>>> 40 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH, AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT TOOK A RISK,
BRINGING TOGETHER THE LEADERS OF
TWO HISTORIC BITTER ENEMIES FOR
A HIGH STAKES MISSION.
FAILURE COULD HAVE MEANT WAR.
YET, JIMMY CARTER AND HIS TEAM
ORCHESTRATED AN ENDURING
AGREEMENT, THE CAMP DAVID
ACCORDS, A SUCCESSFUL FIRST STEP
FOR A REGION THAT IS STILL IN
NEED OF BRAVE DIPLOMATS LIKE THE
ONES BACK IN 1978.
WAR AFTER WAR AFTER WAR, IN THE
MIDDLE OF THE LAST CENTURY EGYPT
AND ISRAEL SPENT DECADES
FIGHTING OVER TERRITORY AND
SECURITY.
SECURITY. IN 1978, JIMMY CARTER, AN
EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN PUT HIS
PRESTIGE ON THE LINE.
>> A FRAMEWORK FOR PEACE IN THE
MIDDLE EAST.
MIDDLE EAST. >> CARTER WROTE LONG AND
PERSONAL LETTERS TO THE ISRAELI
AND EGYPTIAN HEAD OF STATE,
BEGGING THE ENEMIES TO COME TO
AMERICA AND TALK.
>> THE CHALLENGE IS TREMENDOUS.
>> THEY AGREED, SETTING THE
STAGE FOR A NEGOTIATION AT THE
PRESIDENT’S WILDERNESS RESIDENT,
CAMP DAVID.
CAMP DAVID. >> AT CAMP DAVID ON A MARYLAND
MOUNTAIN TOP --
>> ALMOST NEVER IN OUR HISTORY
HAS A PRESIDENT DEVOTED SO MUCH
TIME ON A SINGLE PROBLEM.
>> CARTER STUDIED PSYCHOLOGICAL
PROFILES OF THE MEN PREPARED BY
THE CIA AND STATE DEPARTMENT.
>> A CONSERVATIVE WHO LED A
MILITANT GROUP AT THE OUTSET HAD
A LOOSE GRIP ON POWER.
SADAT KNOWN FOR HIS REALISM,
POLITICAL ACUMEN AND CAPACITY
FOR SURPRISING COURAGEOUS AND
DRAMATIC DECISIONS.
DRAMATIC DECISIONS. WITH TWO FIERCE ADVERSARIES, MY
FATHER ADVISED THE PRESIDENT YOU
WILL HAVE TO CONTROL THE
PROCEEDINGS FROM THE OUTSET.
CARTER DID JUST THAT.
>> AT THE REQUEST OF PRESIDENT
QUARTER BEGIN IS MAKING NO
POLITICAL STATEMENTS.
POLITICAL STATEMENTS. >> NEGOTIATING WITH EACH OTHER
AND NOT THROUGH THE PRESS.
CARTER’S CLAMPDOWN MADE WHAT WAS
HAPPENING INSIDE A MYSTERY TO
MOST REPORTERS.
MOST REPORTERS. >> NEXT TO NOTHING OF WHAT THEY
HAVE SAID HAS DONE OUTSIDE CAMP
DAVID’S FENCES.
DAVID’S FENCES. >> THE ISRAELI DELEGATION IS
TOTALLY ZIPPED UP.
EVEN LESS IS COMING OUT OF IT
THAN TE
THAN TE THAN THE EGYPTIAN DELEGATION.
>> EVEN CARTER HAD NO IDEA HOW
LONG THE TALKS WOULD LAST.
NOR DID BEGIN OR SADAT AGREE
WHAT WAS TO COME OF THEM.
SADAT WANTED ISRAELI TROOPS OUT
OF THE SINAI PENINSULA AND
RIGHTS FOR PALESTINIANS.
BEGIN WANTED TO SIMPLY AGREE ON
PRINCIPLES FOR FUTURE
NEGOTIATIONS.
