Kissinger Henry. White House Years

Подождите немного. Документ загружается.

thenegotiations.”Hedidnotexplainhowthepublicationofpositio ns thatHanoi

hadalwayswantedtopublishcouldcreateobstaclestonegotiations.



ItwasobviousthatHanoisensedthatithadofferedthingruelandwason

thedefensive,becausesoonafterward,onFebruary2,itpublishedatwo‐point

“elaboration”ofitsninepoints.Itwasaslightlyreworkedversionoftheoldplan.

Hanoinowexplicitlyagreedthatourprisonerswouldbereleasedonthedatethat

ourlasttroopswithdrew.Butthiswaslinkedtoapoliticalprogramthatcalledfor

Thieu’simmediateresignation,coupledwiththedismantlingofthe“machineof

oppression,”meaningthepolice,thearmy,andthepacificationprogram.So

emasculated,theremaining SouthVietnamesegovernmentwastonegotiatewith

thefullyarmedCommunistsforsettingupacoalitiongovernmentcontainingthe

familiartripartitestructure.Noteventhemostardentpeacegroupscouldfind

muchsustenanceinthesepropositions.Itwasnoaccident.Afterwehad

concludedthenegotiatio nsayearlater,LeDucTho,inacandidaccessof

cynicism,explainedthatthetwo‐point“elaboration”elaboratednothing;itwas

putforwardsimplytohavesome“new”NorthVietnamesepositionavailableto

answerours.



ByanynormalstandardsourVietnampolicyinearly1972wasa

considerablesuccess.Wehadwithdrawnover410,000troopswhileimproving

themilitarypositionofourally.WehadisolatedHanoidiplomaticallyfromits

mainsourcesofsupport.Athomewehadwithstoodthemostbitt erassaultona

government’spolicyinthiscentury.Wehaddoneallthiswhilefulfillingourglobal

responsibilitiesbystandingontheprinciplethatwedidnotabandonalliesand

turnoverfriendlypeoplestorepression.Icontinuetobelievethatthose

initiativeswithPe kingandMoscowwouldhavebeenimpossiblehadwesimply

collapsedinVietnam.Bothtookusseriouslyonlysolongaswewereaweightin

thescale.Andwehadshowntoourpeoplethateveninthemidstofadivisive

warAmericacouldundertakemajorcreativeinitiati ves.



NoneofthiswouldmatteriftheallbutinevitableCommunistmilitary

offensivein1972overwhelmedtheSouthVietnamese.Butdomesticallywewere

inasolidpositiontotakestrongactioninSouthVietnam’sdefense.Ifwecould

weathertheCommunistoffensive,thePresidentcouldgotoPekingandMoscow

withhopethatwecouldbegintheconstructionofanewinternationalorder.



<<Contents>>



****



PARTFOUR



1972:FromWar

ToPeace

XXIV



Nixon’sTriptoChina



TheHaigMission



nthethirdanniversaryofNixon’sInaugurationDaywewereinthethick

ofplanninganeventnobodyimaginedpossiblein1969:thevisitofa

UnitedStatesPresidenttoPeking.Wehadhopesforotherprogressatthe

beginningof1972—inrelationswiththeSovietUnion,forexample,andin

negotiatinganendtothewarinVietnam—but theChinasummitwasour

immediatefocus.



Chinawasnotimportanttousbecauseitwasphysicallypowerful;ChouEn‐

laiwassurelyrightinhisrepeat edprotestationsthathisnationwasnota

superpower.Infact,hadChinabeenstrongeritwouldnothavepursuedthe

improvementofrelationswithuswiththesamesingle‐mindedness.Peking

neededustohelpbreakoutofitsisolationandasacounterweighttothe

potentiallymortalthreatalongitsNorthernborder.WeneededChinatoenhance

theflexibilityofourdiplomacy.Gonewerethedayswhenweenjoyedtheluxury

ofchoosingthemomenttoinvolveourselvesinworldaffairs.Wewere

permanentlyinvolved—butnotso physicallyormorallypredominantasbefore.

Wehadtotakeaccountofotherpowercentersandstriveforanequilibrium

amongthem.TheChinainitiativealsorestoredperspectivetoournationalpolicy.

ItreducedIndochinatoitsproperscale—asmallpeninsulaonamajorcontinent.

