Rewards, Achievements and Conclusion
Israel and Egypt did not sign the disengagement treaty without extracting a hefty price out of American taxpayers: The Ford administration offered $2.3 billion in military aid to Israel, and $800 million in economic aid to Egypt. Those figures would grow over the years.
What Kissinger achieved was significant, however, only relative to the state of war that had existed between Israel and Egypt since 1948, and only because Sadat was a more willing partner for peace than his Israeli counterparts proved to be. In reality, the achievements of the two “disengagement” treaties that Kissinger got Egypt and Israel to sign were more symbolic than substantial. They were not a peace treaty by any means. That would have to await the Camp David accords of 1979, mediated by President Jimmy Carter.