NEGOTIATIONS. >> BEGIN AND SADAT WHERE SO
INCOMPATIBLE, THEY COULDN’T EVEN
BE IN THE SAME ROOM WITHOUT
EXPLODING OUT OF ANGER.
SO I KEPT THEM APART.
THEY NEVER SAW EACH OTHER FOR
TEN DAYS.
TEN DAYS. >> THEY PLAYED, TALKED, ATE
TOGETHER AND PRAYED.
>> PRESIDENT SADAT OF EGYPT
ATTENDED FRIDAY SERVICE AT CAMP
DAVID.
DAVID. THE JEWISH SABBATH BEGAN AT
SUNDOWN.
SUNDOWN. >> DOZENS OF AMERICAN, ISRAELI
AND EGYPTIAN STAFFERS AND FAMILY
MEMBERS ROAMED EDED CAMP DAVID’S
GROUNDS.
GROUNDS. I WAS THERE WITH THE PRESIDENT’S
DAUGHTER AMY.
DAUGHTER AMY. >> NOW AS THE SUMMIT BEGINS ITS
SECOND WEEK --
>> THE ADVANCES MADE THUS FAR
MIGHT SIMPLY EVAPORATE.
>> THE TALKS STALLED OVER THE
DISMANTLING OF ISRAELI
SETTLEMENTS.
SETTLEMENTS. THEY NEEDED A BREAK.
CARTER BROUGHT THEM TO
GETTYSBURG.
GETTYSBURG. >> THE THREE LEADERS WERE
RELAXED AND JOVIAL, SEEMING TO
CONFIRM REPORTS THAT THE
INFORMAL ATMOSPHERE HAD BROUGHT
THEM ALL CLOSER TOGETHER.
>> ON THE BRINK OF FAILURE,
CARTER APPROACHED BEGIN WITH A
PHOTOGRAPH WHICH HE INSCRIBED
WITH LOVE TO EACH OF THE PRIME
MINISTER’S GRANDCHILDREN.
MINISTER’S GRANDCHILDREN. BEGIN WAS SO MOVED BUT THE
GESTURE THAT HE SAID THEY WOULD
TRY ONE MORE TIME.
>> THE SCENE IN THE WHITE HOUSE
LAST NIGHT WAS ALMOST
UNBELIEVABLE.
UNBELIEVABLE. >> THE RESULTING DEAL REMOVED
ISRAELI TROOPS FROM SINAI, ENDED
HOSTILITIES AND OPENED THE SUEZ
CANAL TO ISRAELIS.
>> THE RISKS WERE HIGH, BUT SO
WAS YOUR DETERMINATION.
>> LET US PROMISE EACH OTHER
THAT WE SHALL DO IT EARLIER.
>> THE PEACE TREATY BETWEEN THE
COUNTRIES WOULD NOT BE SIGNED
FOR ANOTHER SIX MONTHS.
>> DOCUMENTS ENDING A 30-YEAR
STATE OF WAR.
>> THE PHOTO OP WAS THE FINALE
NOT THE BEGINNING.
>> WITHOUT ANY EXAGGERATION,
WHAT HE DID CONSTITUTES ONE OF
THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS OF OUR
TIME.
TIME. >> IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY AND
HOSTILITY
HOSTILITY HOSTILITY, YOU HAVE DEMONSTRATED
THE HUMAN VALUE THAT CAN CHANGE
HISTORY.
HISTORY. >> WHAT A REMARKABLE, REMARKABLE
PIECE OF HISTORY AND WHAT A
LESSON TO ALL OF US STILL TODAY.
LET’S BRING IN RIGHT NOW THE
39th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES, PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER.
MR. PRESIDENT, 40 YEARS LATER,
STILL IN GROUND WAR IN THE
MIDDLE EAST.
MIDDLE EAST. THAT’S EXTRAORDINARY IN ITSELF.
BUT WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ARE THE
GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS OF THAT
TIME AND THE LEGACY OF THE CAMP
DAVID ACCORDS?
