The World: Middle East: Dead But Not Buried

WHEN the U.S. three months ago became the middleman in Egyptian-Israeli negotiations over the reopening of the Suez Canal, Secretary of State William Rogers laid down an injunction. Neither side should present memorandums, he said, because written words often back negotiators into corners. He urged that all proposals or observations be kept oral.

Despite that logical precaution, Washington last week found itself trying to explain its way out of an embarrassing gaffe—caused by an American memo. Visiting Cairo, Columnist Joseph Kraft was told by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Riad that Egypt had agreed to...