A Dance of Many Veils: Shultz and Arafat

Shultz and Arafat reached common ground only after intense prodding by their allies, Swedish mediators -- and a nudge from George Bush

On successive days last week, George Shultz's senior Middle East aides gathered in a small private room that abuts the Secretary's spacious office on the seventh floor of the U.S. State Department. On Tuesday executive assistant Charles Hill, Under Secretary Michael Armacost, Assistant Secretary for Middle East Affairs Richard Murphy and counsellor Max Kampelman clustered around a TV set to watch Yasser Arafat's United Nations speech in Geneva. By the time Shultz walked in near the end of the speech, the glum group had already prepared a single-page memo. "There was no dispute; there were no differences," says a participant. "Arafat's...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!