DAVID ACCORDS? >> THIS MORNING IT’S GOOD TO
REMEMBER THIS 40 YEARS AGO WHAT
HAPPENED.
HAPPENED. AS A MATTER OF FACT, NOT A
SINGLE WORD OF THE TREATY
BETWEEN ISRAEL AND EGYPT HAS
BEEN VIOLATED DURING THAT 40
YEARS.
YEARS. THEY STILL HAVE PEACE, ALTHOUGH
BEFORE CAMP DAVID AGREEMENT
BETWEEN ISRAEL AND EGYPT, THEY
HAD BEEN AT WAR THREE TIMES
AGAINST EACH OTHER AND DESPISED
EACH OTHER STILL BECAUSE THEY
COULD REMEMBER THINGS THAT
HAPPENED IN THE WAR AND THE
PEOPLE BEING KILLED ON BOTH
SIDES.
SIDES. IT’S VERY GRATIFYING TO ME TO
REMEMBER BACK IN THOSE DAYS, AND
I HOPE THEY’LL CONTINUE TO BE AT
PEACE.
PEACE. THERE WERE TWO BASIC ELEMENTS OF
THE CAMP DAVID ACCORDS.
ONE WAS THE PEACE TREATY BETWEEN
ISRAEL AND EGYPT.
IT TOOK ABOUT SIX MONTHS MORE OF
NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO IN
WHICH I WAS DEEPLY INVOLVED, OF
COURSE.
COURSE. THE OTHER PART WAS TO GIVE THE
PALESTINIANS FULL AUTONOMY TO
MANAGE THEIR OWN AFFAIRS AND TO
HAVE A NATION OF THEIR OWN.
THAT HASN’T BEEN REALIZED, BUT I
THINK THE OVERALL RESULTS OF THE
CAMP DAVID ACCORDS HAVE BEEN
VERY BENEFICIAL TO BOTH SIDES.
>> MR. PRESIDENT, WE COULD TALK
ABOUT THE PROBLEMS THAT THE
UNITED STATES IS STRUGGLING
THROUGH RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY ON
THE WORLD STAGE.
BUT IT SEEMS TO ME FOCUSING ON
WHAT YOU DID NOT ONLY WITH THE
CAMP DAVID ACCORDS BUT ALSO
WE’RE GOING TO BE CELEBRATING
THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF YOUR
OPENING WITH CHINA.
TALK ABOUT HOW YOU DID WHAT YOU
DID AT CAMP DAVID, SOMETHING
THAT WAS SEEN AS REMARKABLE EVEN
THEN, BUT EVEN MORE SO 40 YEARS
LATER, THE PATIENCE, THE
PREPARATION, YOUR OWN UNIQUE
PERSONAL SKILLS THAT KEPT THESE
TWO BETTERITTER ENEMIES TOGETHER
TALKING EVEN THROUGH THE
TOUGHEST OF TIMES.
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO YOUNG MEN AND
WOMEN THAT ARE LISTENING THIS
MORNING ABOUT WHAT WAS REQUIRED
BY YOU TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN?
>> WELL, IN MY INAUGURAL ADDRESS
AND THROUGHOUT MY TERM OF
PRESIDENT I TRIED TO DO TWO
THINGS.
THINGS. ONE IS TO PROMOTE PEACE, AND THE
OTHER IS TO BE A CHAMPION OF
HUMAN RIGHTS ON BEHALF OF OUR
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. LIVING IN PEACE IS ONE OF THE
BASIC RIGHTS OF ALL HUMAN
BEINGS.
BEINGS. IN ADDITION TO THE TREATY
BETWEEN ISRAEL AND EGYPT, I
TRIED TO PROMOTE PEACE WITH ALL
OTHER NATIONS AND THE WORLD.
AND WE WERE PRETTY WELL
SUCCESSFUL IN DEALING WITH CHINA
AS WELL.
