Diplomacy: An Agreement To Disagree

An Agreement To Disagree

Outside the State Department, a knot of conservative protesters shouted, "Tambo, go home!" and "The A.N.C. means the KGB!" Inside, Secretary of State George Shultz was closeted with Oliver Tambo, the leader of South Africa's outlawed black revolutionary organization, the African National Congress. It was the first time a senior U.S. official had met with a leader of the banned A.N.C., and marked a broadening of the Administration's policy of "constructive engagement" with the South African government.

Both men approached the meeting with a determination not to budge on matters of principle. Shultz, interested in exploring a U.S. role as mediator...

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