Only Direct Talks by Arabs, Israelis Will Lead to Settlement, Walzer Says

The "shuttle diplomacy" that Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger'50 is using in the Middle East will be successful only if it results in direct negotiations between the Israeli and Arab governments, Michael L. Walzer, professor of Government, said last night.

Walzer told a Cambridge Forum audience of 35 that the problems of the Middle East have just been prolonged by outside intervention and that final solution requires "face-to-face military talks between the Israelis and the Arabs."

"The 'four' Middle East wars have really been one long 25-year war that the United Nations and the United States have temporarily halted with ceasefires," Walzer said.

"Each ceasefire, however, not only prevents a real and lasting settlement, but has allowed each side to prepare for the next 'war,'" Walzer said.

Since United States intervention in the October war of last year prevented Israel from gaining victory, Walzer said that "the United States must provide Israel with a surrogate for victory" by using its leverage to compel direct negotiations.

The question of boundaries, which "has been touted by the newspapers as the critical issue," is not as important as "public acknowledgement of Israel's sovereignty by the Arab states," Walzer said.

The United States "owes" Israel a settlement, Walzer said, and must be willing to supply Israel with "military credibility to maintain it."