Camp David: Clinton-Barak-Arafat

I just finished watching a fascinating documentary on the ABC, Israel & The Arabs: Elusive Peace, Part 1: Clinton.

Of course, I would never miss a program that contains "Clinton" in the title, but I've always felt ignorant when it comes to issues concerning the Middle East. Hence, I wanted to take the opportunity to learn.

I'd known that President Clinton had come very close to guiding Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat towards a peace agreement for Israel and Palestine. Indeed, Clinton spent some time discussing the subject when I saw him speak during his brief visit to Brisbane in 2002. But this documentary, helped by first-hand accounts from prominent players including the former president and Madeleine Albright (who I love listening to), provided an excellently detailed insight.

The leaders came excruciatingly close to a resolution. Held all over the place, the meetings could last for either a few minutes or for hours on end, with foreign ministers, ambassadors, speechwriters and interpreters never far away. Several proposals were drawn up, with the leaders agreeing one day, and refusing to talk the next. There is literature available everywhere for anyone who wants to know more, suffice to say that Arafat rejected Clinton's final proposed plan, presented to the leaders in the last month of the presidency.

A couple of days before leaving office, Clinton received a phone call from Yasser Arafat. According to Clinton himself, Arafat said "You are a great man", to which the outgoing president replied "The hell I am. I am a colossal failure, and you made me one."

Credit needs to be given to Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright for their dedication over those months during both 1999 and 2000, right up until the final days of the presidency. They weren't exactly dealing with the two most co-operative people on the planet, and they had certainly been under no obligation to invite the pair to Camp David. I realise that not all of you are Clinton fans, but perhaps it is the incompetence of the current US administration that makes me appreciate his efforts so much more.

It was, frankly, very sad to discover how close peace appeared to be, particularly when you see the hell that breaks loose there on a daily basis today.