Why Camp David Changed Nothing

In 1977, Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat visited Israel, where he paid a historic visit to the Knesset -- the first by a reigning Arab leader -- and told Israeli parliamentarians of his country's will for peace and the need to satisfy demands for Palestinian self-determination. The following year, U.S. President Jimmy Carter persuaded Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to meet at the presidential retreat in Maryland in order to thrash out a framework for peace between their two countries. In March 1979, Begin and Sadat finally came together at the White House to sign the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, which ended 30 years of hostilities and allowed for mutual diplomatic recognition. The Camp David Accords have been described as "one of the great diplomatic achievements of recent American history." Maybe, but it's not nearly one of the most important events of that most important year.