Camp David

Peacemaking and Politics

William B. Quandt

• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9780815726760
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern History
• Index: History

In September 1978, William Quandt, a member of the White House National Security Council staff, spent thirteen momentous days at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, where three world leaders were holding secret negotiations. When U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin emerged on September 17, they announced a monumental accomplishment: the first peace agreement between Israel and one of its Arab neighbors.

Praised by some for laying the foundations for peace between Egypt and Israel, the accords have also been criticized for failing to achieve a comprehensive settlement, including a resolution of the Palestinian question. But supporters and critics alike recognize the importance of what happened at Camp David, and both groups acknowledge the vital role played by the United States in reaching an agreement.

There are few eyewitness accounts of the Camp David negotiations. Of the three leaders present, only Jimmy Carter wrote specifically of the talks in Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President (1982). Neither Sadat nor Begin ever wrote about Camp David.

Quandt's book is not only an eyewitness account but a scholar's reconstruction of the event, with insights into the people, politics, and policies. His Camp David has provided a comprehensive and lasting guide to the difficult negotiations surrounding the talks, including the fraught scenario leading up to the meetings at the presidential retreat and the accord that would lead to Sadat and Begin jointly receiving the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize.

Praise for Camp David: Peacemaking and Politics "The most authoritative account of a major historic event, written with scrupulous scholarship by a key behind-the-scenes participant." —Zbigniew Brzezinski, Adviser to the President for National Security Affairs, 1977–81

"An excellent piece of work... will represent a major contribution to the acade

INDEX

Aaron, David, 200

Abd al-Magid, Ismat, 163

Administrative Council (Palestinian self-governing authority), 160–61, 206, 253, 393, 422, 446n24

Afghanistan, 26, 29

Aid programs, Saudi Arabia to Egypt, 280, 458n15

Aid programs, U.S.: bilateral commitments, 304; to Egypt, 325; to Israel, 8, 41, 72–73, 85, 324; to Middle East, 348; settlements and, 306; Sinai withdrawal and, 288. See also Arms sales, U.S.

Airborne warning and control system (AWACS), 21

Aircraft. See Arms sales, U.S.

Airfields: Camp David Accords on, 262; Israeli withdrawal from, 233, 243, 244; in Negev, 248, 286; in Sinai, 228, 247, 309; U.S. aid to Israel for, 324; as U.S. buffer, 249; U.S.-Israeli, 272, 275

Al-Arish, Sinai, Israeli withdrawal from, 204, 206, 208, 282

Algerian National Liberation Front, 48

Ali, Kamal Hassan, 279, 282, 290

Allon, Yigal, 43

Ambassadors, exchange of: Carter on, 316, 319; discussion of, with Sadat, 215, 216; linkage issue and, 306; negotiations over, 282–83, 295–96; possibility of, in Camp David Accords, 265; Sadat on, 53, 244, 277, 324; summit proposal on, 238; timing of, 290, 291, 304

American Israel Public Affairs Committee, 71. See also Jews, American

Arabi, Nabil al-, 452n12

Arab-Israeli wars: Arab territory seized during, 215; Begin on, 81; Carter on, 59–60; Carter's attention to, 4; cease-fires, 22, 107; electoral cycles and, 9–11; June 1967, 19, 34; October 1973, 34, 79; Operation Litani, 188; U.S. policy on, 34–35, 64. See also names of wars and regions

Arab League, 90, 127, 285, 289, 441n6

Arabs: Arab League, 127, 285, 289; Arafat, pressure on, 105; Baghdad summit, 268, 283, 288–89; Camp David Accords and, 268, 270; Egypt and, 156, 277; Geneva conference and, 44–45, 76, 81–82, 91, 95, 116–20, 124–25, 129; Iran revolution and, 301; Israel, recognition of, 64, 72; land ownership, in Israel, 160; moderate coalitions, 1, 39, 69, 74, 85; Muslim militancy, 347; nationalism, 58; negativity, U.S. response to, 275; peace treaty and, 301, 323, 340–41; Reagan administration and, 340–41; regional economic development, 59; United States and, 35, 345–51; U.S.-Israeli Working Paper and, 133, 142, 146, 157; as West Bank and Gaza trustees, 72, 92, 96, 105. See also Palestinians; names of specific countries and rulers

Arafat, Yasir: Camp David Accords, opposition to, 340; Camp David II with,...