The Trust Builder

The secret of his success, says former U.S. Diplomat Averell Harriman, is his special gift of understanding "the other man's point of view," thereby gaining the precious element of trust. No talent is more vital in the Middle East, and Philip Charles Habib, 61, has so far used it impressively during his eleven-week mission. Says one Israeli admirer: "If he hears the word no, he pretends he hasn't heard it."

Habib, the tough, salty son of a Lebanese grocer in Brooklyn, entered the Foreign Service in 1949 and three years later earned a Ph.D. in...

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