Lack of U.S. Efforts Said to Stall Mideast Peace Process

Former U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance blamed the lack of American initiatives for stalling the Middle East peace process. “Whatever the reasons, we have permitted serious negotiations on the core issues to languish and wither to a point where virtually nothing is happening,” Vance told a Haifa University audience last week.

The American diplomat who served in the Carter Administration said “The cruel fact is that no real, substantive negotiations on either the West Bank, Gaza or the Palestinian question have taken place for many many months.” He cautioned against the “polarity” he said was inherent in the foreign policies of the U.S. and Israel despite their “unique relationship.”

“If U.S. policy is so dominated with preoccupation with East-West rivalry that we fail to devote proper attention to helping resolve the problems of the Middle East, the chances for progress in that endeavor are diminished and our relations with Israel are strained,” he said. “If Israel places primary emphasis on military solutions and on maintaining the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, our relationship is also strained.”

He agreed that both countries must remain strong in order to deter aggression. “But both must recognize that military domination can never produce enduring security,” he said.

Vance, who was Secretary of State at the time of the Camp David accords, said the U.S. believed there must be time for all parties to the Middle East conflict to learn to co-exist before final decisions can be made about the future of the occupied territories. “In saying this, I underscore the words ‘full autonomy’. Nothing less will permit achievement of the goals set at Camp David,” he said.