Diplomacy: Postcards from an Edgy Trip

By J.F.O. MCALLISTER with BAKER

While Secretary of State James Baker's plane taxied toward waiting dignitaries in Cairo two weeks ago, a senior official hurried to the rear of the cabin on a damage-control mission. Earlier that day Jordan's King Hussein had endorsed Baker's peace odyssey, but without publicly committing himself to joining the regional conference Baker was pushing. Journalists aboard Baker's plane, however, thought the more compelling story was that Saudi Arabia -- touted by Washington for months as the keystone of a new moderate Arab alliance -- would not attend the conference as a full member. The official tried to persuade the reporters that King Hussein's warm but vague words deserved the headlines. "Fasten your seat belts -- emergency spin control," cracked one reporter.

But even the most accomplished spinners could not turn Baker's nine-country, 12-day journey into a whirling success. No leader told Baker to get lost, but none gave him a good reason to stick around either. Journalists on the trip dubbed Baker the "Secretary of Stealth" for refusing to outline his overall strategy. But his broad goals are clear. He is trying to convene a conference under whose umbrella Israel would talk directly to Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. Also present would be Palestinian representatives, seeking to enhance their political power in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. If the Palestinians could be satisfied, Baker believes, Syria and Jordan could bury their differences with Israel. So could other Arab states like Saudi Arabia, now slated to attend the parley in some adjunct status.

But nearly everything about this conference -- its structure, members and agenda -- is in dispute. Syria, for example, insists that the U.N. play an "important role," the better to pressure Israel into withdrawing from the occupied territories. But Israel does not trust the U.N., and has rejected any role for it, preferring that Washington and Moscow co-sponsor an opening session and then let Israel, the Arabs and the Palestinians confer on their , own. A possible compromise may have the European Community, which lusts after more diplomatic clout, replacing or joining the U.N. Israel also refuses to talk with any Palestinians connected with the P.L.O. or who live in East Jerusalem, which Israel insists is not part of the occupied West Bank. But the Palestinians with whom the U.S. has been meeting do not want Israel to hold veto power over their delegation.

Baker, who hates to see his name and the word failure in the same news story, abandoned his first peace effort a year ago because of Israeli intransigence. Last week flashes of frustration occasionally cracked through his self-discipline. He slept poorly, acted testy with reporters after a 9 1/ 2-hour session with Syrian President Hafez Assad and went running to let off steam.

Baker insists that the outcome of the gulf war has opened a "window of opportunity" for peace in the region, and to some degree he is right. The P.L.O. is in disarray and is no longer heavily subsidized by Arab states. King Hussein, who supported Saddam Hussein, needs to work his way back into Washington's favor to get U.S. aid flowing again. The Soviet Union, Syria's longtime patron, now supports the American strategy, seeing the Middle East as a low-cost arena for building up credit with Washington. That support was crystallized in Soviet Foreign Minister Alexander Bessmertnykh's announcement that Moscow would co-sponsor the peace conference, which will require it to restore full diplomatic ties with Israel first. He is planning a Baker-like circuit of the Middle East in early May and is expected to visit Israel.

But the window of opportunity has opened only a crack, and can easily slam shut again. During Baker's journey, Israelis inaugurated two new settlements in the occupied territories -- a remarkable slap in the face to the Secretary of State. Arab governments, especially those that cooperated with the U.S. during the gulf war, "are now feeling domestic pressure to be more Arab than ever," says Robert Keeley, president of the Middle East Institute in Washington. Jordan, Syria and the Palestinians are sidestepping the question of whether they would join the talks; only Egypt has said yes. And while Moscow's cooperation is welcomed, the U.S.S.R. has little leverage in the Middle East, certainly not enough to deliver Syria or the Palestinians.

At least the Secretary of State has kept his sense of humor. Before meeting Bessmertnykh in Kislovodsk, Baker was given a tour of the Caucasus Mountain resort. Standing atop limestone cliffs, he was asked how clearly he could see peace ahead. He gestured toward vast Mount Elbrus in the distance and deadpanned, "I can see things extraordinarily clearly." The peak was barely visible through the afternoon haze.