Superambassador with clout
Even before Egypt raised its flag over El Arish, Ambassador-at-Large Robert S. Strauss, 60, was raising his own in Washington. President Carter's special envoy to the Middle East talks on Palestinian autonomy began serving notice that he intends to play a dominant role. "I've got a mandate from the President," he told TIME Correspondent Richard Bernstein. "I consider myself a full partner with him and the Secretary of State." In mid-May, Strauss announced that he would make his first visit to Cairo and Jerusalem in his new role at the end of June, two months earlier than he originally...