henry kissinger has famously said don't trust the tapes.it's a side show because what you get in the tapes often -- nixon is the only one in the room ultimately in most of these conversations that knows what's going on. kissinger didn't know he's being taped. it's sort of one sided game. i also think that when somebody does a crime, you focus on the crime. if somebody goes to jail for a crime, it doesn't mean in their whole life they didn't do a lot of good things. they may have raised a family well. there's much about nixon can like and admire. i mentioned earlier in the program conservation. nixon was a reluctant environmentalist. he created the environmental protection agency and working on oceans. he has to rank one of the top five environmental presidents. there it is. with all of that said, look if we can't as scholars care about the fly on the wall history of everything that's taking place in the oval office being able to listen to the transcripts inside the sausage factory what can we trust. the tapes, i think, are more raw and real

henry kissinger was very worked up about this and it got nixon all worked up. there was actually then committed probably the most dangerous, nixon understood this. was more concerned about the fall and having been found out, then the watergate break-in and that is the burglars, the plumbers, they were called, they were planning for leaks. they went out to california and they raided the office of dan gelber ag's psychiatrist to get his psychiatric files. imagines that. the white house sending somebody out for somebody's psychiatric files. there was just one problem. they had case it. there were no files. a broken okay and they had their picture taken, they were so proud in front of the doctor's office door and they were using c i a equipment, cameras, voice changers, wigs, so the cia got these pictures and said what is this? this is a violation of fourth amendment beyond anything we could imagine. that is what the coverup was really about. fortunately for the country the plumbers messed up everything they did or we would have been in far deeper trouble. living t

host: may 19, 12:55 p.m., henry kissinger and richard nixon talking about vietnam in the person service and the defense department. nixon, it is not just the foreign policy, the pentagon is as bad. a bunch of spineless bastards. kissinger, well, i just gave hell to john mccain, admirable john mccain. he goes on -- nixon goes on to say, i twoish god, what did mccain say? well, he said he'd have to check into it, i said i'd never seen the president so angry. he is, and he wants to stay on the job, nixon said i want him to stay on, but damn, not this way. he's going to start taking his orders from here or else. now i'm not going to have this crap anymore. guest: it's a little bit what i was mentioning earlier, nixon war ago lot with the military. you should hear the conversations with the air force. it's just brutal. he thinks the military is not wanting to win vietnam, that a malaise or fatigue has set in. that's a presidential order, and starts, well, fire them at the pentagon, get rid of them. they're not hearing me, and he's constantly telling kissinger, get the message across. now, on

in 1971, in april, richard nixon told henry kissinger who was negotiating with the north vietnamese in paris, he said, look, up to this point, the key part of the negotiation was that we would pull out when we had a cease-fire, and the north vietnamese pull out. >> but i have a feeling that's not working fairly well. so we have to try something different. and what they did was to lay out before the north vietnamese in paris the following idea. we'll have a cease-fire, and we, the americans, will pull out. and he never added the next sentence. that the north vietnamese had to pull out. so the north vietnamese, very smart, pocketed that. and they wanted in a way, they could absorb the bombing. but they wanted to destroy this guy, in the way they destroyed lyndon johnson. what's fascinating to me, time and time again, is an underestimation on the part of the brilliant richard nixon and the brilliant henry kissinger, about something as fundamental as vietnamese nationalism, which propelled this country to take on the united states of america, and to beat it. the united states has lost in i

a military block and therefore as henry kissinger said a few days ago. it should not be eligible to join nato i think that would be absolutely essential to. russian support for such a proposal because if i were russian i would believe that nato has been trying to seduce the it although it's ready to the west to force the situation so that the ukraine will become part of nato mr frazer it's every freshening to see yourself and henry kissinger people we would normally describe as cold warriors advocate a sensible compromise in this very difficult situation while they current generation of western policy makers seem to be very inflexible and going for one side take all approach anyway we have to take a short break now when we come back despite the chorus of western condemnations russia has recognised the results of the crimean referendum is this a cross violation of international law or simply history repeating itself that's coming up in a few moments on well the part. zero casualties war this is the great fantasy of war mongering politicians. capturing peo

