Time to Meet the Players

He is not quite Clark Kent turning into Superman, but one evening early this week mild-mannered Cyrus Vance suddenly changes from a charming, relaxed dinner partner to a tough diplomat on the run. The new Secretary of State excuses himself from a White House gala honoring Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo, dashes into a waiting Ford sedan, strips off his black bow tie and--in the pre-midnight dark --speeds south to Andrews Air Force Base. Within minutes, he is airborne in a specially outfitted Boeing 707.

Thus, if everything goes according to plan, Vance is embarking upon the Carter Administration's most important foreign policy venture yet: an attempt to restore the momentum toward a Middle East peace settlement. For six hectic days, Vance is scheduled to rush from Jerusalem to Cairo, Beirut, Amman, Riyadh and Damascus.

Vance intends to do no actual negotiating this trip but is trying to draw detailed proposals from the two sides. Confided a close Vance aide: "He wants to press them for the limits of their positions." In addition, this week's journey gives Vance a chance, as a senior State Department official puts it, "to get to know the players involved, invite them to Washington to meet the President and impress on them our commitment to get something done." Perhaps more than anything else, this trip confirms that Arabs and Israelis alike still view Washington as the only power-broker capable of finding a peace settlement. Thus no more than polite attention was accorded U.N. Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim during his recent swing through the Middle East.

Vance's first stop is Israel, where it is expected that he will receive an enthusiastic welcome as an old, trusted supporter, although he has never visited the country. His argument in Jerusalem: a resumption of the Geneva Conference is imperative because the step-by-step approach--symbolized by the dramatic diplomatic shuttles of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger--has achieved all that it can. (Kissinger expressed similar sentiments several months ago as he wound down his diplomatic duties.) This is sure to bring contradictory responses from Israeli leaders, in part because they have an eye on their May 17 national elections. Thus while Premier Yitzhak Rabin has expressed willingness to return to Geneva or go to "any other place" for genuine peace talks, his archrival, Defense Minister Shimon Peres, still insists that progress toward peace can be achieved by a series of limited Arab-Israeli accords.

Palestinian Representation. Neither Rabin nor Peres would go to Geneva if that would mean sitting down with members of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The unresolved question of Palestinian representation at the bargaining table remains the most formidable obstacle to a conference on the Middle East. One possible compromise has the P.L.O. attending Geneva as part of a single Arab delegation; another scheme sees the conference opening without the P.L.O. but with the implicit understanding that the delegates would devise a formula allowing eventual P.L.O. participation. Before leaving, Vance endorsed the "legitimate interests of the Palestinian people." U.S. support of these interests almost certainly depends on the willingness of the P.L.O. to soften its stand toward Israel, for Vance has warned that "it is difficult to see how progress can be made" so long as the P.L.O. refuses formally to recognize Israel's right to exist.

The one thing Vance is sure to be hearing from nearly every Israeli is that their country still needs more financial aid from the U.S. in addition to the $280 million President Carter seems ready to add to the $1.5 billion previously approved by former President Ford. Israel would also like speedy delivery of the extraordinarily lethal CBU-72 concussion bombs that Ford had promised; delivery is now in doubt because Carter has asked the State Department and Pentagon "to analyze the political and military consequences of the sale."

Cairo is planning to greet Vance with equal--if not greater--enthusiasm. President Anwar Sadat is preparing to charm the American in an attempt to build the same kind of personal relationship that existed with Kissinger ("My friend Henry"). The Egyptian leader is sure to emphasize that because moderates are now in the saddle in Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, Israel should take advantage of a unique chance to obtain a fair, negotiated peace settlement. Sadat will also want to press Vance for increased U.S. aid for Egypt's faltering economy.

The script for Amman, Riyadh and Damascus is a replay of Cairo. Jordan's King Hussein, however, is distracted by grief over the death of his 28-year-old wife Alia, who was killed last week in a helicopter crash. The quick Lebanon stopover--a brief four hours--is purely symbolic: a demonstration of Washington's sympathy for the enormous reconstruction problems facing that war-ravaged country.

No More Gossip. Wherever Vance stops, of course, he inevitably invites comparison with Kissinger. Vance's hosts are surely finding that the New York lawyer is neither as witty as his predecessor in the State Department nor as apt to encourage endearing (and sometimes offputting) intimacies, such as juicy gossip about VIPs. Gone also from this week's trip are the near-imperial frills of a Kissinger caravan, such as the two accompanying C-141 Starlifter cargo jets lugging bulletproof limousines, Secret Service chase cars and tons of extra communication and secretarial equipment. Ultimately, these differences in style will matter very little. What is much more important to Middle East leaders is whether Vance during negotiations will have Kissinger's flair for discerning areas of common interest between enemies and--most crucial of all--whether he will have as much muscle as Kissinger to help deliver what he promises.

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