ItsdramaeasedfortheAmericanpeoplethepainthatwouldinevitably

accompanyourwithdrawalfromSoutheastAsia.Anditbroughtbalanceintothe

perceptionsofourfriendsaroundtheworld.



EarlyintheNewYearanAmericantechnicalteamdescendedonPeking.It

washeadedbyBrigadierGeneralAlexanderHaig,mydeputy,whoseassignment

wastotrytomaintainsomelimitsontheflightsofimaginationofouradvance

men.HaldemanandNixonhaddecidedtoapplyinChinatheirmaximsofpublic

relations.Theynevertiredofexplainingtotheuninitiatedthatprintjournalism,

thatistosay,newspapers,hadonlyanegligiblepublicimpact,butthattelevision

couldchangeperceptionsinamatterofminutes.Moreover,theyfelttheyhad

beentormentedmorebythewritingjournaliststhanbythebroadcasters;thetrip

toPekingwouldbeagreatopportunitytogeteven,byweightingthepress

contingentheavilytowardtelevisionpeople.Thedecisionturnedouttobea great

boontonetworkexecutives.Sincetherewereonlysomanyhoursthenetworks

couldbroadcast,thenumberofTVcorrespondentsandtechniciansrequired,

evenforsaturationcoverage,waslimited.AndsincetheWhiteHousepublic

relationsexpertshadassignedalargernumberofmediaplacestothenetworks

thantheycoulduse,afairnumberoftopechelonpersonnelwhohadnotbeen

nearreportingforadecadereceivedafreetriptoChina,whilesomenewspapers

wereexcludedaltogether.



FromthepointofviewoftelevisionChinaofferedtheaddedconvenience

ofacountrythirteenhoursaheadofus:morningeventscouldreachAmericaat

primetimeintheevenings,andeveningeventscouldbebroadcastliveon

morningtelevision—providedonlythatourhostscooperated. Soitbecamethe

advanceparty’stasktobringhomethewondersofAmericanpublicrelationstoa

ChineseofficialdomthathadjustbarelysurvivedtheCulturalRevolution.

Fortunatelyforus,theChinesehadtime‐honoredwaysofwithstandingbarbarian

invaders.Oncetheyunderstoodwhatouradvancemenhadinmind,theveterans

ofthelongMarchimmediatelygraspedthebenefitofbeingintroducedon

AmericantelevisionbyanAmericanPresidentandthusbecomingins tantly

acceptable.TheyagreedeagerlytotheHaldemanconception.Thefactthatthere

wasnomeansoftelevisingdirectlyfromPekingtotheUnitedStatesprovedonly

atemporaryproblem,solvedbya groundstationtotransmitpicturesbysatellite.

TruetoMao’sdictumofself‐reliance,theChinesepurchasedthegroundstation,

rejectingournetworks’offertoconstructitattheirownexpense.



Haig’sadvancetripinearlyJanuaryhelpedresolvemostoftheconflicts

betweentheobsessionsofouradvancemenandtheinconvenientrealitythat

Chinawasasovereignstate.TheSecretServicedidnotwantthePresidenttoride

inChinesecars,buttheChineseleadersthoughtitwouldstrainthe

comprehensionofthe“masses”iftheysuddenlystartedmovingaboutinhuge

Americanlimousines.ThecompromisewasthatNixoncouldusehisownarmor‐

platedlimousinewhenmovingaboutonhisown,butthathewouldrideinthe

Premier’scarwhentravelingwithChouEn‐lai.Asimilarproblemaroseoverthe

ChineseoffertoflythePresidentinaChineseairplanewithinChina.Aftersome

internalstruggle,theSecretServicereluctantlyacceptedthatitsimplywouldnot

dototellahostcountrythatitsairplaneswereunsafe.Therealizationthatifthe

SecretServicepersistedwemightnotgettotravelwithinChinaatallhelpeda

greatdeal.Altogether,theChinesehandledouradvancepartywithextraordinary

skill.Thoserequestswithwhichourhostsagreedwerecarriedoutwithmagical

efficiency.Otherprojectssimplydisappearedintoanimpermeablecloudofbland

politenesswhichneverprovidedanoccasionforconfrontation. 



HaighadtwoprivatemeetingswithChouEn‐laitodiscusspoliticalmatters.

