Editing Alexander Haig (section)

==White House Chief of Staff (1973–1974)==
===Nixon administration===
[[File:President Richard Nixon seated at his Oval Office desk during a meeting with Henry Kissinger, Alexander Haig, and Gerald Ford.jpg|thumb|[[Henry Kissinger]], [[Richard Nixon]], [[Gerald Ford]], and Haig meeting on Ford's forthcoming appointment as vice president in 1973]]
In May 1973, after only four months as VCSA, Haig returned to the [[Presidency of Richard Nixon|Nixon administration]] at the height of the [[Watergate scandal|Watergate affair]] as [[White House Chief of Staff]]. During the [[Saturday Night Massacre]], Haig attempted to make acting-Attorney General [[William Ruckelshaus]] fire special prosecutor [[Archibald Cox]]. Haig's coercion failed, and Ruckelshaus resigned.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Frank |first=Jeffrey |date=2017-05-09 |title=Comey's Firing Is—and Isn't—Like Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/comeys-firing-is-and-isnt-like-nixons-saturday-night-massacre |access-date=2024-07-19 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}</ref> Retaining his Army commission, he remained in the position until 21 September 1974, ultimately overseeing the transition to the [[presidency of Gerald Ford]] following [[Richard Nixon's resignation speech|Nixon's resignation]] on 9 August 1974.

Haig has been largely credited with keeping the government running while President Nixon was preoccupied with Watergate<ref name="encarta">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Alexander Haig |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761585441 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310041006/http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761585441 |archive-date=March 10, 2008 |encyclopedia=[[MSN Encarta]] |df=mdy}}</ref> and was essentially seen as the "acting president" during Nixon's last few months in office.<ref name = Weiner /> During July and early August 1974, Haig played an instrumental role in persuading Nixon to resign. Haig presented several pardon options to Ford a few days before Nixon resigned. In this regard, in his 1999 book ''[[Shadow (Woodward book)|Shadow]]'', author [[Bob Woodward]] describes Haig's role as the point man between Nixon and Ford during the final days of Nixon's presidency. According to Woodward, Haig played a major behind-the-scenes role in the delicate negotiations of the transfer of power from Nixon to Ford.<ref>''The Final Days'', by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, 1976, New York, Simon & Schuster; ''Shadow'', by Bob Woodward, 1999, New York, Simon  Schuster, pp. 4–38.</ref> Indeed, about one month after taking office, Ford did pardon Nixon, resulting in much controversy.

However, Haig denied the allegation that he played a key role in arbitrating Nixon's resignation by offering Ford's pardon to Nixon. One of the most crucial moments occurred a day before Haig's departure to Europe to begin his tenure as NATO Supreme Allied Commander. Haig was telephoned by [[J. Fred Buzhardt]], who once served as special White House counsel for Watergate matters.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Haig|first=Alexander M.|title=Inner Circles: How America Changed the World: A Memoir|date=September 1, 1992|publisher=Grand Central Publisher|isbn=978-0446515719}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Woodward|first=Robert Upshur|title=Shadow: Five Presidents And The Legacy Of Watergate|publisher=Simon & Schuster|date=June 16, 1999|isbn=978-0684852638}}</ref> In the call, Buzhardt discussed with Haig President Ford's upcoming speech to the nation about pardoning Nixon, informing Haig that the speech contained something indicating Haig's role in Nixon's resignation and Ford's pardon of Nixon. According to Haig's autobiography (''Inner Circles: How America Changed the World''), Haig was furious and immediately drove straight to the White House to determine the veracity of Buzhardt's claims. This was due to his concern that Ford's speech would expose Haig's role in negotiating Nixon's resignation supposedly in exchange for a pardon issued by the new president.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

On 7 August 1974, two days before Nixon's resignation, Haig met with Nixon in the Oval Office to discuss the transition. Following their conversation, Nixon told Haig "You fellows, in your business, have a way of handling problems like this. Give them a pistol and leave the room. I don't have a pistol, Al."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Woodward|first=Bob|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1975233|title=The final days|date=1976|others=Carl Bernstein|isbn=0-671-22298-8|location=New York|oclc=1975233}}</ref>

===Ford administration===
[[File:Alexander Haig photo portrait as White House Chief of Staff black and white.jpg|thumb|Haig's official chief of staff portrait]]
Following Nixon's resignation, Haig remained briefly as White House Chief of Staff under Ford. Haig aided in the transition by advising the new president mostly on policy matters on which he had been working under the Nixon presidency and introducing Ford to the White House staff and their daily activities. Haig recommended that Ford retain several of Nixon's White House staff for 30 days to provide an orderly transition. Haig and Kissinger also advised Ford on Nixon's détente policy with the Soviet Union following the SALT I treaty in 1972.

Haig found it difficult to get along with the new administration and wanted to return to the Army for his last command. It had also been rumored that Ford wanted to be his own chief of staff. At first Ford decided to replace Haig with [[Robert T. Hartmann]], Ford's chief of staff during his tenure as vice president.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Rumsfeld|first=Donald|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/650210649|title=Known and unknown : a memoir|date=2011|publisher=Sentinel|isbn=978-1-59523-067-6|location=New York|oclc=650210649}}</ref> Ford soon replaced Hartmann with United States Permanent Ambassador to NATO [[Donald Rumsfeld]]. Author and Haig biographer [[Roger Morris (American writer)|Roger Morris]], a former colleague of Haig's on the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] early in Nixon's first term, wrote that when Ford pardoned Nixon, he in effect pardoned Haig as well.<ref>''Haig: The General's Progress'', by [[Roger Morris (American writer)]], ''[[Playboy]]'' Press, 1982, pp. 320–25.</ref>

Haig resigned from his position as White House Chief of Staff and returned to active duty in the United States Army in September 1974.<ref name=":0" />