Carter Says Reagan Is Ignoring Mideast Peace Process; Warns of Confrontation

Former President Jimmy Carter has blamed President Reagan for letting the Middle East peace process lie “very dormant” and warned that “uncontrollable events” in that region could cause a confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States.

Carter, who has traveled extensively in the Middle East and kept close contact with leaders there since leaving office in January, 1981, accused the Reagan Administration of ignoring the peace process because it is “not pleasant politically” to deal with the question of Palestinian rights in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Interviewed here Tuesday at the Carter Presidential Center, which will be dedicated Oct. 1 with Reagan as a special guest, Carter declared, “The situation in the Middle East has been very dormant as far as the State Department and the White House is concerned.”

‘Even-Handed’ Approach

As President, Carter was a chief architect of the 1978 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty and was lauded by Arab leaders for what they described as an “even-handed” approach to Mideast problems. But he rejects the “even-handed” description, saying it “implies bias in favor of Arabs.”

“I think my approach was proper,” he said. “Every leader in the region knew that they would get a fair hearing from me and from the secretary of state in the peace process if they came to us. And every leader also knew, if they had an initiative to put forward, they would have an eager ally in the White House and the State Department.

“And that’s what’s been missing for the last 5 1/2 years--a constant American presence that we will be your partner on a confidential basis or otherwise, if you want to take a step toward peace.”

Meanwhile, Carter said, he fears that unabated animosity between Israel and other Arab countries, especially heavily armed and Soviet-backed Syria, eventually could erupt into war that could cause a U.S.-Soviet confrontation.

Commitment to Israel

So far, he said, the Soviet Union has acted as a restraining force on Syria and the United States has “restrained Israel in most circumstances.” But he warned of the possibility of “an uncontrollable series of events” that could cause a confrontation “because our commitment to Israel is deep and binding and the Soviets have a similar commitment--not as deep--to Syria and some of the others.”

“And both Syria and Israel, we know from experience, are practically uncontrollable,” he said. “And although we are obligated to Israel, we don’t have control over what they do.”

Despite Carter’s background and continuing contact with the Middle East, the Reagan Administration has not sought his advice other than to ask him to preview a Mideast peace proposal put forth by the President on Sept. 1, 1982. In a nationally televised address, Reagan endorsed “full autonomy” and self-government in association with Jordan for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Approved of Speech

Describing it as “a very fine statement,” Carter said that a copy of the Reagan speech had been brought to him at his home in Plains “and I made some minor suggestions, which they incorporated.” (The Israelis immediately rejected the proposal, and Jordan’s King Hussein, while initially supportive, withdrew his backing seven months later because of his inability to get the Palestine Liberation Organization to agree to respect Israel’s right to exist).

Except for that speech and one trip to the Mideast by Secretary of State George P. Shultz, Carter said, there has been an “aloofness from the peace process” on the part of Reagan and Shultz.

Carter, whose reelection campaign in 1980 was hobbled by the Iranian hostage crisis, said he sees a “conscious pattern” to the resurgence of terrorism in the Mideast “and the basic origin of it is Palestinian rights.”

U.S. Seen as the Villain

“Palestinian rights is used by the Iranian revolutionaries and fundamentalists and also by people like (Libyan leader Col. Moammar) Kadafi, as a resource for young men and sometimes women willing to give their life for that cause, and we are looked upon as the villain with hatred, alienation and vituperation,” he said.

“Attacks on Americans are growing and while I don’t think there’s a single person orchestrating the attacks,” he added, “the core of dissension and animosity is tapped by those who want to punish and lash out at the United States.”

Carter emphasized that he thinks the U.S. air raid carried out last April 15 against Libya under Reagan’s orders in retaliation for state-supported terrorism was “a mistake, which didn’t accomplish its purpose.”

Remains Concerned

Although public opinion polls showed that Americans endorsed the raid by a 3-to-1 margin, Carter said, “there are a lot of people who looked upon that raid as one that brought about the death of innocent people--the killing of babies and wounding of little children--while Kadafi escaped.”

On another subject, Carter said that despite Reagan’s announcement that he plans to abandon the second strategic arms limitation treaty (SALT II), it is not inevitable that it will be shelved. Nor should the treaty be abandoned, he said, because that would be “a serious mistake” that would impede arms control negotiations.

Recent statements by Administration officials that there has been a delay in modification work on B-52 bombers that would put the United States above the treaty’s limits are interpreted by Carter as an “equivocation” on Reagan’s announced abandonment of the treaty.

‘Escape Valve’

The delay, attributed to technical problems, gives Reagan an “escape valve” to continue abiding by the SALT II missile limits “without contradicting his word,” Carter said.

Carter has remained deeply concerned about foreign affairs and other issues since leaving the Oval Office, but for the most part has kept a relatively low profile. Aides said that his interview with The Times and a series of interviews he has scheduled for today mark the beginning of a more public persona for the former President that will be tied directly to his interest in issues and the work of the Carter Presidential Center.

The $25-million center, located in four circular, interconnected buildings on a 30-acre hilltop just east of downtown Atlanta, will house a presidential library, a forum for international programs and a public policy center connected with Emory University. Carter and former President Gerald R. Ford will co-chair a symposium on Central America at the center two weeks after the Oct. 1 dedication.

More than 2,000 dignitaries, including President and Mrs. Reagan, are scheduled to attend the dedication. The principal speaker will be former Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher of Los Angeles, who was the chief negotiator for the release of the American hostages in Iran and who is chairman of the Board of Trustees of Stanford University, which will house Reagan’s presidential library.