The Chemistry Worked

SADAT'S JOURNEY IS A SUCCESS, trumpeted Cairo's al Ahram. A predictable reaction for a government-controlled paper, to be sure. But true enough, for the host as well as his guest.

Jimmy Carter and Anwar Sadat had never met before, so they boned up on each other before the Egyptian President arrived in Washington last week. Sadat, the first in a series of Arab leaders whom Carter will meet this spring (next: Jordan's King Hussein and Syria's President Hafez Assad), had wondered, for example, whether Carter's commitment to Christianity obtruded on his views of the Middle East (Answer: no). Carter had commented to an aide that from his reading Sadat appeared to be "a fascinating character." One foreign policy aide gave Carter a short lecture on the importance that Arabs attach to good personal chemistry between leaders.

In this case, the chemistry seemed to work well. The two men spent a total of five hours in discussions, including an hour alone in Carter's private study following a "working dinner" in the Egyptian's honor. At the close of the three-day visit, Sadat pronounced himself satisfied with the results. In a TV interview, he declared warmly, if not quite idiomatically, that Carter was a "sweet" man who had gone "straight to my heart."

Not that the two agreed on all particulars. Carter has suggested that in a Middle East settlement Israel might be permitted to maintain some kind of defense lines beyond its actual borders. Nothing doing, said Sadat. "Sovereignty is indivisible. We can't have two borders." Sadat did soften his position.on Israel, however, saying that he envisaged full normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab states within about five years of the signing of a peace agreement. Previously, he had said only that Israel's security would be guaranteed, not that normal diplomatic relations would be established. Sadat pressed Carter hard to recognize and deal with the Palestine Liberation Organization, and was obviously pleased at week's end when Carter declared that the Palestinians should have a spokesman at a reconvened Geneva peace conference.

Further Evidence. Sadat told Defense Secretary Harold Brown of Egypt's desire to buy F-5E fighter planes and TOW antitank missiles from the U.S. He got no firm answer, and probably will not until the National Security Council completes a review of foreign arms sales later this month.

Even if he does not get the hardware, Sadat will count the visit a success. "All in all," reported TIME Correspondent Wilton Wynn from Cairo, "the trip is viewed from here as further evidence that Sadat's policy of moderation and seeking the closest of ties with the U.S. has been vindicated."

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