A Pledge of Secrecy at Mideast Summit

T H U R M O N T, Md., July 12 -- The high-stakes Mideast summit enters a second day with all sides bound to a strict gag order.

“We pledged we wouldn’t say anything,” President Clinton said.

But what is known is this: despite the informal settings — and a joking, friendly start — the talks underway between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at the rustic Camp David retreat in northern Maryland are focusing on what Clinton called “profound and wrenching questions.”

Clinton opened his mission with private conversations with each side at Aspen Lodge, the same rough-hewn cabin that President Jimmy Carter occupied during the landmark summit in which Israel won its very first treaty with an Arab neighbor 22 years ago.

“There can be no success without principled compromise,” the president warned his guests before the formal talks began.

A Light Moment

At the doorway to the central Laurel Lodge cabin, where the joint talks began, there was a light, if awkward moment as each leader held back, trying to let the others enter first.

Arafat and Barak went back and forth several times, laughing as each one tried to push the other in first (see video, left).

Arafat wound up going in first, followed by Barak.

But just beyond the display of manners lie five decades of animosity between the Palestinians and Israelis.

“Both leaders feel the weight of history but both, I believe, recognize this as a moment in history which they can seize,” Clinton said.

Pledging Support Leading up to the summit, Clinton tried to sound optimistic, but also realistic, noting “there is no guarantee of success,” for this round of negotiations.

“But not to try is to guarantee failure,” he warned. The president insisted that both Arafat and Barak have demonstrated they are committed to reaching an agreement, and said the leaders have the “patience and creativity and courage” needed for the intractible issues at hand.