in 1971, in april, richard nixon told henry kissinger who was negotiating with the north vietnamese in paris, he said, look, up to this point, the key part of the negotiation was that we would pull out when we had a cease-fire, and the north vietnamese pull out. >> but i have a feeling that's not working fairly well. so we have to try something different. and what they did was to lay out before the north vietnamese in paris the following idea. we'll have a cease-fire, and we, the americans, will pull out. and he never added the next sentence. that the north vietnamese had to pull out. so the north vietnamese, very smart, pocketed that. and they wanted in a way, they could absorb the bombing. but they wanted to destroy this guy, in the way they destroyed lyndon johnson. what's fascinating to me, time and time again, is an underestimation on the part of the brilliant richard nixon and the brilliant henry kissinger, about something as fundamental as vietnamese nationalism, which propelled this country to take on the united states of america, and to beat it. the united states has lost in i

>> henry kissinger recommended it.elson rockefeller recommended it. >> they said burn them. >> even after the court decision, he could have done it? >> it would be a controversy but we would not have these moments. >> would he have survived? >> i don't know. it hurts him in history. he thought it would be the grist for his post-presidency. he wrote some pretty good books about the soviet union and leadership. the voice-activated bit kills you in history. >> after he came back to new york, he would have dinner in new jersey with people. >> monica who was his assistant wrote books about him. >> what do you think about reagan? >> i did reagan's diary. he looks like a giant compared to nixon. reagan knew enough to stay over the noise. he did not let his critics get to him. he did not read his bad press. nixon is reading his bad press and stewing in anger. nixon wants to destroy the press. the smart presidents, john f. kennedy, reagan -- >> they try to seduce the press. >> or at least don't get hatred in your hearts. that i

henry kissinger to stop the leaks in the national security council.these pleas were made not by just an ordinary individual that might not have had the knowledge and information necessary to appreciate the seriousness of the situation. but no less a man that mr. henry kissinger, who in my opinion would be the highest authority in the land as to whether or not leak would affect the security of the united states. what we have here in response to that plea, the president is in pursuant of his constitutional duty to protect the united states, ordered the wiretaps that stopped the leaks. as i said in my previous remarks today, i for one, mr. chairman, would on the basis of henry kissinger making the request, if mr. nixon refused to take this action to protect the united states by ordering these wiretaps, i, for one, would vote to impeach him for that refusal of his constitutional duties and responsibilities. in closing, mr. chairman, let me say that i think we ought to give some serious consideration to exactly what we are doing here. as to richard nixon w

look at the chinese now, when you ask them about the americans they talk to, they talk about henry kissinger same way, and that is partly because they prefer slightly older people, with all due respect to bob zelek, that's the way they think. it still shows something and this is something where you have to develop these relationships, so the point about obama really he talks about china again in the interview, he says, he gives china quite a good hand in africa, it is a very easy, slight to do, to say the chinese are causing trouble in africa, he goes on about it the more the merrier, let them in and very happy to compete with them, the chinese are good at some things in foreign policy more generally he does accept bringing china into the world international order is a great test of this thing, i think it is fair, if obama ends his presidency second term of his presidency without having done that, i think that really will be difficult, but he does talk again about the need to be tough with china as well. >> rose: well, let me read this from his mouth to your ears. you have to be pretty firm

whose this third gentleman sitting on the opposite sofa from the president and henry kissinger. o you know? >> well i'd have to look but i think -- let me see. >> sorry about that. >> we picked that just because it's the nixon -- with kissinger and the king of jordan, king hussein. our publisher bruce nickels picked it out. he went with the yellow. one of the problems is that nixon don't a lot of shots. they are all in suits, standing. it was very hard to find colorful photos from the white house like what you'd get with a different president where you get the informal moments. nixon was very uptight. in the case there with jordan and the middle east, in october of 1973, nixon very much backs israel and becomes a folk hero for abobacking them when syria egypt does the famous attack in 1973. nixon prized himself in being very adept in middle east diplomacy. carter said it was kissinger's shutter diplomacy in the middle east that really paved the way to the camp david accord. a lot of the thing that's get accomplished with ford and carter had their beginnings in the nixon years. >>

