NEWS
LEAPIN' LIZARDS
No Peace Process Means
Danger, Warns Habib
.
JOSEPH AARON
Special to the Jewish Times
he problem with the Mid-
dle East peace process at
the moment, says Philip
Habib, isn't teat there's no
rwanria
Tt's that there's no
process.
And it is when there's no pro-
cess, said Habib, President
Reagan's former Middle East en-
voy, that there is trouble. Such
as the recent sabre-rattling go-
ing on between Syria and Israel.
In a rare interview, Habib said
that "the most important thing
is that there is always a process
going on. If not, things get out
of hand, dangers appear, im-
moderate types have more to
say, crises erupt, threats escalate
and that sometimes leads to war.
An ongoing process diminishes
the chances for a crisis."
Syria is at the center of two
potential crises in the Middle
East, Habib said, noting both
its movement of equipment and
troops nearer the Israeli border
and its involvement in recent
terrorist actions.
As for the latter, Habib said
that "evidence will soon emerge
that will show clearly "Syria's
backing of the attempt to blow
up an El Al plane leaving Lon-
don and in the bombing of a
disco in Berlin. And, he said,
"when we show a clear connec-
tion between those actions and
Syrian participation, the U.S. is
prepared to act."
How it will act is something
Habib won't say. But, he said, it
doesn't necessarily have to be in
the same way the U.S. acted
against Libya. "We need to go
through the options and see
what we're trying to achieve. We
won't always do the same thing.
With Libya, the actions are very
clear. The Syrians are more
shadowy. We also have other ob-
jectives in dealing with the
Syrians."
Such as making sure it doesn't
start a war with Israel. Habib
said he doesn't think Syrian
President Assad will, but it
might. "Assad understands very
well that he can't win a war and
so I don't think he will initiate
action. But if he feels pressed, he
will react very violently. We need
to take the threat very ser-
iously."
And, said Habib, both the U.S.
and Israel are doing just that.
"Israel is taking the necessary
measures. If they consider
Syrian moves a threat to their
security, Israel will act."
All of which adds up to "a
hope that something is done to
defuse the situation."
And that something, Habib
said, is for the U.S. to "find the
occasion to begin a new phase to
solve the problems of the Middle
East." Problems, he said, that
are solveable. "It won't be easy
but any problem caused by hu-
man beings can be solved by
human beings. We have to con-
tinue to try to put the pieces
together."
T
The key, Habib said, "is to
maintain optimism and great
patience. We need to have ongo-
ing efforts that will bring about
the coming together of those
who can solve the issues that ex-
ist and bring the peace that all
rational peple hope for."
Ana
hac the
major responsibility for that.
"The U.S. can't give up even if
others do. We have a unique role
and responsibility in the search
for peace. Both sides welcome
us. The Arabs, becuase they
believe only we have influence
with Israel and Israel because it
knows the U.S. is totally com-
mitted to its survival."
The starting point for the U.S.,
Habib said, should be the
Reagan peace plan of 1982. "We
need to keep the 'land for peace'
image alive. The important
thing is security, not turf.
What's important is whether or
not Israel is secure. And it can
do that without keeping all the
land. What the hell good is
Gaza?"
Whatever the plan, he said,
the main thing is that there's
always some plan being con-
sidered. "Sooner or later some-
one will find a formula that will
convince people to come to the
table. We always need to look for
it, always have to try to produce
it."
Habib said the biggest ob-
stacle to any plan is "the
unbelievable rise in terrorism."
But, he said, the U.S. action in
Libya "produced the results in-
tended. We made it clear that
there are no more free rides. It
has also made the subject a big-
ger concern for Western Europe,
leading to more cooperation and
more focus on the problem."
Another obstacle to peace,
Habib said, is the Soviet Union
which is interested "only in
weakening the influence of the
U.S., replacing the presence of
the U.S., changing the nature of
the relationship between the
countries of the area and the
U.S. They shouldn't be involved
in negotiation. They have no
capacity to help make peace."
And while he would say the
same thing about the PLO,
Habib said, it won't be as easy
to keep it out of the process.
"The PLO can't be ignored.
Yassir Arafat is still looked upon
by a very substantial part of
Palestinians in and out of the
West Bank, as their leader. He
will continue to have an impor-
tant part to play."
And speaking of leaders,
Israel now has Labor's Shimon
Peres but will soon have Likud's
Yitzhak Shamir. Which is why
Habib would like to see things
start happening and fast. "I
think it would be very good if
the peace process came to
fruition while Labor is in power.
They can then say to Likud, 'Are
you coming or not?' If not,
Labor can then say, 'Let's go to
the people.' Israel has to have an
election where the peace process
is the principle issue."
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