Word: haig
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Faced with such wide-ranging differences of viewpoint, Haig decided, as he told reporters on the way to Cairo, that "the time has come for me to make a firsthand assessment on the ground." That is precisely what he did. His aim was not to offer ideas but to assess the degrees of flexibility on both sides. For a day and a half, he talked with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Foreign Minister Kamal Hassan Ali and other officials in Cairo...
...Haig got on well with Mubarak. Both are military men, jut-jawed and plainspoken. At the end of the talks in Cairo's baroque Uruba Palace, Mubarak shook hands with Haig and said simply, "Well, I think we are finished." Haig grinned jauntily and replied, "No, see you in Washington." Mubarak arrives in the U.S. for a state visit on Feb. 2, though he may in fact see Haig again in Cairo a few days earlier. Ali assured reporters that Egypt welcomed Haig's participation in the peace process and promised to "intensify" the autonomy negotiations...
...Haig also received a warm welcome in Jerusalem, where Israeli officials seemed anxious to forget the strains of the recent past. Haig spent two hours with Menachem Begin at the Prime Minister's official residence. Quipped an obviously pleased Begin, who fractured his left hip two months ago: "I'm delighted that the talks have got off on the right foot, because my left foot is still weak...
...afternoon, Haig was visited by Avital Shcharansky, 31, wife of the imprisoned Soviet Jewish dissident Anatoli Shcharansky, who is reported to be receiving harsh treatment at the Soviet labor camp where he is serving a 13-year sentence. In a toast to his visitor, Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir welcomed Haig's participation as a "positive approach" and added, "We too are ready to make an effort...
What happens next? Haig has tentatively ruled out a return to the kind of shuttle diplomacy made famous by his predecessor and mentor, Henry Kissinger. Haig's view is that since the Egyptians and Israelis are on speaking terms these days, a resumption of the shuttle would amount to "theater for theater's sake." One future possibility: a "mini-Camp David," at which Haig and Foreign Ministers Ali and Shamir would meet for several days of negotiations, leading, it would be hoped, to a draft agreement. -By William E. Smith. Reported by Johanna McGeary with Haig...