the chinese talk about henry kissinger. they do not talk about people within the obama administration in the same way. they prefer slightly older people. it still shows something. you have to develop these relationships. the point about obama, and he talks about china in the interview, he gives china a good hand in africa. he goes on about, the more, the merrier. in foreign-policy more generally, he thinks bringing china into the international order will be a great test. if he ends the second term of his presidency without having done that, that will be difficult. he talks about the need to be tough with china as well. >> let me read this from his mouth to your years. you have to be pretty firm to them, talking about the chinese, because they will push as hard as they can until they meet resistance. they are not sentimental or interested in instructions. -- interested in abstractions. that could come right out of the mouth of kissinger. >> he is talking about fundamental interest of what the chinese want. a lot of the obama

henry kissinger recommended it. somebody like nelson rockefeller recommended it. >> they all said to him, burn the tapes. >> get rid of this quick! >> even after the court decision he could have done it. >>ly well, it would have been a big controversy but we wouldn't be having all of these bad, dark moments. >> would he have survived? >> i don't know, but he didn't survive by keeping them, and it hurts him more in history. i thought he thought it would be the grist for his post- presidency. as you know, charlie, he wrote some pretty good books about the soviet union and all. it's just that voice activated kills you, because of the sound bites. >> after he came back to new york he used to have this salon in which people would go out to new jersey and have dinner with hit. he would give a kind of tour of the world on foreign policy. >> he, did and monica crowley ended up beg his assistal. she wrote a couple of good books. >> what do you think of reagan? >> i have worked on reagan's diary. reagan looks like a giant com

they're worried that kissinger may be pro-israel. henry is trying to prove he's not. nixon tells h haldiman, because of world war ii, to emotionism and everything like that, an ugly way that nixon describes that. >> you say the guard was being down, it was voice activated. very few knew it existed. the few who knew it existed probably let their guards down. >> nobody knew, kissinger particularly was a young guy back then, smart guy from harvard, he is now one of our great states craft people but in these tapes he doesn't come out so great. >> in that context let's listen to something henry kissinger said about discussing juice in russia. ... for the treatment of negroes. it's not their business how they treat -- >> real callusness there. >> a real callusness, big power, toughness, all of this. the down side is very little on human rights and humanitarian concerns. and in this case kissinger is saying let the soviet union do what they want, we'll turn a blind eye to it. it comes off as you said callus. >> one other striking incident mountain book is involving vietnam.

in fact, when richard helms left the white house with the mission that he been given by henry kissinger, he was stunned by the authority that he had to conduct covert operations in chile. he ended up flying before a congressional committee and was fined for that. but he was somewhat shocked by the authority that he had. followed by gerald ford. ford's contribution to the cia was extremely unfortunate. ford introduced the concept for politicizing the intelligence of the cia. introduced at concept of team a and team b. team a was the cia in the political analysis. team b was a team that the ford administration wanted to introduce. i have no trouble with that is a discipline for challenging the analysis of the cia, but this was a group of neoconservatives, hand-picked by the white house, led by harvard professor who is very anti-soviet. general danny graham was very anti-server -- anti-soviet. paul wolfowitz was very anti-soviet. you try to push analysis of the cia to the right. ironically, at the very time the soviets were realizing that the missile race is getting them nowhere and it was

so it almost seems honest by contrast to find someone completely unbearable like henry kissinger, for example it is a bit like alcohol, if you like, i good servant, but a bad master. i have a completely cold hatred and contempt. it does not waste much of what time. it just enables me to penetrate, i think, the sort of fog of sentiment and reputation in which he is affected. and it does not eat away at me. does not keep me awake at night. does not poison me. does not fill me with pile. i can't pretend is just a matter of the political disagreement. i think there is such a thing as evil and the world to was sometimes personified and i think i was under no obligation to be ambivalent. c-span: changer mind at all about mother teresa? >> guest: what could not exactly hate her. because in the way i detested the influence that she had. i can tell you why in a sentence, if you want. the very reason they she is so celebrated, her concern for the poor of the world. well, as it happens, we know with the curious. it goes under the name the empowerment of women. it works everywhere, bangladesh, bo

