DIPLOMACY: A Triumphant Middle East Hegira

(6 of 10)

The main issue that Nixon and Sadat sparred over was the explosive question of the future of the 3 million Palestinians left stateless by the creation of Israel. Sadat and other Arab leaders insist that any lasting peace settlement must include some resolution of the Palestinian problem, perhaps by creating a new state for them in territory now held by the Israelis.

Sadat warned Nixon that "the crux of the problem in the Middle East is the legitimate rights of the Palestine people, and unless this is implemented we feel that the prospects of peace will be waning." In reply, Nixon acknowledged the Palestinian problem and said that "it is not our intention that what we have done today is final. It is a beginning, a very good beginning, but there is more to be done and we look forward to working with you."

Both Nixon and Sadat had good reason to be pleased with the visit and the agreement that it had produced. Egypt was getting material aid and a valuable psychological prop. The U.S. had gained new and close ties with the leading state in the Arab world—an advance of great strategic significance if it can be sustained. In well-earned triumph, the Nixon caravan departed for its next stop —Saudi Arabia. A sign at the Cairo airport read: SEE YOU LATER, DICK.

SAUDI ARABIA. As the Spirit of 76 flew over the arid wastes of the Arabian Desert, red-bereted troops riding in red Jeeps and red Chevrolets escorted a Rolls-Royce limousine to the airport in Jidda, the sun-baked seaport on the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia's royal guard —Bedouin tribesmen wearing black bandoleers and armed with single-shot rifles and curved knives in gold sheaths —stood smartly at attention. A team of sweepers began brushing the red carpet for the last time When the blue and silver U.S. jet came to a halt and President Nixon emerged, King Faisal, 68, the man who controls a quarter of the world's oil reserves, walked forward with great dignity to meet his guest.

The reception accorded Nixon on the way into town contrasted sharply with the greeting in Egypt. The sparse lines of Saudis along the streets contented themselves with clapping their hands rhythmically and waving banners as the President and the King, all but hidden in the closed Rolls-Royce, whispered by at 40 m.p.h. Saudi Arabia is not a populous nation, and staging an extravaganza is not the style of Faisal, a deeply conservative man. More important, U.S.-Saudi relations were going through a particularly delicate phase.

Although Faisal, who is bitterly antiCommunist, has been a firm friend of the U.S. over the years, he was roused to action by U.S. support of Israel during the October war. He helped bankroll the Arab armies, sent a token force of soldiers to fight alongside the Syrians on the Golan Heights, and then called the signals for the oil embargo that sent a frisson through the economies of the U.S., Europe and Japan. It was only two weeks ago that the U.S., taking a long step toward reconciliation, agreed to work out programs of economic, technical and military aid for Saudi Arabia, hoping thereby to be assured of a steady —or increasing—flow of oil.