Pressure on President Ronald Reagan to appoint special envoy for Middle East increases

Nato's Leftist NightmareCarterLeft wing groups and ecologists in western Europe have hammered out a mutual plan of action against Nato's decision to deploy Cruise and Pershing missiles in 1983. The plan covers a three-year period and goes far beyond the kind of massive demonstrations that have recently been staged in Bonn and London.The plan initially calls for the application of political pressure on governments to block the deployment of the American missiles. The second stage of the plan, which will be launched early next year, calls for sit-in demonstrations at entrances to West German and US military bases including hunger strikes. The campaigners are also hoping to convince workers in armament factories and military bases to down tools. The thrust behind the campaign comes from the West German communist party (DKP), which is mainly financed by East Germany. The DKP has been successful in its efforts to team up with the ecology groups and the other anti-nuclear groups like the Dutch Inter-Church Peace Council and the "Slop the Neutron Bomb" movement. However, West German intelligence sources are convinced that the only reason for the DKP's anti-missile stand is its instructions from East Germany directing the party to disrupt Nato's missile programme and at the same lime collect information on future sites of the Pershing and Cruise missiles.Shuttle Diplomacy SweepstakesHabib: super envoys?The pressure on US President Ronald Reagan to appoint a special envoy for the Middle East in a bid to break the stalemate over the peace talks has increased dramatically following the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. So far, Reagan has resisted the pressure under the advice of his Secretary of State, Alexander Haig, who insists on dealing with all important policy decisions himself.Haig, it is widely known, has no affection for special envoys who report directly to the White House. But with Sadat's death, say reports from Washington. Reagan is now likely to overrule Haig's objections and announce the appointment shortly.One of the leading candidates for the post was Reagan's predecessor, Jimmy Carter, who has been dropping subtle hints that he is available for the job. Carter's candidature has been supported by a number of White House advisers simply because of his intimate knowledge of the Camp David peace process. But Carter has two major strikes against him. For one, it would be unprecedented to have a former president and the unofficial leader of the Democratic Party representing a Republican President in delicate foreign policy negotiations. The second disqualification is of Carter's own making and involves his recent statement flying back from Sadat's funeral in which he said that the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) should be involved in the peace process. The Israelis are certain to veto his appointment after that statement.The most likely candidate is the former diplomat Philip Habib, who arranged the Israeli-pLO ceasefire earlier this year. Habib is acceptable to both sides and, like Carter, is dedicated to bringing the peace process in the Middle East to a successful conclusion. His only stumbling block is Haig who will make every effort to block the nomination. But with Reagan badly in need of a foreign policy coup, it is likely that Habib will be recruited shortly.Silicon SecretsThe principal espionage target for the Soviets as far as America is concerned has always been military-oriented. No longer. According to intelligence sources, Russian espionage agents operating in the US have been given another priority target - advanced technology of the type that the US will not sell. The first indication of this surfaced when Marc Andre DeGeyter, a Belgian working for the KGB. was arrested at Kennedy Airport after he handed over a $ 500,000 (Rs 45 lakh) cheque to an undercover FBI agent. DeGeyter was under the impression that he was buying the design of a highly sensitive super-silicon chip, called a source code, capable of storing enormous quantities of data. Under interrogation, DeGeyter confessed that he had been instructed by his KGB bosses to go all out to try and obtain blueprints or designs of sensitive technological equipment, specially micro-computers, micro-electronics, semi-conductors, lasers, optical fibres and integrated circuits. DeGeyter also admitted that other Soviet agents had been issued the same instructions. US intelligence sources estimate that at least one-third of the 3,000 Soviet and East European diplomats in the US are currently involved in the campaign and also believe that many of them have been successful. The main focus of attention has been the area south of San Francisco, popularly known as "Silicon Valley" where hundreds of electronic and computer companies are currently involved in highly advanced research, many of them on classified, top secret projects.Iraq's Nuclear StalemateTalks between the French and the Iraqi Governments on the rebuilding of Iraq's nuclear reactor, destroyed by the Israeli raid last June, have reached a stalemate according to latest intelligence reports. The main hurdle seems to be Iraq's insistence that France should guarantee the military security of the proposed reactor. Israel has already made it clear that it will attack a rebuilt plant. Till now, the French had tentatively agreed to rebuild the reactor in a mountainous area where it would be less vulnerable to another Israeli raid. But that is not the only bone of contention since Saudi Arabia is involved as well. The Saudis, apart from providing part finance for the rebuilding, also want to ensure that the location meets with their approval. They were highly embarrassed by the fact that the Israeli F-16s flew over Saudi Arabian territory with impunity on their way to bomb the Iraqi reactor and they are determined to avoid a repeat performance.The other hurdle is over the type of uranium to be supplied if they agree to rebuild the plant. The French are keen to limit the supplies to low grade experimental material known as caramel which cannot be used for military purposes and are also reportedly insisting on other safeguards to ensure that the plant would be used for peaceful purposes only.Iraq, as the French know very well, has trained technicians capable of shifting the reactor from a civilian to a military stage without too much trouble. So far, however, no specific deal has been signed but the French may not be able to stall much longer. Both Iraq and Saudi Arabia are of vital importance. Iraq because it represents a major export market for France and Saudi Arabia, which supplies France with more than half of its oil requirements.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Oct 25, 2013 14:37 IST--- ENDS ---

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Pressure on President Ronald Reagan to appoint special envoy for Middle East increases

The pressure on US President Ronald Reagan to appoint a special envoy for the Middle East in a bid to break the stalemate over the peace talks has increased dramatically following the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

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