How Henry Kissinger mastered careful diplomacy in the Middle East

Judy Woodruff:

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was a central character in Israel era peace negotiations during the Nixon and Ford administrations.

A new book, "Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy," chronicles the challenges and strategy behind the scenes.

I spoke earlier with author and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk.

Martin Indyk, welcome to the "NewsHour." It's very good to have you with us. Congratulations on the book.

Let me ask you about what you have written here. We know Henry Kissinger, enormously influential figure in American foreign policy, and yet he's been out of office for, what, over 45 years. And people think of him, many do, in connection with China, Vietnam.

But you have chosen to focus on the Middle East. Why?

Martin Indyk, Author, "Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy": Well, two reasons, Judy.

And thank you very much for having me.

The first is that Kissinger's time as secretary of state, his four years as secretary of state, was essentially consumed with Middle East peacemaking. And that's not commonly understood.

But the second reason was a personal one. You know I have been involved in peacemaking, both in the Clinton administration and then in the Obama administration. And in the Clinton administration, it all blew up in our face. And in the Obama administration, when I was a special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, it failed again.

In fact, the parties were further apart at the end of the negotiations than at the beginning. And that was the last negotiations that's been held.

So, I wanted to go back and try to learn from the master of the game, which is the title of the book, how to make peace and how not to make peace, because he was so successful at laying the foundations of the Arab-Israeli peace process back in the 1970s.

Judy Woodruff:

You say he was successful at laying the foundation, and yet peace still eludes the Middle East.

There have been a movement here, a movement there, but it still isn't a reality. And you write about the art of diplomacy, as much as the strategy that he pursued. Why does that matter?

Martin Indyk:

Well, first of all, significant progress has been made. It depends on how you look at the glass.

But is — the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt and the two agreements that he negotiated between Israel and Egypt laid the foundations for the peace treaty, took Egypt out of the conflict with Israel. And then, he also — Kissinger also negotiated a disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria, which has lasted to this day, despite the collapse of order in Syria itself.

And those agreements enabled the Israel-Egypt peace treaty, eventually the Israel-Jordan peace treaty. The sticking point is with the Israelis and Palestinians. And Kissinger's approach was I think what we can learn from that period.

He was very cautious, incremental. He invented the concept of step-by-step diplomacy, because he was skeptical that both sides were actually ready to make the sacrifices that could produce agreement. And, therefore, he thought it required time and getting the parties used to making concessions to each other.

And Yitzhak Rabin, ironically, because he had stood up to Kissinger in the days when he was secretary of state, when he became prime minister, adopted a Kissingerian approach. And after Rabin was assassinated, we — and I was part of that effort — we jumped to try to end the conflict.

And every president since has been trying to end the conflict. And that was something that Kissinger would have never done, because he didn't believe the parties were ready. In fact, he was very wary of presidents who — American presidents who sought immortality by seeking to grasp the Holy Grail of Israeli-Palestinian peace.

So that's why I think the major lesson from his approach was, we need to take it more gradually, step by step, incrementally, and rebuild the confidence and trust.

Judy Woodruff:

Is that still what Henry Kissinger believes should be done today?

I know you, Martin Indyk, have written recently that you think the Biden administration needs to take an approach like Henry Kissinger's.

Martin Indyk:

Well, they essentially are, having exhausted the other possibilities.

You know, Joe Biden was vice president when I was the envoy working with the Secretary of State John Kerry. So, he saw up close how far the parties were apart. So, he's not enthusiastic to try to grasp that Holy Grail. In fact, he's got other priorities in other parts of the world, with the rise of China and climate change and so on.

But the Israeli government isn't prepared to move forward, because it's a left-right coalition, and they can't agree on what the outcome should be. And the Palestinian Authority is divided from Gaza with Fatah and Hamas fighting.

So, this is a moment in which Kissinger's incremental approach really makes sense.

Judy Woodruff:

One other element of Kissinger's approach was the essential nature of having the United States involved, of having an American role in the peace process.

Can there be peace in the Middle East, in his view, without a heavy American hand?

Martin Indyk:

The United States was a critical player because only the United States could persuade Israel to give up territory, which lubricated the peace process.

And that remains the case today in the central Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel controls all of the territory. And there is no other country other than the United States that can persuade Israel to do it.

And the book shows the way in which Kissinger used his arguments, not an imposed solution, but argued with the Israelis, with Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin, often using his arguments like a battering ram, until he finally wore them down and convinced them that it was in their interests not to trade territory for peace, but to trade territory for time, time to exhaust the Arabs and get them used to Israel, living with Israel, time for Israel to strengthen itself, so that it could make the concessions for peace.

And he was immensely successful in that regard. But the basic reality is still the case that the United States is the only country that can influence Israel to make those kinds of concessions.

Judy Woodruff:

It is quite a book, Martin Indyk's "Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy."

Thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Martin Indyk:

Thank you, Judy.