Word: straussed
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Abul Barkat Boston No Meeting In your story "Talking to the P.L.O." [Aug. 27] I am mentioned as having had a meeting with Ambassador Robert Strauss. I have never seen, much less spoken to, Mr. Strauss. As a Palestinian American I deplore the continuing policy of denying full Palestinian self-determination, and as a scholar and intellectual I am a party to the struggle for self-determination, not an intermediary...
...knew there had been disagreements about a proposed U.S. resolution at the United Nations that would stress broadened support of the Palestinians. Vance and Brzezinski, in agreement for a change, had urged the President to take a tough approach. Strauss wanted to be more flexible; he wanted simply to float the idea to the leaders because he was afraid they would fight it. Strauss knew that Carter had come down on the side of the Vance-Brzezinski approach. But he was stunned when he got aboard the plane and was handed a sealed envelope that contained a rigid list...
...soon obvious to Strauss that the hard-line approach was not going to work. First Begin, and then, to everybody's consternation, Sadat, ridiculed the President's proposal. Sadat nervously warned Strauss that all of Carter's success in the Middle East would be destroyed if the U.S. pushed any further on the Palestinian issue. Both leaders also viewed Carter as so politically weakened at home that they questioned his determination. Strauss, now convinced that the binding instructions had weakened his own credibility with Begin and Sadat, returned home angry at his rivals...
...meeting, and that was swiftly arranged. Vance interrupted his vacation on Martha's Vineyard; Brzezinski, about to leave town, delayed his departure. The three gathered in the Situation Room of the White House, along with Mondale, who was asked by Carter to represent him. With some heat, Strauss accused Brzezinski of writing the restrictive language in the sealed instructions, and the National Security Adviser confirmed that he had done so. Strauss bluntly laid out his understanding of his role: he had been placed in an intolerable position, and that could never happen again. He insisted that he be allowed...
...this point, Brzezinski had not been displeased about Vance's distress over Strauss. The feisty Security Adviser had told intimates that he believed Strauss would eventually falter because of his lack of international experience, and this could only enhance his own standing. With Vance having already declared he would leave his job next year, and Carter devoting far less time to foreign policy, Brzezinski had become even more influential. White House aides contend privately that Brzezinski wants to succeed Vance, and he sees Strauss as a rival...