The White House Tapes: Vietnam


 The White House Tapes: Vietnam

Listen in on Presidents Lyndon Johnson and richard Nixon behind the scenes of the Viet Nam war.Hear intimate discussions and controversial decisions that set history in motion.

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Resources in this Collection

Lyndon B Johnson

listen LBJ & McNamara Debate Sending Troops to Vietnam

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 3:13 | Audio Format: MP3
Although Johnson had chosen the middle ground with his approach to ending the war in Vietnam, Johnson soon decided...

Lyndon B Johnson

listen McGeorge Bundy & LBJ Discuss Troop Increase

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 00:36 | Audio Format: MP3
Johnson talked with McGeorge Bundy, his national security advisor, about the apparent need for U.S. troops...

Lyndon B Johnson

listen LBJ Phones Friend, Sen. Richard Russell.

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 27:08 | Audio Format: MP3
May 27, 1964, Johnson called his trusted friend Senator Richard Russell, a Georgia Democrat and chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Lyndon B Johnson

listen LBJ Downplays his Plan to Bomb

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 4:59 | Audio Format: MP3
Talking to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Johnson said he wanted to conceal his policy change from the public...

Lyndon B Johnson

listen LBJ Advises Humphrey on Gaining Congressional Funding

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 1:12 | Audio Format: MP3
Johnson counseled Vice President Hubert Humphrey on how to disarm potential opponents to the Senate bill.

Lyndon B Johnson

listen LBJ Speaks with Pro-War Senator Bayh

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 11:59 | Audio Format: MP3
After sending 200,000 troops into the jungle to fight a hightly motivated enemy...

Lyndon B Johnson

listen LBJ Expresses Escalation Concerns to Senate Majority Leader

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 00:33 | Audio Format: MP3
Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, a Democrat from Montana, advised against bombing...

Lyndon B Johnson

listen LBJ Foresees Failure

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 11:57 | Audio Format: MP3
On a call with Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, Johnson described with almost stunning prescience how the future might...

Lyndon B Johnson

listen Nixon Orders Melvin Laird to be More 'Hawkish'

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 2:47 | Audio Format: MP3
After increased bombing in Vietnam, Nixon's calls reveal a man determined to fight -and win...
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Lyndon B Johnson

listen Nixon Coaches German Ambassador on Defense

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 2:52 | Audio Format: MP3
Nixon coached Ambassador to Germany Ken Rush on how to defend the counter-offensive during an appearance on a morning talk show.

Lyndon B Johnson

listen Nixon Warned Moorer Against Failure

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 1:33 | Audio Format: MP3
Nixon warned Thomas Moorer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the military had no excuse for failure.

Lyndon B Johnson

listen Nixon and Aides Discuss Popular Opinion Ploy

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 5:40 | Audio Format: MP3
After Nixon speaks to the Nation on Vietnam, Republican operatives across the country swarmed Western Union outposts to...

Lyndon B Johnson

listen Nixon & Mitchell Discuss Public Reaction to Speech

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 4:32 | Audio Format: MP3
The next morning President Nixon and Attorney General John Mitchell discussed post-speech reaction...

Lyndon B Johnson

listen Nixon Consults Alexander Haig on Military Tactics

SHOW: American RadioWorks | Length: 9:11 | Audio Format: MP3
A week after Nixon's counter-offensive began, the president was still probing for ways to defeat North Vietnam...