Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer is the Europe editor at Foreign Policy. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and Forbes, among other places. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and master’s degrees from Peking University and the London School of Economics. The P.Q. stands for Ping-Quon.
CAMP DAVID, ETATS-UNIS: This file photo shows former Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat (L) as he shakes hands with former Israeli Premier Menachem Begin, as former US President Jimmy Carter looks on 06 September 1978 at Camp David, the US presidential retreat in Maryland. Egypt began peace initiatives with Israel in late 1977, when Sadat visited Jerusalem. A year later, with the help of Carter, terms of peace between Egypt and Israel were negotiated at Camp David. A formal treaty, signed 26 March 1979 in Washington, DC, granted full recognition of Israel by Egypt, opened trade relations between the two countries, and limited Egyptian military buildup in the Sinai. Israel agreed to return a final portion of occupied Sinai to Egypt. The 25th anniversary of the peace accord signing is marked on 17 September 2003, however, 25 years later, the international community is facing a never-ending tug of war between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and trying to prevent the second from exiling the first. The umpteenth peace plan named "roadmap", which calls for creating a Palestinian state, is on life support, and the Bush administration does not know how long the patient will be able to hold up. "Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian president Anwar Sadat were heroes who showed that, when leaders are willing to take enormous risks, peace is possible," Carter said recently, explaining why he thought the Camp David accords became possible. AFP PHOTO/HO (Photo credit should read KARL SCHUMACHER/AFP/Getty Images)
