The Stuff of Shuttle Diplomacy

Henry Kissinger might well ponder the truism: it never rains, it pours. As if he did not face enough criticism, he will soon have to cope with two acid-etched studies of his Middle East shuttle diplomacy. One is The Arabs, Israelis and Kissinger by Edward R.F. Sheehan, excerpts from which will appear this week in the quarterly magazine Foreign Policy; Sheehan is a freelance writer and former State Department press officer who conducts Middle East seminars at Harvard's Center for International Affairs. The other is The Secret Conversations of Henry Kissinger by Israeli Journalist Matti Golan, which will be published in the U.S. next week; Golan's book was banned by Israeli military censors for revealing military secrets, but the ban was inexplicably lifted. A sampler from their reports:

SHEEHAN

A Pair of Foxes: "Kissinger was touched at once by [Egyptian President Anwar] Sadat's urbanity and charm [during their first meeting in 1973]; Sadat liked Kissinger's incisiveness, so refreshing after the naivete of [U.S. Secretary of State William] Rogers. However, the reports of their instant romance (soon to be dramatized by their public kissing) have been exaggerated. Essentially we glimpse a pair of foxes exchanging oaths of confidence, each of them intent on wielding the other for his own purpose."

Lecherous Pleasantries: "Typically. Kissinger began [his first meeting with Syria's President Hafez Assad] by being funny. Through the interpreter he said, 'I should teach you English, Mr. President. You'll be the first Arab leader to speak English with a German accent. Did you meet Mr. Sisco [Under Secretary Joseph J. Sisco, who is about to resign]? I had to bring him with me --if I left him in Washington he might mount a coup d'etat.' Assad laughed. Kissinger assumed that the Syrians, like other Arabs, were intrigued by his success with women, so he talked about women and repeated some lecherous pleasantries."

Capsule Appraisals: "In conference with the Israelis, Kissinger contrasted Sadat and Assad: 'Sadat has a fixed determination to overcome obstacles and move toward peace. He makes big moves and breaks impasses. With Assad, each issue when you get to it becomes major, and you have to bargain over every point. It's so time consuming! Sadat makes command decisions. Assad had his lieutenants there, and I had to convince them too.' In describing Assad, Kissinger was also describing the Israelis to themselves."

Miss Israel: As for Golda Meir, Assad told Sheehan that" 'one of the weaknesses I discovered in Dr. Kissinger was his special love of that woman. It struck me as strange that this university professor and Secretary of State was unable to conceal such a furious affection. And for your information, he used to describe her as "Miss Israel." ' Henry's Revenge: "He was furious with the Israelis [after his March 1975 shuttle failed], and he took their refusal very personally -- as having been directed not only at the U.S. but above all at him. For weeks after his return to Washington, Kissinger sulked and raged, castigating Israeli blindness to aides and visitors alike, compulsively telephoning distinguished Jews all over the country to complain of Israel's intransigence. His much trumpeted 'reassessment' of American policy in the Middle East was his revenge on Israeli behavior."

GOLAN

A Matter of Protocol: "Kissinger [during negotiations on withdrawal in the Golan Heights] told [Israeli Defense Minister Moshe] Dayan to make the map and threw it across the table at him. He kept shouting, 'Write on the map whatever you want. I no longer care!' There was complete silence. Dayan did not touch the map lying in the middle of the table; he only looked straight ahead with his one penetrating eye. Just then an American security man entered the room with Kissinger's glasses, which he had left behind at the hotel. He marched directly to Kissinger and handed them over. The American Secretary left the security man's hand hanging in the air. He froze him with a stare and asked if the young man didn't know that there was a certain hierarchy. The security man was confused and did not know what to do. [U.S. Ambassador Kenneth] Keating, who was sitting at the end of the table, finally came to his aid by signaling him over. The glasses were given to Keating, then Sisco, who finally gave them to Kissinger. Protocol had been preserved. The Israelis exchanged shocked glances."

Leaks about Negotiations: "Ambassador [Simcha] Dinitz delicately commented that many leaks were apparently coming from the American delegation. Kissinger went wild. 'You blame the Americans?' he asked incredulously. The journalists who accompanied him, he said, knew nothing except what he told them. And he only told them what served the negotiations."

The Disputed Telegram: "The telegram from President Ford [pressuring Israel to make further Sinai concessions] arrived just before Kissinger sat down with the Israeli negotiating team, and it turned the meeting into an icy confrontation. [Israeli Premier Yitzhak] Rabin told Kissinger that Israel would not accept dictation. He accused Kissinger of bringing in the President to pressure Israel. Kissinger claimed he had nothing to do with tbe presidential message. He said the Israelis seemed to think the President was a puppet whose strings were held by Kissinger. He said in disgust that if it were up to him, he would have given up. Rabin lit another cigarette, looked straight at Kissinger and said, 'I do not believe you.' "

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