The ballad of Camp David

摘要

Ehud barak and Yasser Arafat have failed, so far, to make peace at Camp David. But whichever way their peace conference eventually ends, both men have striven mightily to persuade their respective publics that they are putting up a grand fight. Therein lies whatever chance they have of fighting again—and surviving as the leaders of their people if the Camp David talks do finally break up without an agreement. The meeting almost did end that way on the night of July 19th. The White House glumly announced its conclusion, only to retract an hour later, after the two sides had been persuaded to stay and talk more, under Madeleine Albright, the secretary of state, while Bill Clinton flew to Okinawa for the G8 summit. "There should be no illusions as to the status of the talks," the president cautioned before leaving. "The gaps remain substantial. But nobody wanted to give up."