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Yet compromises, in Carter's words, "will be mandatory. Without them,
no progress can be expected. Flexibility will be the essence of our
hopes."
The news media are stressing that the :�urnmit will be a crucial test
of Carter's diplomatic skill; whether he will be able to exert
leverage without straining relations with either Israel or Egypt to
the breaking point. If the past record of the President's states
manship and "diplomatic skill" is any indication,· we may as well
prepare for the worst. The one U.S. "ace in the hole," however,
could be a proposal by Carter to station American troops in the West
Bank and Sinai regions as part of a peace settlement.
Most observers are hoping, at best, for a recommitment to continue
the negotiations. The consequences of failure to achieve even this
are viewed with fear in all quarters. There would be the possibility
of renewed and escalating violence on the part of Palestinian groups;
the possibility of a squeeze on oil supplies to the West (Saudi
Arabia has hinted at the use of the "oil weapon"); the possibility
of new Soviet incursions into the Arab world; and the most feared
possibility of all -- another bloody Mideast conflagration, the most
disastrous and destructive to date.
Much rides, therefore, on the outcome of the summit. Possibly the
spectre of the dire consequences of failure could compel some modicum
of success at Camp David. That is the hope; that is Carter's gamble.
The next few days will tell whether his gamble was successful. The
odds, however, are not good.
--Gene H. Hogberg, News Bureau
POSTSCRIPT to our two previous Pastor's Report accounts about the
papal election, and Giovanni Cardinal Benelli in particular. Benelli,
according to TIME magazine of September 4, 1978, was one of two pivo
tal personalities in promoting the candidacy of Albino Cardinal
Luciani, now Pope John Paul I. Reported TIME: "At 57, Benelli proved
too young to be Pope. Still, he seemed to be the leading Pope-maker
of the 1978 conclave, and figures to be a prime contender at the next
one."
--G.H.H.