show them to the President He has the THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON July 16 _1969 Mr Kissinger sainteny apnroved the translation this morning before he left for Florida _ He asked tnat the copy of his notes and the translation be destroyed after you original notes Tgon ake 1'1 I will inform him of Mr Kissinger s trip to Paris on August 4 and me with total sincerity C EY ES ONLY rans lation I will try to meet with Mai Van B0 in the presence of Xuan Thuy and will give to him the letter destined for Ho calling to his attention that 23133123 I have the latitude to let him know that President Nixon has authorized me to give it to him I will ask him to have this letter sent to Hanoi as rapidly and Safely as possible his desire to learn of Hanoi's reaction to the message of the President I will add that knowing President Nixon personally I had already had a conversation with him on Vietnam ill-1966 after my return from Hanoi In May and during these last few days he has Spoken with I carried away from these conversations the conviction that - President Nixon since-rely- wishes to put-an end to this war and that he is prepared to discuss it with good will highest responsible authorities of the government of Hanoi on the0condition that he would find on their part the same real desire to reach a conclusion But he will not allow himself to be snared by the tactic of drawing out the negotiations in the h0pe that American public opinion WISENSITIVE EYES ONLY DECLASSIFIED - 12958 Sec 3 5 1 1I24I98 Enn ept Guiglelines By L - NARA Date Thoto op romomunmaubmy nun ti 1' N o SENSITIVE EYES ONLY having become weary would finish by accepting an unconditional withdrawal -- a trap into which he will not fall under any circum- stances He has decided to hope for a positive outcome from the con- versations at Paris by November 1 and he is prepared to show good will by some humanitarian gestures which Mr Kissinger will be prepared to discuss in detail But if however by this date the anniversary of the bombing halt no valid solution has been reached he will regretfully find himself obliged to have recourse to measures of great consequence and force When he talks of solution he does not mean gestures like the release of a few prisoners but steps indicating an imminent end of the war Regardless of public opinion or opposition Mr Nixon is determined to bring this war to an early conclusion He totally rejects continued talking and fighting If this diplomatic approach fails he will resort to any means necessary EYES ONLY - 1                     National Security Archive    Suite 701  Gelman Library  The George Washington University    2130 H Street  NW  Washington  D C  20037    Phone  202 994‐7000  Fax  202 994‐7005  nsarchiv@gwu edu