Word: habib
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Eschewing the pinstripe ambiguities of the career professional, Habib is renowned for his straightforward talk and capacity to cut through to the basics. "He gets to the core of issues quickly," says one associate, "and then doesn't leave them till they're settled." But his greatest strength, says another, is that "he knows when to use clout and when to listen." For instance, when talking to Menachem Begin, who tends to obscure issues with lengthy digressions, Habib will tenaciously steer the conversation back to the central topic. "He doesn't take opening positions too seriously...
...Habib has put his Middle Eastern background to good use at the bargaining table, impressing his Arab contacts with the few words of Arabic he learned at home and with his knowledge of Lebanese soccer scores. During one tense negotiation some years ago, an Arab leader broke into a string of expletives, which his translator diplomatically glossed over. Habib sat upright, his face split into a wide grin, and he roguishly wagged his finger at the Arab. Said he: "I don't know much Arabic, but I sure do know those words." The Arab leader laughed, warmed by Habib...
...member of the Foreign Service since 1949, Habib sharpened his skills as a negotiator while heading the U.S. delegation to the Paris peace talks with North Viet Nam from 1969 to 1971. He participated in many of Henry Kissinger's Middle East shuttles, and was called back from retirement in 1979 to serve as special adviser to Secretary of State Cyrus Vance...
...Habib is a dedicated gourmand and a formidable poker player whose prowess at the card table is attributed by friends to his "uncanny knowledge of the people he plays with." One area in which Habib never gambles is his health. A survivor of bypass surgery and four heart attacks, he travels with a complete set of medical records, as well as medication and instructions on how it is to be administered. Although he has been unwilling to take on any full-time negotiating post because he thought the job would strain his physical abilities, Habib now finds himself involved...
...Cyprus, and from Cyprus by container ship from Limassol to Junieh, a small port in northern Lebanon. On the Friday before Rosenblatt's arrival, the Israelis dealt West Beirut the heaviest bombing and shelling of the war to that point. That same day Alexander Haig resigned and Philip Habib announced a "permanent cease-fire." On June 27, Israeli jets dropped a shower of pink leaflets, warning all civilians to get out of the city at once. Rosenblatt's journal begins the following morning...