AS WELL. I NEGOTIATED DURING THE SAME
YEAR 1978 WITH CHINA AND TOWARD
THE END OF THAT YEAR WE
ANNOUNCED THE AGREEMENT THAT
WOULD ESTABLISH PEACE BETWEEN
OUR TWO COUNTRIES FOR THE FIRST
TIME IN MORE THAN 35 YEARS.
I THINK OF ALL THE THINGS I DID
AS PRESIDENT, THE NORMALIZATION
OF THE RELATIONS WITH CHINA WAS
PERHAPS -- HAD PERHAPS THE MOST
LONG TERM EFFECT ON WORLD
AFFAIRS, BECAUSE CHINA DID TWO
THINGS THEN.
THINGS THEN. ONE WAS REFORM INTERNALLY AND
ALSO REACH OUT TO OTHER NATIONS
AROUND THE WORLD.
CHINA’S NOW BECOME A VERY MAJOR
FACTOR IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENED
SINCE THEY HAD FREE ENTERPRISE
IN CHINA BEGINNING A YEAR AFTER
WE HAD THE AGREEMENT.
SO SINCE 1979, CHINA HAS NOT
BEEN AT WAR WITH ANY OTHER
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. SO PEACE HAS PREVAILED IN THE
FAR EAST OR AROUND THE PACIFIC
OCEAN SINCE THAT TIME, ALTHOUGH
WE HAD EARLIER THE VIETNAM WAR,
THE KOREAN WAR AND CONSTANT WAR.
SO I THINK THAT WAS A SUCCESS AS
WELL IN BRINGING PEACE TO THE
WORLD.
WORLD. I HOPE THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN THAT
PEACE AND GET ALONG WITH OUR
ENEMIES, THAT IS BETWEEN ISRAEL
AND EGYPT AND ALSO BETWEEN THE
UNITED STATES AND CHINA.
>> MR. PRESIDENT, LOOKING AT THE
CHALLENGES THAT YOU FACED IN
CAMP DAVID, YOU HAD TO DEAL WITH
BEGIN, ANWAR SADAT.
WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
>> IT WAS A VERY WONDERFUL
EXPERIENCE FOR ME.
HE WAS COMPLETELY LOYAL.
HE WAS VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE.
HE WAS A DRIVING FORCE.
HE WAS ONE OF THE MAIN ONES WHO
WORKED ONES WHO WORKED DIRECTLY
WITH ME TO LET ME KNOW WHAT BOTH
SIDES WANTED.
SIDES WANTED. AFTER THE THIRD DAY AT CAMP
DAVID, I NEVER LET THE TWO GET
TOGETHER, BEGIN AND SADAT.
SO I WOULD GO FORTH.
WHILE BEGIN WAS ASLEEP, I WOULD
TALK TO SADAT.
AND WHILE SADAT WAS ASLEEP, I
WOULD TALK TO BEGIN.
I DIDN’T GET MUCH SLEEP.
I THINK I LOST ABOUT 15 POUNDS
AT CAMP DAVID IN 13 DAYS.
IT WAS THROUGH PEOPLE LIKE
BRZEZINSKI WHO LET ME KNOW WHAT
BOTH SIDES WANTED SO I COULD TRY
TO ACCOMMODATE THEM.
>> WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR THE
MIDDLE EAST OVER THE NEXT 40
YEARS, MR. PRESIDENT?
>> WELL, I WANT ISRAEL AND EGYPT
TO STAY AT PEACE WITH EACH
OTHER.
OTHER. THAT’S THE KEY TO THE REGION.
BUT I ALSO WANT THE PALESTINIANS
TO HAVE A CHANCE TO LIVE A FULL
AND FRUITFUL AND ENJOYABLE LIFE.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE AGREEMENTS
THAT BEGIN FINALLY ACCEPTED.
