Word: brzezinski
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...soft talk came chiefly from Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who seemed to be making speeches and appearances everywhere as the Administration pointedly thrust him forward as President Carter's chief foreign policy spokesman. Lest there be any confusion, National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, the toughest talker of recent weeks, was keeping unusually quiet, turning down all requests for on-the-record interviews...
...need for clarification had become palpable as observers in Washington and Moscow puzzled over which voice was articulating U.S. foreign policy. Was it the tough, "chilly war" growl of Brzezinski? Or the milder, more conciliatory tone of Vance? Or the mixed signal that Carter seemed to be transmitting...
...Brzezinski had set off the speculation late in May with a blistering attack on the Soviets. He accused them of behavior that was not "compatible with what was once called the code of detente." Moscow, charged Brzezinski, had maintained "a vitriolic worldwide propaganda campaign against the U.S." and tried to "encircle and penetrate the Middle East." Said the President's National Security Adviser: "I do not believe that sticking one's head into the sand is the best solution to difficult problems in the world...
...biting comment may well have been aimed at U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, who at one point dismissed the Cuban presence in Africa as "a stabilizing influence." Yet by implication, Brzezinski's harsh words could also have been aimed indirectly at Vance, whose expressions of Administration concern over Soviet and Cuban activity in Africa had been phrased with an almost Victorian gentility...
...striking difference between the Vance and Brzezinski approaches baffled observers both inside and outside Washington. Was this the result of genuine confusion and disorganization? Or was it a cunningly devised plan to keep Moscow -and domestic political critics-off balance? According to this theory, "bad cop" Brzezinski would be unleashed when the Soviets needed slapping down or conservatives in the U.S. needed placating; "good cop" Vance would speak out to keep detente alive and mollify anxious American liberals. Yet Carter himself, many noted, was not always a consistent referee of such "shuttlecock" diplomacy. The President left many wondering, even after...