Stanley H. Hoffmann, professor of Government, and Nadav Safran, professor of Government, both warned last night that if a settlement is not reached in the Middle East in the near future, all of the accomplishments of the "shuttle diplomacy" of Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger '50 will be lost.
Hoffmann and Safran, along with Steven D. Krasner, assistant professor of Government, participated in a symposium on American policy in the Mid-East before an audience of 150 in Burr Lecture Hall.
America Misguided
Hoffmann charged that American policy has been misguided by American efforts to singlehandedly bring about a settlement between Israel and the Arab nations.
"If a solution ever comes to the Middle East, it will have to come from within that part of the world," Hoffmann said.
He added that "an external force cannot build peace," and said he was pessimistic about American policy because it has been "over-personalized" by Kissinger.
"One cannot singlehandedly build a so-called stable structure of peace, as the United States, with Kissinger conducting the negotiations, has attempted to do," Hoffmann said.
Safran said that American policy in the Middle East has focused on side issues to divert attention from its inability to achieve a permanent settlement.
Both Safran and Hoffmann praised Kissinger's success at achieving the disengagement of Arab and Israeli forces after the October War. "The disengagement in Egypt and Syria averted a certain resumption of the war," Safran said.
Krasner said that the United States must realize that it cannot use military power to achieve economic objectives, and that the Arab oil cartel will not, in all likelihood, be broken in the next five years.
He also said that the Arab states will not be able to use economic power to achieve long-term political objectives. "Oil can only make an economic difference, not a political one," Krasner said.
He also said that America has a strong interest in not seeing Israel pressed to the wall. "Israel could militarily wreak havoc on the entire Middle East."
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