Still vivid is the memory of Sadat, the stately leader of the largest Arab nation being welcomed by Menachem Begin, the courtly prime minister of Israel.

President Sadat, nine weeks before he was assassinated, is shown during one of several exclusive interviews with White House correspondent Trude Feldman. Sitting beside Ms. Feldman at Blair House (the presidential guest quarters across from the White House), he told how he would like to be remembered: "For my efforts to bring peace; and as one who lived for peace, and would die for peace. Nothing ranks higher and I will go to lengths to achieve that."

The l973 War led to his groundbreaking decision to go to Jerusalem in an attempt to end the enduring conflict between Arabs and Israelis. His heroic feat (and subsequent assassination) should not be forgotten by those who continue to hope for a comprehensive peace in the region.

On Nov. 9, l977, Sadat told the People's Assembly (Egypt's Parliament) that he was ready "to go to Israel's home and to discuss peace". Two days later, Prime Minister Begin accepted his offer and invited him, in a message which was broadcast to the Egyptian people: "Let me say to one another, and let it be a silent oath by the peoples of Egypt, and Israel — no more wars, no more bloodshed and no more threats."

Meanwhile, Sadat conferred with Syrian president Hafez al Assad, but was not successful in winning Syrian support for "my sacred duty mission." Syria would publicly oppose Sadat's mission.)

On Nov. l9th, Sadat's jet — Egyptian One — brought him to Ben Gurion Airport where he was greeted with a 2l-gun salute and welcomed by Prime Minister Begin, President Ephraim Katzir and numerous officials.

The next day, the Egyptian leader prayed at the Al Aksa Mosque and then visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial. Later, from the rostrum of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), Sadat gave, in Arabic, a passionate address.

"The Egyptian people bless this sacred mission of peace," he told the l20 Knesset members. "I have chosen to come to you with an open heart and mind ... and to give this great impetus to all international efforts exerted for peace ... not to maneuver or win a round, but for us to win together, the most dangerous of rounds embattled in modern history, the battle of peace, based on justice.

"We accept to live with you in permanent peace, based on justice. We do not want to encircle you or to be encircled ourselves by destructive missiles ready for launching, nor by the shells of grudges or hatred. Israel has become an established fact, recognized by the world. . . .

"After long thought, I was convinced that the obligation of responsibility before God and the people, make it incumbent upon me that I come to Jerusalem with all the facts surging in me. Then I would let you decide for yourselves."

Anwar Sadat's trip to Jerusalem and the subsequent 1979 Egyptian-Israel peace treaty which many hoped would alter the terms of debate in the Arab world from how to destroy Israel to how to live peacefully with Israel, then 29 years old. A short time after Sadat's return from Jerusalem, I visited with his wife, Jehan, who explained that she did not accompany him, because of her need to prepare for mid term exams at Cairo University; and anticipation of the birth of another grandchild.

As it happened, the baby girl was born prematurely at the moment when her grandfather, Anwar Sadat, was praying at the Al Aksa Mosque. Mrs. Sadat called this development an omen.

"I got the feeling she was born in a hurry to come into the world just as he was praying for and initiating peace with Israel. We took that as a good omen for the family and, I hope for the world."

She was eager to talk about her husband's reactions to his "trip for peace."

"Our children gathered around their father and we all plied him with questions like 'What did he tell Moshe Dayan? What is Golda Meir like? What was the response of the people?'

My husband showed us the letters, drawings of olive branches and flowers that were presented to him by the Israeli children.

"We wanted details and as my husband talked, we could feel the warmth of Israel's welcome ... . But we wanted to know more and more and he told us. You can imagine how impressed he was with the Israelis and their understanding of his intentions. Even now, he is still optimistic and has good feelings for Mr. Begin and the Israelis.

"You know, when my husband talks about peace, he acts on pursuing it. He is doing his best to find the solution . . . . Maybe Mr. Begin is right when he speaks of what happened before, but let us look to the future. We want our grandchildren and Mrs. Begin's grandchildren and everyone's grandchildren to grow up in peace instead of living with the threat of war."

She added that she was only l7 years old when she married Sadat, and thought then that his best quality was his honesty. "And in the 25 years of our marriage, he has not changed. He is courageous and tries to do what is good for everyone. He wants to help, not only his own people, but others as well."

