Negotiating the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, Part II: December 17, 1978–March 26, 1979


190. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Carter Library, Brzezinski Donated Material, Subject File Box 36, Serial Xs—(3/79). Secret; Sensitive. The meeting took place in the Cabinet Room. Carter’s handwritten notes relating to the meeting are in the Carter Library, Plains File, President’s Personal Foreign Affairs File, Box 2, Israel, 3/79.


191. Telegram From the Embassy in Egypt to the Department of State and the White House

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P840163–0909. Secret; Flash; Exdis Distribute as Nodis.


192. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Carter Library, Brzezinski Donated Material, Subject File, Box 36, Serial Xs—(3/79). Secret; Sensitive. The meeting took place in the Cabinet Room. According to the President’s Daily Diary, Carter held a second, private meeting with Begin in the Oval Office from 2:58 p.m. to 3:27 p.m. (Carter Library, Presidential Materials) No memorandum of conversation for this second meeting has been found.


193. Transcript of a Telephone Conversation Between President Carter and Egyptian President Sadat

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Office, Outside the System File, Box 66, Middle East: President Carter’s Trip to Jerusalem and Cairo: 2–4/79. Confidential.


194. Transcript of a Telephone Conversation Between President Carter and Egyptian President Sadat

Source: Carter Library, Plains File, President’s Personal Foreign Affairs File, Box 1, Egypt, 11/77–11/81. Confidential.


195. Handwritten Note by President Carter

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Office, Outside the System File, Box 66, Middle East: President Carter’s Trip to Jerusalem and Cairo: 2–4/79. No classification marking. Another version of Carter’s note, bearing Carter’s handwritten title, “Instructions for Zbig. 3/5–79,” is in the Carter Library, Plains File, President’s Personal Foreign Affairs File, Box 3, Mid East, 12/78–3/79. Brzezinski wrote in his memoirs that he was given these instructions during a “last minute meeting” with Carter, Vance, and Mondale, “shortly after 5 p.m.” on March 5. (Brzezinski, Power and Principle, p. 282) According to the President’s Daily Diary, Carter met with Mondale, Vance, Brown, Jordan, and Powell in the Oval Office from 5 p.m. to 5:47 p.m.; Brzezinski joined them from 5:25 p.m. to 5:47 p.m. (Carter Library, Presidential Materials) No memorandum of conversation for this meeting has been found. Brzezinski met with Sadat in Cairo the afternoon of March 6; the memorandum of conversation of this meeting is printed as Document 198.


196. Letter From President Carter to Egyptian President Sadat

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Office, Outside the System File, Box 66, Middle East: President Carter’s Trip to Jerusalem and Cairo: 2–4/79. No classification marking. Carter wrote in his memoirs that he gave Brzezinski this handwritten letter to deliver to Sadat. It was “designed to encourage his [Sadat’s] generosity on some of the treaty language.” Carter also provided Brzezinski with copies of the treaty texts for Sadat so that Brzezinski could “explain some of the more difficult parts and to review the strategic considerations which might help to ease Sadat’s anticipated objections to the wording itself.” (Carter, Keeping Faith, p. 417)


197. Telegram From the Embassy in Jordan to the Department of State

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P840166–2555. Secret; Immediate; Nodis. Sent for information Immediate to the White House.


198. Backchannel Message From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski) to President Carter and Secretary of State Vance

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Office, Outside the System File, Box 66, Middle East: President Carter’s Trip to Jerusalem and Cairo: 2–4/79. Top Secret; Flash. Sent via privacy channels for Carter and Vance only. Printed from a copy that indicates the original was received in the White House Situation Room. Carter initialed “C” in the upper right-hand corner of the message, indicating that he saw the document.


199. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Jordan

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, President’s Correspondence with Foreign Leaders File, Box 11, Jordan: King Hussein, 3/79–9/80. Secret; Immediate. Similar letters were sent to Khalid, Assad, King Hassan II of Morocco, President Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia, and President Jaafar Numeiri of Sudan. Printed from a copy that indicates the original was received in the White House Situation Room. Drafted by Saunders; cleared by Quandt and Tarnoff; approved by Vance. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D790105–0371) An undated draft template of the letter, attached to a March 6 covering memorandum from Aaron to Carter, upon which Carter initialed his approval, is in the Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Country File, Box 51, Middle East: 3–6/79. The Department sent the letter to Khalid in telegram 55735 to Jidda, March 7. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D790105–0362) The Department sent the letter to Assad in telegram 55733 to Damascus, March 7. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D790105–0366)


200. Memorandum From the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (McIntyre) and the President’s Special Representative for Economic Summits (Owen) to President Carter

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Middle East, Subject File, Box 50, Israel: 3–4/79. Secret. Sent for information.


201. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (McGiffert) to Secretary of Defense Brown

Source: Washington National Records Center, Old Files, FRC 330–81–0447, Box 2, unlabeled folder. Top Secret.


