NIXON AND THE JEWS

My relationship with Nixon, never easy, was particularly complex with respect to the Middle East. Nixon was convinced that he owed nothing to Jewish votes and that he could not increase his Jewish support regardless of what he did. Deep down, he wanted to impose a comprehensive Middle East settlement. In October 1972, I forwarded to Nixon a memorandum from Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird urging secret contacts with Egypt to take advantage of Sadat's expulsion of the Soviets and to move closer to the Arab position. Nixon sent me the memo with a note: "K—I lean to Laird's view. The...