HegaveChouourassessmentoftherecentlyconcludedIndia‐Pakistancrisis.

Chouagreedwithourhandlingoftheconflict.HesawinSovietpolicyonthe

subcontinentnotachangeprovokedbytheSino‐Americanrapprochementbut

thehistoricexpressionofRussia’sexpansionisttendencies.OnVie tnam,Chou

reiteratedhismoralsupportforHanoiandurgedarapidsettlementofthewarin

ordertoreduceSovietinfluenceinIndochina.HaigalsosubmittedtoChouanew

AmericancounterdraftforthesensitiveTaiwanpassageintheproposedfinal

communiqué—themajorissueleftoverfrommyOctober1971trip.ChouEn‐lai

promisedonlytoconsideritbeforethePresidentarrived.Thenegotiationofa

fewsentencesonTaiwanwastotakeagreatdealoftimeduringthePresident’s

visit.



IknowofnoPresidentialtripthatwasascarefullyplannednorofany

Presidentwhoeverpreparedhimselfsoconscientiously. Thevoluminousbriefing

books(producedundermysupervisionbyWinstonLordandJohnHoldridge ofmy

staff)containedessaysonthetrip’sprimaryobjectivesandonallsubjectsofthe

agendapreviouslyestablishedwiththeChinese.TheysuggestedwhattheChinese

positionwouldbeoneachtopic,andthetalkingpointsthePresidentmight

follow.AllofmyconversationswithChouinJulyandOctoberwereexcerptedand

arrangedbysubjectmatter.Asbackgroundmaterial,therewerelengthyanalyses

ofthepersonalitiesofMaoandChou,preparedbytheCIAandbyRichardH.

Solomon,aChinaexpertonmystaff.Therewerecopiousexcerptsfromarticles

andbooksbyWesternstudentsofChina,includingEdgarSnow,RossTerrill,

DennisBloodworth,JohnFairbank,C.P.Fitzgerald,StuartSchram,andAndré

Malraux.Nixonreadallthebriefingbookswithexquisitecare,aswecouldtellby

hisunderliningofkeypassagesthroughout.Aswashishabit,hecommittedthe

talkingpointstomemoryandfollowedthemmeticulouslyinhismeetingswith

ChouEn‐laiwhileseekingtocultivatetheimpressionthathewasspeaking

extemporaneously.



OurexcerptsfromMalraux’sAnti‐Memoirs triggeredNixonintoinviting

thatgreatFrenchmantotheWhiteHouseatthelastminute.Nixonwasnota

littleinfluencedbythegalaoccasionJohnandJacquelineKennedyhadarranged

forMalrauxwhenFrancehadlentustheMonaLisa,andwantedtogoonebetter

thanhisenviedpredecessor.WhereastheKennedyeveninghadbeenessentially

artistic,andtherefore“frilly”inNixon’seyes,hismeetingwithMalrauxwastobe

allbusiness.HeandtheFrenchwriterweretocollaboratenotinstagingasocial

eventbutinpreparinganhistoricmission.



Unfortunately,MalrauxwasgrosslyoutofdateaboutChina.Andhis

predictionsofChina’simmediatepurposeswereoutrageouslywrong.He

believed,forexample,thattheinvitationtoNixonreflectedChina’sneedfor

economicaid;thePresidentwouldbejudgedbyhisabilitytocomeupwithanew

MarshallPlanforChina.GivenMao’sphilosophyofself‐reliance,therewasno

chanceofthishappening;atbestMalrauxwasseveralyearspremature.



AndyetMalraux’sintuitionsprovedthatanartist’sinsightcanoftengrasp

theessenceofproblemsbetterthanexpertsorintelligenceanalystscan.Manyof

Malraux’sjudgmentsprovedremarkablyincisive.Therapprochementbetween

ChinaandtheUnitedStateswasinevitable,heargued;itwasinherentintheSino‐

Sovietsplit.ThewarinVietnamwouldnotproveanobstacle,forChina’sactions

werereflectionsofitsdomesticnecessities.China’sroleinVietnamwasan

“imposture”;ChinawouldneverhelpVietnameffectively;thehistoricalanimosity

towardVietnamwastoodeep.TheChinesedidnotbelieveinanyideology;they

believedprimarilyinChina.



