Detente and Liberty

It was a clash of historic proportions, and it seemed intractable. In the pursuit of detente, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had long urged enactment of an omnibus trade bill that, among other things, would increase Soviet-American commerce by granting the Soviet Union most-favored-nation status. In the interest of persecuted minorities, Democratic Senator Henry Jackson insisted that Moscow pay a price: it would have to liberalize its emigration policy. Technically the requirement would apply to all Communist countries seeking preferred status as U.S. trade partners; in fact, Soviet Jews who want to leave the U.S.S.R. will be the principal beneficiaries. Last week a compromise was reached at last that was apparently acceptable to the Administration, Jackson and the Soviets.

Brave People. Jackson was doubtless happier than the others. Against considerable odds and precedent, he had used legislative pressure to alter the domestic policy of another superpower. His amendment, to be incorporated in the bill that will probably clear Congress this year, was accepted on the basis of assurances from the Soviets that emigration would be stepped up and not impeded. Punitive measures against those applying for exit visas are to be halted.

The agreement was embodied in an exchange of letters between Kissinger and Jackson. The Secretary of State presented the general thesis. Jackson provided the specifics: emigration would eventually reach the goal of at least 60,000 a year (compared to the high of 35,000 in 1973). After 18 months, Congress would review the Soviets emigration practices and decide whether to renew the Soviets' trade status. Jackson praised Kissinger and declared: "We have agreed upon an unprecedented measure to bring the blessings of liberty to those brave men and women who have asked only for the chance to find freedom in a new land."

The agreement would not have been reached without a change in the presidency. Richard Nixon, backing Kissinger, had refused to accept the Jackson amendment in any form. When Ford assumed the presidency, the logjam began to break. "Ford is a man of Congress," says a Senate aide who participated in the negotiations. "He understands the need for compromise."

During a discussion on Aug. 15, the President tilted toward Jackson and Kissinger adjusted to the shift. Says a participant: "All along, Henry had believed that it was not possible to handle this sort of thing with legislative language." Ford and Jackson showed him how, and he accepted the lesson. It was Kissinger who kept in touch with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin and carried on the delicate negotiations for Soviet acquiescence.

Whether the Soviets will ultimately honor the agreement is a matter of conjecture. If they feel that they are not sufficiently benefiting from the trade bill, they might back down. Last week Leonid Brezhnev made a speech in which he called Jackson's demands "utterly irrelevant and unacceptable." But the tirade was viewed in Washington as the usual Soviet tactic of publicly denying what they have privately conceded.

The entire arrangement may offend Kissinger's tidy sense of Realpolitik--the need to deal with foreign nations on a pragmatic basis. Yet he benefits from the change. Under attack recently on a number of issues, he has now defused some of the criticism in Congress. As he sets off for Moscow this week to engage in another round of talks, he has fewer home-front worries and a more comfortable bargaining position.

Jackson also benefits. His compassion for Soviet Jews can scarcely be questioned; he has consistently championed the victims of totalitarianism throughout his career. At the same time, this particular crusade has endeared him to a combination of American Jews, liberals and anti-Communist hardliners.

Thus it enhances his presidential prospects. Though Ford avoided center stage last week, he also gets high marks for adroitness. The agreement is one of those peculiar triumphs of the American political system from which everyone, at least for the moment, emerges a winner.

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