host: may 19, 12:55 p.m., henry kissinger and richard nixon talking about vietnam in the person service and the defense department. nixon, it is not just the foreign policy, the pentagon is as bad. a bunch of spineless bastards. kissinger, well, i just gave hell to john mccain, admirable john mccain. he goes on -- nixon goes on to say, i twoish god, what did mccain say? well, he said he'd have to check into it, i said i'd never seen the president so angry. he is, and he wants to stay on the job, nixon said i want him to stay on, but damn, not this way. he's going to start taking his orders from here or else. now i'm not going to have this crap anymore. guest: it's a little bit what i was mentioning earlier, nixon war ago lot with the military. you should hear the conversations with the air force. it's just brutal. he thinks the military is not wanting to win vietnam, that a malaise or fatigue has set in. that's a presidential order, and starts, well, fire them at the pentagon, get rid of them. they're not hearing me, and he's constantly telling kissinger, get the message across. now, on

looked and picked that picture because it is the king of jordan and henry kissinger. we would do that brightly yellow because one of the problems is that nixon did not do a lot of colorful photos. always very up tight, in the suit. but there with the king of jordan from the middle east, in muchom kippur war, he very backs israelite becomes a full bureau. -- israel and becomes a full olk hero. it was kissinger's shovel diplomacy in the middle east that really paint the way to the camp david accord. a lot of things that were accomplished with ford and beginnings ineir the nixon years. >> the nixon tapes, doug brinkley and luke nichter, available now. thank you for being with us. there going to open up phone lines, whatever you would like to talk about. if you would like to talk about the 40th anniversary of resignation,on's if you would like to talk about iraq, you can start to dial-in now. this is the washington journal on c-span. c-span presents debates on what makes america great. evolution, and genetically modified foods. higher or gross oversight, student loan debt

host: may 19, 12:55 p.m., henry kissinger and richard nixon talking about vietnam in the person service the defense department. nixon, it is not just the foreign policy, the pentagon is as bad. a bunch of spineless bastards. kissinger, well, i just gave hell to john mccain, admirable john mccain. he goes on -- nixon goes on to say, i twoish god, what did mccain say? well, he said he'd have to check into it, i said i'd never seen the president so angry. he is, and he wants to stay on the job, nixon said i want him to stay on, but damn, not this way. he's going to start taking his orders from here or else. now i'm not going to have this crap anymore. guest: it's a little bit what i was mentioning earlier, nixon war ago lot with the military. you should hear the conversations with the air force. it's just brutal. he thinks the military is not wanting to win vietnam, that a malaise or fatigue has set in. that's a presidential order, and starts, well, fire them at the pentagon, get rid of them. they're not hearing me, and he's constantly telling kissinger, get the message across. now, once t

there you go and i don't think henry kissinger ever deserved it but who do you believe deserves a peace prize that hasn't already received it oh my god i could list many. you know i happen to think that the people who wage war don't deserve the peace prize i happen to believe that the people on the ground fighting a good and i don't mean militarily fighting struggling to keep communities alive struggling to promote peaceful solutions in the context of war they are the ones who deserve the peace prize and i will be quite honest i have nominated attorney general of guatemala two times now for the nobel peace prize her name is cloudy a pos she is from guatemala under her. the former dictator of guatemala was tried and convicted of crimes against humanity war crimes genocide when he was a president and killing my and the indians in the so-called civil war in the one nine hundred eighty s. in water mala i think she deserves the peace prize she is challenging immunity and impunity which are two of the things that cause dictators and heads of state to believe that they can do whatever they wan

stablish main group staying on the outside criticizing the us are the real politicker typified by henry kissinger again i went through the same ph d. program at harvard the produce kissinger before me he's a german jew who fled the nazis returned to fight he does not have this type of emotional baggage towards russia that bush in ski and his proteges have and that is why there was such productive relations between the united states the soviet union under. nixon by. kissinger in the real politic years have been completely frozen out now by the obama administration the rivalry between kissinger and persians he goes way back to when they were sister and professor at harvard together and regime skis made sure considers been completely frozen out my understanding is despite his public protestations mike is injured president obama has yet to speak with them ok robert it let's go back to the road record here i mean i just don't see particularly in this century where any of these neocon ideas have actually. made america safer or the world safer it's you know when you look at the situation in the middle e

