Word: haig
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...several weeks, the Reagan Administration has been considering the appointment of a new special negotiator on the Middle East. Last week U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig proposed a candidate for the job: himself. At the close of a three-day fact-finding trip to Cairo and Jerusalem, Haig announced that he would take a direct hand in trying to bring about a Palestinian autonomy agreement between Egypt and Israel, preferably within the next three months. Toward that end, he has decided to return to the Middle East later this month, following a meeting in Geneva with Soviet Foreign Minister...
...Haig's imperative is strategic. He fears that if Egypt and Israel fail to reach some kind of autonomy agreement by April 26, the date on which the Israelis are scheduled to return the final third of the Sinai to Egyptian control, the two nations will be less susceptible to U.S. pressure. Haig foresees a gradual drift by Egypt toward rapprochement with the Arab world, and he expects Israel to become more nervous about its own security and thus less willing to negotiate. He also fears that if the talks do not succeed, they will eventually be superseded...
Then, too, Haig is fearful that Lebanon could again erupt in violence, thereby wrecking any chance of a peace settlement or an "evenhanded" U.S. policy in the region. Says one U.S. official: "Israel would go to war, and we would have to decide between supporting Israel or rejecting Israel, and that would be an impossible choice...
Given the risks, Haig concluded that the gamble of high-level diplomacy must be undertaken immediately, although he recognizes that failure would worsen the problem markedly. But he felt, as an aide put it, that he had "a reasonable shot" at succeeding. Haig saw last week's trip as a chance to prepare the groundwork for serious bargaining by immersing himself for the first time in the complex mixture of history, prejudice, aspirations and paranoia that governs Middle Eastern diplomacy...
...What Haig hopes to sign by April 26 is a declaration of principles that would govern a transition period for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Such a goal seems all but impossible, however, considering the seriousness of the unresolved issues. Israel wants to talk about a limited form of "autonomy" for the area; Egypt seeks an agreement that would lead to the eventual creation of a Palestinian state...