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Israel, which has never been allowed to send a ship through the canal, was wary. For one thing, the Israelis consider the waterway an ideal tank ditch against any Egyptian cross-canal movements. The farthest that Israeli troops would probably withdraw from the Bar-Lev Line would be to an area from which they could see or hear Egyptian or Russian troops crossing the canal in strength. Israel indicated last week that it would also oppose the rebuilding of bridges over the canal. Moreover, Israel insisted that it would consider a Suez settlement as a separate agreement, and not the beginning of any wholesale Israeli withdrawal from other occupied territories—the rest of Sinai, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank of the Jordan River, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. More than that, Israel demanded ironbound guarantees from the U.S. that if there were any cross-canal troop movements, Washington would 1) veto any Security Council resolution censuring Israeli retaliation and 2) provide direct support if Israel proved unable to cope with the situation.
With such conflicting points of view, another stand-off seemed to be in the making when Rogers hove into view last week, the first Secretary of State to pay calls in the area since John Foster Dulles in 1953. In visiting Egypt, he also became the first Secretary of State to call on a nation with which the U.S. has no formal diplomatic relations; Nasser severed them in 1967. In Cairo, Rogers spent nearly seven hours talking with Foreign Minister Mahmoud Riad and Premier Mahmoud Fawzi. Afterward, he spent an hour re laxing at the palm-fringed pool of the Nile Hilton Hotel. Refreshed by a night time visit to the Sphinx and the Pyramids, Rogers next morning met with Sadat for two hours and 45 minutes. Flying on to Israel, Rogers held two meetings with Premier Golda Meir and her advisers. Said one Israeli who happened to be outside Mrs. Meir's Jerusalem of fice while the first meeting was still going on: "It sounded like a family fight. I thought they were going to come to blows."
September Deadline
In his exchanges with both sides, Rogers noted barely perceptible signs of give. The Egyptians indicated that the military force on the east bank need not be terribly large. In a second, two-hour-and-50-minute discussion with Mrs. Meir, Rogers was told that Israel might not object if nonmilitary Egyptians crossed the canal; there were hints that policemen might be considered nonmilitary. The question, of course, was whether Cairo would accept such a limitation on its sovereignty. By week's end, when he headed for Rome and then home, Rogers was sufficiently encouraged to announce that he was sending Sisco back to Cairo this week to discuss still more details.
There is real concern in Egypt and Israel alike that unless some progress is made on the Suez plan, fighting may break out again by September. That is when the summer heat begins to abate. It is also when the three-nation Arab federation is scheduled to come into existence, and at least one of the founders, Libya's mercurial Gaddafi, will be putting pressure on Sadat to take some action against Israel. Sadat told Rogers that if there are no results by September, he anticipates tremendous domestic pressure to resume fighting.