asia, the fate of henry kissinger is about as important as the fate of richard nixon. kissinger would remain secretary of state for at least a few months, to lend continuity to american foreign policy, the most important issue for asian governments. currently most worried will be the chinese government in taking. mr. nixon is a symbol of china's improved relations with the west. the resignation could undermanned -- undermine the replacement. observers disagree on which direction this will take, but the man who led for the united states has been seriously ill. some people think his power has been eroded. the chinese government reportedly is questioning western diplomats very closely about the impeachment process and what effect mr. nixon's departure might have on u.s.-china relations. most asian governments should feel reassured that a resignation by the president would not be disastrous for the world situation. >> after the new administration comes in, secretary of state kissinger will be on the wing again around the world, reassuring our allies as well as those with wh

may control the fate of the world we don't seem to have that codger a elder statesman i think henry kissinger is one such person but you're not he's ninety years old but his mind works very well but you don't see him popping up on television you don't see him he published an op ed article in the washington post back in march but he came and went and that was it but there used to be quite a few people like that who would say to the president yes probably moscow is guilty but let's take a look at this let's see how we are perceived as john would put it around the world how do you explain that i don't know that those people are gone but meanwhile because they are gone the american mainstream media seems to instinctively filter out dissenting voices john and i appeared briefly fleetingly heretics living in exile someplace in the mainstream i know the feeling and i had a feeling i haven't i haven't i haven't see jobs and i don't see me either i mean there's a process of kind of rejection and here's the thing peter because we really are i think we should get to this movie to an exceedingly dangerou

likes to forget that the us is humanitarian intentions were an afterthought richard nixon and henry kissinger supported pakistan's ethnic cleansing in east pakistan in the early seventy's where at least three hundred thousand people died and when the largest genocide in the twentieth century happened in cambodia in the seventy's by the khmer rouge which led to the deaths of millions the us did not. it was more interested in playing political games with russian the chinese the foreign policy article calls that inaction a morally indefensible stance when saddam was killing hundreds of thousands of kurds in the eighty's the us didn't even bother to impose sanctions half a million killed in rwanda in the ninety's the us didn't even blink so let's get one thing straight stopping genocide is not a core interest of the us nor has it ever been so if we should stop trying to sell everyone that line of crap all of our stupid kids crying save our girls or saved our fur or embracing what the us needs to do in syria etc etc they all just need to stop it specially because all it does is give persecuted peo

henry kissinger more than 35 years ago -- and advanced democracy.henry kissinger more than 35 of hisgo in his memoir white house years said "japanese actions and decisions have been by far the most intelligent and farsighted of all the major ." ions in the postwar era white house years, boston, little brown, page 274, i believe. [laughter] i completely agree with that assessment. -- 35think 35 actors years after making that statement, i think kissinger would agree. but japan has made some official on you as a clingy and women's issues are not shared around the world. kuni and women's issues are not shared around the world. in late april, when asked by a korean reporter on this issue, evendent obama said that in the midst of war, by the "andards of four, this was terrible and egregious human rights violation, quite shocking." i think that resonate, not to suggest that president obama or any single individual is the supreme arbiter of moral justice. message is that right on and it resonates throughout much of the world. there -- therefore, for japan t

where are the henry kissingers? where are the colin powells in this administration? talk about a strategy dealing with weapons, the president needs to step up and show strength. >> i think colin powell said on a report before that the nation is in a vacuum and we saw who fills the vacuum with what happened at the u.s. embassy compound in tripoli. >> that compound has been abandoned for more than a month now, and the way the u.s. secures its embassies in countries, we actually lease that from the local governments, which in libya there isn't one and it's controlled and guarded by a local guard force which are locals there no matter where it is, whether it's tripoli, benghazi, cairo, they're all local guard sources. they have a civil war there now, and they let the compound go to militias earlier. >> where did the civil war come from? >> it's the vacuum that occurred after the overthrow of the regime there, and they have been in strife ever since then. they've never been really peaceful since then. i think we've been pulling staff in and out of that embassy since 2010.