Daily Alert Archives

Jimmy Carter and the Camp David Myth

[Wall Street Journal] Arthur Herman - The myth of Camp David hangs heavy over American foreign policy, and it's easy to see why. Of all the attempts to forge a Middle East peace, the 1978 treaty between Egypt and Israel has proved the most durable. Camp David was indeed Jimmy Carter's one major foreign policy accomplishment amid a string of disasters including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the rise of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and Ayatollah Khomeini's ascent in Iran. But the truth is that Carter never wanted an Egyptian-Israeli agreement, fought hard against it, and only agreed to go along with the process when it became clear that the rest of his foreign policy was in a shambles and he desperately needed to log a success. Carter's preferred Middle East policy was to insist on a comprehensive settlement among all concerned parties. It was Sadat's historic trip to Jerusalem in November 1977, where he discussed a separate peace between Egypt and Israel, and forestalled Carter's plan for a Geneva peace conference - not Camp David - that marked the true seismic shift in Middle East relations.
2009-02-13 06:00:00
Full Article