Word: sadat
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...ironically, but not illogically, Egypt made a stride toward peace by waging war. A period of shuttle diplomacy followed, with then-Secretary of State Kissinger working out a disengagement agreement between Egypt and Israel. It is probably then that Sadat saw his ultimate role as that of the peace-maker...
ONCE IN POWER, Sadat tried to consolidate his shaky position by making popular political moves. His decision to oust the soviets was widely praised, as was his order to cut back on the powers of the secret police. But Egypt suffered from an inferiority complex brought on by its resounding defeat in the June 1967 war with Israel. Antagonism was at a high and the prospect for breaking the Arab-Israeli deadlock seemed non-existant...
...retrospect, the decision to wage war on Israel with a surprise attack on Yom Kippur day, 1973, was a political masterstroke. All at once, Sadat restored Egyptian pride, broke the deadlock, and spurred Washington to alleviate tensions in the Middle East. If this was indeed the result Sadat had in mind, he could not have found a better way to achieve...
...true motivation for Sadat's historic trip to Jerusalem in November 1977 may never emerge clearly. Certainly it gave him a political boost at home. Perhaps it even served to fulfill a fantasy in which Anwar el-Sadat, as the "father of Egypt," singlehandedly made peace with the hated enemy. Such debate is in the end irrelevant, for Sadat's journey, his ultimate quest, stands as one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. This fact cannot be overstated, for in one deft move, Sadat put a thaw to a seemingly rock-solid antagonism...
...tried to explain his daring move: "There are moments in the lives of nations and peoples when it is incumbent upon those known for their wisdom and clarity of vision to survey the problem, with all its complexities and vain memories, in a bold drive toward new horizons." Characteristically, Sadat found the flexibility to forget past Arab-Israeli hatreds, just as he had once forgotten his alliances with the Nazis, Nasser and the Soviets. Sadat was never unstable. Rather he was an ideologue who set different targets at different times for himself and for his country and then tried...