AND OF COURSE WE CAN SEE
INDICATIONS EVEN AFTER WE GOT
BACK TO WASHINGTON BEFORE THE
TWO LEADERS WENT HOME THAT THE
ISRAELIS WEREN’T GOING TO BACK
DOWN ON THE PALESTINIAN ISSUE.
I HOPE WE CAN SEE MY DREAM FOR
THAT REGION COME THROUGH ANDRUE
IS FOR ISRAEL TO LIVE AT PEACE
WITH ALL ITS NEIGHBORS SO THE
ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS AND
EGYPTIANS AND HOPEFULLY THE
SYRIANS CAN HAVE A PEACEFUL
EXISTENCE.
EXISTENCE. >> PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER, TO
GREAT TO HEAR FROM YOU.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING
ON.
ON. >> THANK YOU, MIKA.
I’VE ALWAYS BEEN THANKFUL FOR
YOUR FATHER.
YOUR FATHER. >> ME TOO.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THANK YOU TO THE CARTER MUSEUM
FOR SHARING SOME OF THAT RARE
FOOTAGE.
FOOTAGE. DEFINITELY BRINGS BACK MEMORIES.
>> JOHN HEILEMANN, YOU SIT -- OR
MIKA EVEN, YOU SIT THERE AND YOU
LOOK AT THE PATIENCE THAT
PRESIDENT CARTER SHOWED.
YOU LOOK AT THE PERSISTENCE THAT
HE SHOWED AND ALSO EVEN BEFORE
GOING THERE, THE PREPARATION
THAT HE SHOWED IN GETTING TO
KNOW THE MEN THAT HE WAS GOING
TO BE DEALING WITH.
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THIS
WHITE HOUSE, THAT IS SOMETHING
THAT EVERY WHITE HOUSE SHOULD
TAKE TO HEART WHEN TRYING TO
STRIKE A DEAL OR TRYING TO
UNDERSTAND EITHER THE CHINESE OR
THE NORTH KOREANS OR THE
ISRAELIS, THE PALESTINIANS.
THESE DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHS
DON’T JUST HAPPEN BECAUSE YOU
CALL A MEETING.
THERE WAS EXTRAORDINARILY
DIFFICULT.
DIFFICULT. IT’S THE ONLY WAY THINGS HAPPEN.
>> IT WAS INCREDIBLE.
>> I THINK WHAT WE JUST SAW,
WHAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT,
CAVERN DAVID CAMP
DAVID, THAT IS A BLUEPRINT FOR
FUTURE LEADERS.
FUTURE LEADERS. >> MY DAUGHTER DID A PAPER ON
THE CAMP DAVID ACCORDS AND
INTERVIEWED MY FATHER RIGHT
BEFORE HE PASSED AWAY.
TO HEAR ABOUT THE PREPARATION,
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PREPARATION
ALONE, IT WAS INCREDIBLE.
THEN TO BE A KID OF SOMEONE WHO
WAS A PART OF THAT PROCESS, I’M
JUST SORRY I WAS SUMP ACH A JERK
I WAS 11 AND YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT
YOUR PARENTS ARE DOING.
THAT WAS AN INCREDIBLE EFFORT ON
THE PART OF PRESIDENT CARTER AND
HIS TEAM.
HIS TEAM. >> TALKING ABOUT YOUR BEHAVIOR
THERE, THE ONE THING THAT
PRESIDENT CARTER HAS SPOKEN
ABOUT IN THE PAST BUT DID NOT
SPEAK ABOUT TODAY WAS THE FACT
THAT YOU ALMOST SIDETRACKED THE
ENTIRE PROCESS BY ALMOST RUNNING
OVER BEGIN WITH THE GOLF CART.
>> WHAT WERE WE DOING THERE?
WHAT WERE WE DOING THERE?
>> AND WHAT EXACTLY WERE YOU
DOING ALMOST RUNNING OVER BEGIN
IN A GOLF CART?
>> FROM THAT IMPORTANT MOMENT IN
HISTORY, NEXT WE TURN BACK TO
WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY IN