202. Summary of Meetings

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Office, Outside the System File, Box 66, Middle East: President Carter’s Trip to Jerusalem and Cairo: 2–4/79. Secret. The summary of meetings was found attached to a March 15 covering memorandum from Brzezinski to Carter in which Brzezinski pointed out to the President, “You will note that for some of them we have full memcons, and for some of them only you have any record since no one else was present. At some meetings, for example your last one with Begin, no record was taken because the format was conversational.” (Ibid.)


203. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Middle East, Subject File, Box 16, Egypt-Israel Negotiations: 3/1–11/79. Secret. The meeting took place at the Maamura Rest House.


204. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Middle East, Subject File, Box 16, Egypt-Israel Negotiations: 3/1–11/79. Secret. The meeting took place in the Cabinet Room. Carter’s handwritten notes from this meeting, as well as a list of talking points, are in the Carter Library, Plains File, President’s Personal Foreign Affairs File, Box 2, Israel, 3/79.


205. Message From Ambassador-at-Large Alfred L. Atherton, Jr. to the Ambassador to Egypt (Eilts)

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Files of Alfred L. Atherton, Lot 80D166, Atherton—Egypt, Geneva, Kissinger 1973–1982 1 of 2. Secret. A handwritten notation at the top of the document states that Atherton conveyed the message to Eilts by secure phone from Jerusalem. The message is handwritten.


206. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Middle East, Subject File, Box 16, Egypt-Israel Negotiations: 3/12–31/79. Secret. The meeting took place in the Cabinet Room.


208. Telegram From Secretary of State Vance to the Embassy in Israel

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Files of Alfred L. Atherton, Lot 80D166, Box 8, Pre-Signing Negotiations: Cairo, Tel Aviv, Washington, & New York 3/20–26/79. Secret; Nodis. Sent for information to the Department of State and the White House Situation Room. The telegram is not numbered.


209. Memorandum From the White House Counsel (Lipshutz) for the File

Source: Carter Library, Vertical File, Camp David Accords. No classification marking.


210. Memorandum for the Record

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Files of Alfred L. Atherton, Lot 80D166, Box 8, Final Treaty Package. Secret. On March 14, Vance sent the letter to Cairo in an unnumbered telegram while en route to Washington in Air Force One. (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Cables File, Middle East, Box 48, 3/6–15/79)


211. Transcript of a Telephone Conversation Between President Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Begin

Source: Department of State, Office of the Secretariat Staff, Cyrus R. Vance, Secretary of State—1977–1980, Lot 84D241, Box 5, Middle East Peace Treaty—1979. No classification marking. The President’s Daily Diary notes that Carter spoke with Begin from 9:20 a.m. to 9:26 a.m., March 14. (Carter Library, Presidential Materials) At the top of the transcript, Carter wrote: “ok. cc: Cy, Zbig, take action on all items. J.”


212. Memorandum From Secretary of Defense Brown to President Carter

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Middle East, Subject File, Box 13, Egypt: Arms and Military: 1–7/79. Secret. Brzezinski wrote in the upper right-hand corner of the memorandum, “LD, WQ—need quick reaction. ZB.” Smith forwarded a copy of the memorandum to Vance, at Brown’s request, under a March 15 covering note. Vance’s copy, bearing the stamped notation “CV,” indicating that Vance saw the document is in the Department of State, Office of the Secretariat Staff, Cyrus R. Vance, Secretary of State—1977–1980, Lot 84D241, Box 5, Middle East—1979.


213. Intelligence Memorandum Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency

Source: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Support Services, Directorate of Intelligence, Job 82T00150R: Production Case Files, Box 6, Folder 119, Arab Reactions. Secret; [handling restriction not declassified]. A notation on the first page reads in part: “Prepared by the Office of Regional & Political Analysis.”


214. Memorandum From Director of Central Intelligence Turner to Secretary of State Vance

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Middle East, Chron File, Box 136, Quandt: 3/20–31/79. Secret.


215. Letter From President Carter to King Hussein of Jordan

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, President’s Correspondence with Foreign Leaders File, Box 11, Jordan: King Hussein, 3/79–9/80. No classification marking.


216. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassies in Egypt and Israel

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P840163–0868. Secret; Immediate; Nodis. Drafted by Hansell; cleared by Atherton and Joseph Hulings (S/S–O); approved by Saunders. Sent for information Immediate to the White House.


217. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Israel

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Cables File, State Department Out, Box 115, 3/17–21/79. Secret; Sensitive; Immediate; Nodis. Sent for information Immediate to Cairo and the White House. Printed from a copy that indicates the original was received in the White House Situation Room. Drafted by Korn; cleared by Joseph Hulings (S/S–O); approved by Saunders. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P850050–2633)


218. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Subject File, Box 33, Memcons: Brzezinski: 3–6/79. Secret. The meeting took place in the King’s Palace.


219. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Subject File, Box 33, Memcons: Brzezinski: 3–6/79. Secret. The meeting took place in the Hashemite Palace.