InessenceAmerica’sroleinVie tnamwasnowirrelevant,Malrauxargued.

WhatmatteredwasourPacificpolicy.IfJapanceasedbelievinginournuclear

protection,itwouldmovetowardtheSovietUnion.IfwecouldkeepJapantiedto

us,thismightacceleratetheneedoftheSovietUnionandevenofChinatoattend

tothesatisfactionoftheirpopulations.Somewheredowntheroad,Malraux

warned,maybeasearlyaswithintwoyears,ourChineseandJapanesepolicies

wouldbegintoconflictandrequirecarefulmanagement.Intheprocessthe

UnitedStatesmustneverbeperceivedtohesitate;allofAsiaexpectedfirmness

fromtheUnitedStates.Aboveall,saidMalraux,Chinawaslookingforunity,for

glory,andfordignity.Eventuallyitwouldlookforeconomicsalvation,too.



Itwasastunningperformance,notfullyappreciatedbyanaudiencestill

imprisonedinthestereotypesofadecade.Wordscascadedintorrentsfrom

Malrauxashefixedhishearerswithhisvisionarygaze.Hedevelopedlessa 

coherentanalysisthanaseriesofbrillianttableaux.MalrauxhadnotvisitedChina

fornearlyadecade;hehadclearlynotkeptupwithcurrentdevelopments;he

hadnoinsideinformation.Allhehadwassensitivity,brilliantperception,and

shrewdunderstanding.Ourtaskwastomarryhisintuitiontotheoperational

knowledgeweweregraduallyacquiring.



Februarywasspentinanticipation.WehadatestyexchangewithPekingat

theendofJanuarywhen,inthecontextofthePresident’sJanuary25speech,we

informedtheChineseindetailofourrepeatedrebuffsfromHanoi.Chousent

backanacerbicnoteaccusingusofseekingtoenmeshthePeople’sRepublicin

theVietnamproblem.Itwaspartlytrueandpartlyinstructive.Wewouldhave

preferredChinesepressureonHanoi.Butwewouldbequitecontentwith

Peking’spostureofnoninvolvement.



OnFebruary9wepublishedthePresident’sannualForeig nPolicyReport,

drafted,ineachofNixon’sfirstfouryears,bymystaffandme.Tooursorrow,no

matterhowthoughtfulwesoughttobe,wealwaysfailedinourbasicaimof

gettingthemediatotreatitasastatementofthebasicphilosophyofAmerican

foreignpolicy.Almostallthatthepresswouldcovereachyearwasthesectionon

Indochina;insteadofadebateoverAmerica’spurposesintheworld,we

invariablygeneratedadiscussionoftacticsinVietnam.Still,the1972report

presentedalongessayonChinathataddressedquestionswhichhadbeenraised

sincethedramaticJuly15announcement:whatwasthestatusofourexisting

commitmentstoTaiwan;whetherwewere“shiftingourpriorities”from Tokyoto

Peking;whatweretheimplicationsforourpolicytowardtheSovietUnion. The

President’sreportaffirmedallexistingalliancecommitments;wewouldnotgive

upacloserelationshipoftwentyyears’standingwithJapanforanewopeningto

China.LessthantwoweeksbeforeourarrivalinPeking,thereportaffirmedour

“friendship,ourdiplomaticties,andourdefensecommitment”toTaiwan;it

stressedthat“apeacefulresolutionofthisproblembythepartieswoulddomuch

toreducetensioninthefarEast.”



AsfortheSovietUnion,wemadetheconventionaldisclaimer:Ourpolicy

wasnot“aimedagainstMoscow.”ButthefactwasthatithadbeentheSoviet

UnionwhosemenacehadbroughtChinaandustogether;ourcooperation

reflectedageopoliticalrealityproducedbyconcernatthegrowthofSoviet

militarypower.Wecouldavoidprovocativeactions;wewouldnotbeableto

eliminatetheplainimpactofthenewrelationship.Ifskillfullyhandled,itcould

provideanincentiveforSovietrestraintandcooperation;ifclumsily

administered,itmighttempttheverycrisisitsoughttoavoid.



OnFebruary11thePresidentmadeanothergesturetoChina.Heapproved

anewsetofrecommendationsoftheNSCUnderSecretariesCommitteefor

easingtraderelations.ThiswasannouncedonFebruary14.Henceforth,all

commoditiesavailableforsaletotheSovietUnionandEasternEuropewouldalso

beavailabletothePeople’sRepublic.Itwasthelastunilateraleconomicgesture

towardPeking.



