At one point of time it was also called Shangri-La. And indeed it nestled among mountains -- not Himalayas but the Blue Ridge. The rural retreat of the US presidents in Maryland near Washington, DC became the center of historic talks that broke new grounds amidst all around bitterness in the Middle East. Camp David, the retreat, hosted in September 1978 the landmark talks between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Bridging the great divide was the affable President Jimmy Carter -- a Nobel winner in 2002.
Back then things were rather tough. The cold war was on and the Middle East was a veritable Israel-Arab war zone. Some ten years earlier Israel had occupied Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and, as a result, anti-Israeli passions ran high. Cater took the lead, and Sadat the initiative. In a first for any Arab leader, Sadat flew to Jerusalem and addressed the Israeli parliament. Begin returned the trip but the deadlock persisted.
Carter then did something unusual in the annals of diplomacy. He invited the two leaders to Camp David for private one-on-one sessions, keeping their advisors and world media out. The summit began on 5 September 1978 with a dapper, informal looking Sadat on one hand and a formal Begin on the other. A few days later it looked as though the exercise had been a futility. The leaders refused to be on talking terms. It was left to Carter, then the most powerful man on Earth, to shuttle from one leader to the other to find a common ground.
Dramatically, on the 13th and the last day of the talks, the leaders eventually got around to break the barrier. The "Framework for Peace in the Middle East" paved the way for peace between the two nations. Israel eventually withdrew from Sinai, Egypt opened diplomatic relations and the Suez Canal for Israel. The world acknowledged the statesmanship of Sadat and Begin with Nobel prize for peace. A peace won in the times of war.
Comments
0 comment