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INBRIEF
TWO STATESMEN
by
Stanley R. Rader
T
HE
popular cliché these
days is that the world no
longer has leaders of the
stature of Churchill, Adenauer or
de Gaulle. One historian, Ronald
.Steel , recently declared that we
are living in a time of "pygmies"
when it comes to leaders. Another
historian, Barbara Tuchman, has
said "these are not the times that
evoke great leadersb ip." Howev–
er, after accompanying Herbert
W. Armstrong on his recent and
most successful visit to the Mid–
dle East, 1 am now convinced that
there are at least two leaders in
the world wbo
do
fill the bill as
great statesmen.
Anwar Sadat radiates a bold
confidence every bit the worthy
of Churchill or de Gaulle. He is
willing to take risks- risks to his
own personal política/ position–
to create a peaceful , prosperous
Middle East. He is a man who
sees clearly the tremendous
potential in his own country, and
is willing to pursue a clear and
consistent path to see that that
potential is realized.
President Sadat's willingness to
do the dramatic- to take bold
risks- in pursuit of peace was
evident from the beginning of his
tenure of leadersbip. In
1971
he
attempted to jar the Middle East
out of stalemate with his tough
talk about the "year of decision."
The next year, he laid the founda–
tion for what later became the
Camp David Accords by evicting
bis Russian · advisers. By
1976,
Mr. Sadat had established him–
self as a man who was willing to
do what was necessary to achieve
a Middle Eas t settlement. Even
before his historie trip to Israel,
then- Israeli Fore ign Minister
Abba Eban was describing him as
a ."h istorie figure, " willing to
reduce tensions.
The trip to Jerusalem and the
February 198 1
establishment of ties to Israel in
1977
likewise followed Mr. Sa–
dat's pattern of bold and coura–
geous statecraft. The offer to go
to Jerusalem surprised even his
own wife. The trip and a year
later the Camp David Accords
have cost Egypt's leader support
among hard-line nations in the
Arab world- but they have been
broadly supported by the over–
whelming majority of the Egyp–
tian populace who have had to
bear mucb of the brunt of past
Arab-lsraeli hostility.
Perhaps there
is
no better
example of Mr. Sadat's striking
courage than his treatment of
Shah Reza Pahlavi of Iran.
At the time of the shah's ill–
ness,
J
ranian Foreign Minister
Sadegh Ghotbzadeh threatened
there would be a "great deal of
trouble in Egypt" if the shah
were allowed refuge there. While
much of the rest of the world
cringed , President S adat was
undeterred. The shab carne to
Egypt after being treated like a
pariah by bis former friends in
the West. Later, whe;n the shah
died , Mr. Sadat was defiant ly
alone among the world's leaders
in having the personal courage to
march in the funeral procession in
Cairo.
Lesser
~en,
confronted with
Egypt's overwhelming economic
problems would have resorted to
looking for a scapegoat- Is rael–
on which to divert attention from
their problems. But Mr. Sadat
has been willing to take construc–
tive action- bold peace efforts to
allow the country to channel its
resources away from war and into
peaceful economic investment.
When the final hístory of the
20th century is wrítten, my bet is
that Anwar Sadat will go down as
one of our era's truly outstanding
leaders.
Israelí Prime Mínister Me na–
chem Begin is líkewise a towering
figure among world le ade rs.
Much has been written , of course,
about Mr. Begin ' s s upposed
intransigence on such issues as
Is raelí settlements on the West
Bank. But one must remember
that the very existence of the
state of Israel is always at stake in
Middle East negotia tions. Ac–
cordingly, Mr. Begin has chosen
to err on the side of caut ion: the
first duty of any leader is the
preservat ion of his nat ion and
people, and Mr. Begin is a man
who will not sacrifice the security
of Israel for a few favorable head–
lines.
Mr. Begin possesses, as
few
leaders in the world today possess,
a clear sense of his own nation 's
purpose and identity. T o under–
stand Menachem Begin, one must
reali ze that he is the only leader on
the world scene who has personall y
endured the terrors of imprison–
ment in a Siberían concentration
camp, or experienced the heart–
break of knowing his own father,
motber, brother and sister per–
ished in one of Hitl.e r 's death
camps. Thus Mr. Begin under–
stands, as few others can, just how
precious is the continued existence
of the state of Israel and the J ewish
people.
His overriding sense of J ewish
identity manifests itself" in bis
personal faith as well. He is a
devout , Orthodox Jew, wh o
ascríbes his recovery from a heart
attack in
1979
as a direct result of
God's intervention.
The Western press has under–
rated Mr. Begin's ability to com–
promise, and create harmony and
agreement. Yet jus( before the
1967
war, Mr. Begin was instru–
mental in helping to form the
Government of Nationa l Unity at
a time of deep political crisis. Mr .
Begin's own persistence at Camp
David in reaching important com–
promises has not yet received the
full credit in the Western press it
is due.
Like P resident Sadat, Mr .
Begin is a ma n of courage. He
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