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Once talks begin in earnest, however, Kissinger can become deadly serious and wholly pragmatic. Says one Middle Eastern diplomat: "He does not make value judgments. The question for him is not who is right and who is wrong. The question is what in reality can be achieved under the prevailing circumstances." Kissinger frequently stage-manages negotiations to produce the right kind of "atmospherics." Said Costa Rica's Foreign Minister Gonzalo Facio, after the Mexico City conference: "When he has a tough response, he lays it on gently but clearly. But when he has good news, he warms up like a Viennese good fairy, all sugar plums and Schlag [whipped cream]."
Five-Minute Deal. The Schlag is more than topping. In Geneva last December, Egypt almost scotched the first meeting of the U.N.-sponsored talks with Israel on disengagement by objecting to the seating arrangements. The Egyptians demanded an empty table between themselves and the Israelis for distance, with the Israelis sitting next to the Americans like satellites. The Israelis bluntly refused. At that point, recalls one participant, Kissinger "entered the room smiling and cracking jokes. He exclaimed what a pleasure it was to see Abba Eban. (They had breakfasted together.) Grabbing Eban by an elbow, Kissinger took him aside. The Egyptians were in a bind, Kissinger explained. They were embarrassed because the Syrians had refused to join the talks and needed to avoid the appearance of being too easy with the Israelis. Would the Israelis consent to make some adjustments in the seating? 'You don't like the empty table? No? What about another plan, an arrangement that would place the Israelis between the Russians and the U.N. delegation?' If the Israelis agreed, he would try the idea on the Egyptians. In five minutes, a deal was reached, and the talks moved ahead with the Israelis next to the Soviets and the Egyptians alongside the Americans in a symbolically important game of political musical chairs. The ice had been broken largely by Kissinger's warm personality and, even in this relatively minor dispute, his accurate sensing of what each side could or could not yield on."
Background Music. As part of his "atmospherics," Kissinger at times unabashedly uses the American press corps that travels with him aboard Air Force Two. During the shuttle flights between Jerusalem and Aswan in January, which eventually led to disengagement along the Suez Canal, the press was an integral part of Kissinger's diplomatic gap closing. Whenever he was asked how far along the negotiations had come, Kissinger would answer, "Oh, 60% completed." The next time it was 75% and the next 90%. As the two sides kept reading these daily stories, they could not help being nudged into believing that a settlement was nearly at hand. "He played the press like a cello," recalls one reporter. "We created all the background music he needed."