OnFebruary17thePresidentstoodbyhishelicopterontheWhiteHouse

lawnafterabrieffarewellmeetingwithCongressionalleaders.Foronce,Nixon

avoidedthedownbeat.Hespokesimplyofthemanymessagesthathadwished

himwell.Hehopedthatthefuturewouldrecordofhistripwhatwaswrittenon

theplaquetheApollo11astronautshadleftonthemoon:“wecameinpeacefor

allmankind.”



<<Contents>>



****



Arrival:TheHandshake



ixon’sfirststopwasinHawaii,wherehestayedatanArmybaseinorderto

avoidcriticismofostentatiousliving,andregretteditassoonashesawhis

spartansurroundings.Puttingupwithacommandant’squartersintheAzoresand

nowinHawaiiseemeda greatdealofpatrioticsacrifice.OnthejourneyI

benefitedfromHaldeman’s instructionsonhowtomakesureNixonwouldget

themostflatteringtelevisionshots.Zieglerwasinastateofadvancedagitation

becausehehadbeentoldthathecouldgivenobriefingsonmattersofsubstance

inPeking,andhewasalreadydreadingthepros pect offacinghisjournalistic

tormentors,whowouldbedrivenbythegoadofdailydeadlines.Throughoutthe

journey,Nixonoscillatedbetweenanxietythathisotherwisecompetentstaffwas

oblivioustothefinerpointsofpublicrelationsandserious,indeeddedicated,

preparationforhissojourninChina.Havingreadeverybriefingbook,hepliedme

withquestionsonthelonghoursoftheplaneride.



At9:00a.m.OnMonday,February21,wearrivedinShanghaiforabrief

stoptotakeonChinesenavigators.Theonlydifferencefrommyprevioustrips

wasalonelyAmericanflagnowflutteringononeofthepolesinfrontofamodern

terminal;onrepeatedvisitstothisairportIneversawasignofanyother

passengeroranarrivingordepartingplane.NixonwasgreetedbyCh’iaoKuan‐

hua,technicallyDeputyMinisterofForeignAffairsbutinfactthekeyfigureinthe

foreignMinistry.HewasreputedtobeoneofChou’sclosest associates,a

plausiblehypothesissincethisimpressivemanwasalessercopyofChou’scharm,

erudition,andintelligence.Presentalsoweretwofamiliarfacesfrommyprevious

visits:ChangWen‐chin(headoftheAmericanDivision)andWangHai‐jung

(DeputyChiefofProtocolandallegedlyrelatedtoMao),whohadaccompanied

mefromPakistaninJuly1971.TruetotheChinesetraditionthatbarbarianguests

mustbeassumedtobestarving,wewereservedanelaboratebreakfastinrecord

time—discomfitingtheWhiteHousestaff,whoknewthatitwouldgeneratenew

NixonpressuresforspeedingupserviceonPennsylvaniaAvenue.Wearrivedin

Pekingat11:30a.m.,whichconvenientlywas10:30p.m.SundaynightEastern

standardtime—aprimetelevisionperiod.



Thishistoricmomentofarrivaldidnotgounplanned.NixonandHaldeman

haddecidedthatthePresidentshouldbealonewhenthetelevisioncameras

filmedhisfirstencounterwithChouEn‐lai.NixonhadreadmyaccountoftheJuly

visitandChou’ssensitivitythatDulleshadsnubbedhimbyrefusingtoshakehis

handin1954.ThePresidentwasdeterminedtohav enootherAmericandistract

theviewer’sattentionwhileherectifiedthisslight.RogersandIweretostayon

theplaneuntilthehandshakehadbeenaccomplished.Wehadbeeninstructed

onthispointatleastadozentimesbeforeourarrivalinPeking;therewasnoway

wecouldhavemissedthemessage.ButHaldemanleftnothingtochance. When

thetimecame,aburlyaide blockedtheaisleofAirForceOne.Ourpuzzled

Chinesehostsmusthavewonderedwhathadhappenedtotherestoftheofficial

partythatusuallyfilesdownthestepsrightbehindthePresident.Weall