color or B&W: B&W

• Frame(s): WHPO-9089-02A-06A, Vice President Agnew at an arrival ceremony. 5/12/1972, Tokyo, Japan airport. Agnew, Japanese officials, military personnel.

Roll WHPO-9091 Photographer: Schumacher, Karl | Color or B&W: B&W

• Frame(s): WHPO-9091-03A-15A, Arrival ceremony for Vice President Agnew in Tokyo. 5/12/1972, Tokyo, Japan airport. Agnew, Japanese officials, military personnel.

Roll WHPO-9092 Photographer: Schumacher, Karl | Color or B&W: Color

• Frame(s): WHPO-9092-02A-07A, Arrival ceremony for Vice President Agnew in Tokyo, Japan. 5/12/1972, Tokyo, Japan airport. Spiro Agnew, Japanese officials, military personnel.

The White House Communications Agency Sound Recordings Collection contains public statements that took place between 1969 and 1974. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

H - White House Staff Member Recordings

• WHCA-SR-H-569
  Briefing by Richard Allen, Dr. David Hoopes, and Steve Bull. (5/12/1972, Family Theater, White House)
  
  Runtime: 48:00:00
  
  Keywords: Briefings, public briefings, statements to the press (see also Press conferences, news conferences, interviews, media)
  
  Production credits: Audio feed supplied by WHCA; Recorded by CBW (initials of WHCA engineer)
  
  Original Format: 1/4-inch reel-to-reel audiotape. Original source type: Original.
• WHCA-SR-H-570
  Press briefing by John D. Ehrlichman and Gerald Warren. (5/12/1972, Press Center, White House)
  
  Runtime: 51:00:00
  
  Keywords: Press conferences, news conferences, interviews, media
  
  Production credits: Audio feed supplied by WHCA; Recorded by CBW (initials of WHCA engineer)
  
  Original Format: 1/4-inch reel-to-reel audiotape. Original source type: Original.

The White House Communications Agency Videotape Collection contains “off-the-air” recordings of televised programs produced between 1968 and 1974. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

• WHCA-5365
  Secretary Connally from CBS Morning News.
  ALL NETWORKS
  Runtime: 00:10:11
• WHCA-5366
  "The David Frost Show" with William Safire and Arthur Schlesinger. William Safire, presidential phrase maker; Arthur Meier Schlesinger, Jr., historian and social critic
  ALL NETWORKS
  Runtime: 01:30:21
• WHCA-5383
  Weekly News Summary, Tape I.
  ALL NETWORKS
  Runtime: 01:34:07
  
  1. Smith: Pentagon report on mining, summit meeting. Time Code Start: 00:00. Keywords: United States Department of Defense, headquarters, Armed Forces, natural resources, mines, summits, meetings. Network: ABC.
  
  2. Smith/Miller: Film of Danang Harbor in Vietnam/supplies. Time Code Start: 00:55. Keywords: Vietnam War. Network: ABC.
  
  3. Reasoner/Peterson" Railroad bombing in North Vietnam, Air Force pilots interviewed. Time Code Start: 03:16. Keywords: Vietnam War, bombings. Network: ABC.
  
  4. Reasoner/Brannigan: An Loc, Hanoi arms in Vietnam. Time Code Start: 05:40. Keywords: Vietnam War. Network: ABC.
  
  5. Murphy: Pro-President Nixon march. Time Code Start: 08:19. Keywords: Presidents, support, demonstrations, rally, protests, protesters, demonstraters, demonstrators. Network: ABC.
  
  6. Reasoner/Donaldson/Bell/Matney: Campaigns Humphrey in Maryland, Governor George Wallace in Maryland, McGovern in Michigan. Time Code Start: 11:48. Keywords: Senators, Governors, Presidential elections, campaigns, primaries, candidates. Network: ABC.
  
  7. Chancellor/Goralski/Troute: Vietnam (Friedheim), Battle of An Loc, Hue. Time Code Start: 16:36. Keywords: Vietnam War. Network: NBC.
  
  8. Chancellor/Briggs/Flick: Paris Peace Talks, anti-war demonstrations. Time Code Start: 21:24. Keywords: Paris Peace Talks, Vietnam War, treaty, treaties, negotiations, government, officials, endings, demonstrations, rally, protests, protesters, demonstraters, demonstrators, Vietnam War, anti-war. Network: NBC.
  
  9. Chancellor/Kiker: Nebraska primary results, Michigan next week. Time Code Start: 26:11. Keywords: Presidential elections, campaigns, primaries, voting. Network: NBC.
  
  10. Cronkite: Vietnam; bombing in North Vietnam. Time Code Start: 30:04. Keywords: Vietnam War, bombings, bombs. Network: CBS.
  
  11. Cronkite/Kalb: Moscow summit probably on; Paris Peace talks still on (Vietnam War). Time Code Start: 34:29. Keywords: SALT, S.A.L.T., Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, Russia, Soviet Union, USSR, Cold War, détente, summits, meetings, Paris Peace Talks, Vietnam War, treaty, treaties, negotiations. Network: CBS.
  
  12. Cronkite/Duval: Anti-war demonstrations, pro-President Nixon parade in Florida. Time Code Start: 35:48. Keywords: elections, campaigns, campaigning, primaries, candidates, speeches, Presidents, demonstrations, rally, protesters, demonstraters, demonstrators, Vietnam War, anti-war. Network: CBS.
  
  13. Cronkite: L. Patrick Gray says FBI will hire female agents. Time Code Start: 38:27. Keywords: Federal Bureau of Investigations, leaders, statements, women, employees, hiring, employment. Network: CBS.
  
  14. Sevareid: Commentary on Vietnam. Time Code Start: 43:35. Keywords: Vietnam War. Network: CBS.

• LIFE magazine of May 12, 1972

• New York Times of May 12, 1972

• AP Images photos from May 12, 1972
• Getty Images photos from May 12, 1972

The Vanderbilt Television News Archive is the world's most extensive and complete archive of television news. They have been recording, preserving and providing access to television news broadcasts of the national networks since August 5, 1968.

• May 1972 Broadcast Index

Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

• May 12, 1972