The Reconciliation of President Jimmy Carter

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At certain moments, Carter’s personal involvement rescued the peace process as when, for instance, he persuaded Sadat to stay at Camp David after Egypt’s President threatened to walk away on day three and day eleven.

Whatever challenges emerged, Carter kept the parties together and managed to see the negotiations through because he worked tirelessly by playing “the role of draftsman, strategist, therapist, friend, adversary, and mediator”. For thirteen days, Carter did something that was quite unprecedented whereby he set aside his other responsibilities and duties to work exclusively on the Arab-Israeli conflict. The outcome from this remarkable adventure in summitry was the Camp David Accords. The Accords involved two framework agreements that were very weakly linked to one another. One accord offered general guidelines on how to resolve the Palestinian issue, whereas the other was specific and would serve as the basis for the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. While the outcome of Camp David was a stretch from the comprehensive peace Carter had wanted, it was a diplomatic breakthrough.

Since 1979, the peace Carter helped negotiate has not only endured but it has withstood countless tests, including Sadat’s assassination in 1981, the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in 1982, the Arab Spring in 2011, the election of President Mohamed Morsi in 2012, and the recent spate of terrorist attacks in the Sinai Peninsula. Despite some disputes in Arab-Israeli tensions and Egypt’s changes in leadership and political conflict, the peace treaty has held after almost four decades. This is representing a stabilizing force in a region that is too often stained by turmoil and instability.

The 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, was a leader that was able to bring together two fighting “factions” and create some peace. He saw the opportunity to be able to step in and make reconciliation between the Egyptians and the Israelis. There were challenges that arose during the process which President Carter dealt with in the manner that was most efficient. There was some outrage in his bold moves that he told, but in the end he was able to accomplish the purpose of the task.