It was l6 months after Sadat's momentous sojourn (to Jerusalem) when he and Mr. Begin signed the first Arab-Israeli Peace Treaty, which resulted in the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, ending a major potential cause for war between the two protagonists.

A beaming President Jimmy Carter, who played midwife to that l979 Accord, hosted the signing ceremony at the White House. For their efforts in pursuit of peace, President Sadat together with Prime Minister Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace prize.

President Carter honored President and Mrs. Sadat with a White House State Dinner and noted, in his toast, that Sadat's trip to Jerusalem "transformed the attitude" of the world.

"A shock went through society in almost every nation that one person could instantly change a discouraging and even debilitating deadlock that had caused four wars since l948," Carter stated. "So much has changed from the time when Israel was hated by almost all Arab governments; when no Arab leader had the temerity to even meet with, or talk to, or recognize diplomatically or acknowledge the right of Israel to exist, and President Sadat changed all that."

Nine weeks before his murder, I asked President Sadat — during an interview at Blair House, the presidential guest house (across from the White House) — how he wanted to be remembered. "For my efforts to bring peace, and as one who lived for peace, and would die for peace," he replied. "Nothing ranks higher, and I will go to lengths to achieve it. I like the challenge and where there is a challenge, you will find me in high spirits."

And if he were granted three wishes, what would he want? Leaning forward, puffing on his ever-present pipe, he responded: "One, peace in the Middle East; two, peace in the Middle East; three, peace in the Middle East. These are my three wishes and I will pray for them until my last moment before I die."

While Sadat did not achieve the comprehensive Arab-Israel peace he had sought, he did help to reduce the risk of war and demonstrate that strong statesmanship and leadership as well as competence and wisdom can make a difference.

On the 30th anniversary of Sadat's "sacred mission" — his wishes for a comprehensive peace not yet realized — it is now incumbent on today's officials to reflect on and enhance Sadat's legacy, exercise diplomatic muscle and finally decide how to summon the courage, fortitude, passion and drive to emulate Sadat's audacious risk for total peace.

Ironing out a solution for a total peace settlement will not come from international bodies alone, but rather from extraordinary and visionary statesmen — eager to play a pivotal role in meeting this momentous challenge.

Sadat, in one of several one-on-one interviews granted to me — before and after his heroic trip — disclosed that he originally thought of inviting the five Big Powers of the United Nations (the U.S., China, France, Great Britain and the then Soviet Union) to go with him to Jerusalem so he could give every guarantee possible to Israel.

"At that time," he recalled, "I expected to tell Israel, 'Here are the five Big Powers — whatever guarantees you need, I am ready to fulfill.

"But one reason I revised my thinking and did not take them with me was because Israel always asked for direct negotiations and I thought if I brought the Big Five, it might be construed that I was trying to hide behind them. So I went by myself, to deal face to face, and tell the Israelis, 'Let's bring down the barriers of suspicion.'"

President Sadat's visit also provoked antagonism. He noted that most of the Arab world "called me a charlatan' for visiting Jerusalem and Yad Vashem, a memorial to the Holocaust that many dismissed as propaganda.

"But," he told me, "I purposely went to that awesome place to prove I am serious about peace. For sure, the alternative is horrible. I never thought what had happened during World War II was that terrible. I thought it was mere propaganda. But at Yad Vashem, I saw the documentation and depictions and exhibits and I was really moved. With my own eyes, I saw that memorial that embodies the suffering of Israels and Jews all over the world. They are victims not only of war, but of politics and hatred."

Sadat also showed a sensitivity to Israel's security problems on the West Bank. Nonetheless, he said he felt that during negotiations, Israeli leaders might be using the security issue as a pretext for holding on to captured lands. "I am ready to go to whatever ends are needed for Israel's right to be secure," he said. "But no one should trespass on the sovereignty or the land of others."

While Sadat's motivation in going to Jerusalem was a combination of virtue and vision, that which really gave life to the idea was a handwritten letter to him — a few weeks earlier — from President Carter. The letter included a survey of the region's situation and described the psychological complexities that separated the parties.

