2. Editorial Note
According to his memoirs, in early January 1974, the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs Henry A. Kissinger sent a mes[Page 4]sage to Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat offering to visit Egypt and discuss what Sadat considered the appropriate approach to the disengagement process with Israel. Concurrently, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan would discuss Kissinger’s views on Dayan’s proposal with the Israeli Cabinet. On January 8, Sadat contacted Kissinger and implored him to visit Egypt immediately. (Years of Upheaval, page 804) Kissinger replied on January 9 in a message transmitted in telegram 4086 to Cairo that he would fly to Egypt on January 11 with the intention of then visiting Israel and getting a concrete proposal from the Israelis that he was “confident will contain the basic principles and concepts previously discussed between us, though not necessarily in conformity with every detail.” He also noted that he believed “an agreement should be attainable during the course of this trip.” (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 133, Country Files, Middle East, Egypt/Ismail, Volume 9, January 1974) According to Kissinger’s Record of Schedule, Kissinger first flew to Spain on the afternoon of January 11, meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Pedro Cortona for approximately two hours. He then departed Spain at 2:25 p.m. and arrived in Aswan, Egypt at 8:30 p.m., heading immediately to President Sadat’s rest house for a meeting. The next day, January 12, he traveled to Jerusalem. (Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box 438, Miscellany, 1968–76)