Volume 19, Number 3 · August 31, 1972
Where Was Nixon When Sadat Gave the Russians the Boot?
By I.F. Stone
Nixon's trade and credit negotiations with Moscow have bought him a free hand in the Middle East. This is the real meaning of President Sadat's action in expelling most of the Soviet military from Egypt. The carrot-and-stick tactics which led both Moscow and Peking to continue their rapprochement with Nixon despite the escalated bombing and mining of North Vietnam's harbors have proven fruitful, too, in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Sadat's shift reflects his recognition that Moscow will not assume the risk of backing Egypt in a new military effort to regain its lost territories, and that the key to their recovery now lies with Washington, and with Tel Aviv. The tactics that made it possible to escalate the bloodshed with impunity in the Far East have also set the stage for peaceful negotiations in the Middle East.
Feature, 3743 words
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