Diplomacy: Postcards from an Edgy Trip

While Secretary of State James Baker's plane taxied toward waiting dignitaries in Cairo two weeks ago, a senior official hurried to the rear of the cabin on a damage-control mission. Earlier that day Jordan's King Hussein had endorsed Baker's peace odyssey, but without publicly committing himself to joining the regional conference Baker was pushing. Journalists aboard Baker's plane, however, thought the more compelling story was that Saudi Arabia -- touted by Washington for months as the keystone of a new moderate Arab alliance -- would not attend the conference as a full member. The official tried to persuade the reporters that King Hussein's warm but vague words deserved the headlines. "Fasten your seat belts -- emergency spin control," cracked one reporter.

But even the most accomplished spinners could not turn Baker's nine-country, 12-day journey into a whirling success. No leader told Baker to get lost, but none gave him a good reason to stick around either. Journalists on the trip dubbed Baker the "Secretary of Stealth" for refusing to outline his overall strategy. But his broad goals are clear. He is trying to convene a conference under whose umbrella Israel would talk directly to Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. Also present would be Palestinian representatives, seeking to enhance their political power in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. If the Palestinians could be satisfied, Baker believes, Syria and Jordan could bury their differences with Israel. So could other Arab states like Saudi Arabia, now slated to attend the parley in some adjunct status.

But nearly everything about this conference -- its structure, members and agenda -- is in dispute. Syria, for example, insists that the U.N. play an "important role," the better to pressure Israel into withdrawing from the occupied territories. But Israel does not trust the U.N., and has rejected any role for it, preferring that Washington and Moscow co-sponsor an opening session and then let Israel, the Arabs and the Palestinians confer on their , own. A possible compromise may have the European Community, which lusts after more diplomatic clout, replacing or joining the U.N. Israel also refuses to talk with any Palestinians connected with the P.L.O. or who live in East Jerusalem, which Israel insists is not part of the occupied West Bank. But the Palestinians with whom the U.S. has been meeting do not want Israel to hold veto power over their delegation.

Baker, who hates to see his name and the word failure in the same news story, abandoned his first peace effort a year ago because of Israeli intransigence. Last week flashes of frustration occasionally cracked through his self-discipline. He slept poorly, acted testy with reporters after a 9 1/ 2-hour session with Syrian President Hafez Assad and went running to let off steam.