Noting that 70 percent of the obstacles were psychological and 30 percent substance, Sadat added that it would take only a few days for an agreement "if the spirit of my initiative" would prevail.

"My initiative was built on love," Sadat emphasized. "Even if it were my last act as president, I would be happy that I took the initiative because my visit made a difference and has changed the world."

He pointed out that the Middle East is the most explosive area in the world. "You know, before I met Mr. Begin, I studied him by reading articles about him as well as some of his own writings," he recalled. "I studied his strengths and weaknesses as a boxer studies his opponent. After I was convinced that he was earnest about peace and strong enough to make concessions to achieve peace I went to Israel.

"For sure, I soon realized that Mr. Begin was a man with whom understanding could be reached. I saw in him a serious man, able to get his people to accept his decisions, and I saw positiveness in him and his government."

Prime Minister Begin, in an interview in l982, told me that if Sadat were still alive relations between their countries would gradually have been improved.

"If Anwar Sadat were still ruling Egypt, I think that, through education, he would make sure that the hatred of Israelis is omitted from school text books," Mr. Begin added. "He would instruct teachers to teach their pupils about acceptance and tolerance. The decades of animosity and of evil need to end. It may take more time to uproot the hatred and to install understanding and cooperation ... . I think that will come some day, but not in my lifetime.

"You know," Mr. Begin continued, "thousands of Israelis are visiting Egypt, but very few Egyptians visit Israel. There is a daily bus, but it returns empty. I would like to see open borders between Israel and our neighbors. I hope someday people are able to drive back and forth over the Israeli borders like they do between the U.S and Canada."

President Ronald Reagan, recalling Sadat's mission, told me in a 1981 Oval Office interview, "The answer to Israel's security must lie in actions similar to those taken between Israel and Egypt after that mission.

"Our idea now is to persuade Jordan's King Hussein and other Arab leaders to follow President Sadat's lead to where they and Israel can live in the area, feeling secure, each one in his own borders, with no fear of military invasion or attack by any country."

Mr. Reagan added that "down deep" each of the leaders in the Middle East wants the same thing — a peaceful solution to their problems.

'So I believe they should try harder among themselves to work out a genuine co-existence, and then, if they need the United States, I will go for broke to make it happen."

Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State, Gen. Alexander M. Haig, Jr,, looking back, describes Sadat as a remarkable Arab leader and credits him with a "unique strategic brilliance' which enabled him to sort out contradictions between Soviet imperalism, traditional Arab nationalism and anti-Zionism (then the three forces pressing on Egypt).

Gen. Haig also told me: "It was Sadat's world view — in contrast to what appeared to him at that time as American naivete about the Soviet threat to the Middle East and Africa, that, in my view, triggered his historical trip to Israel that, in turn, made President Carter's Camp David possible."

And it was former President Bill Clinton who emphasized that the United States would continue to "stand with those who seek peace, with those who stand up for change in the face of terrorists and extremists who seek to destroy the peace by killing the innocent.

"They cannot, they must not, they will not succeed," he pointed out. "They are the past. The peace makers are the future."

Indeed, the future now lies with Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Abu Mazen.

And when the top leaders draft their own "road map" or at the upcoming Annapolis Conference, the time may be ripe for America's President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to make history as the one who finally help to make the difference in the region's landscape.

His desire is to assure the Israelis of their security as well as to lighten the plight of the Arabs.

In an Oval Office interview in July 2004, President Bush was both philosophical and confident as he answered my questions about the powder keg that still is the Mideast and emphasized his hope for a two-state solution.

"My vision is for a free and democratic Iraq and a free and peaceful democratic Palestinian state serving as catalysts for change in a region that has harbored resentment," he told me. "The Middle East has also served as a place to recruit terrorists who have a desire to kill Americans, to drive us out of parts of the world so they can impose their will."

He added that there had been difficulties in carrying on the policy in Iraq. At the outset of the war the Bush administration had stated that the road to Jerusalem led through Baghdad. Since then, progress towards a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian issue and the restoration of peace and order in Iraq have proven to be tough challenges.

Bush noted, however, that he has no regrets over America's role in Iraq, or his own leadership of it and that he is not troubled by the severe criticism he is receiving.

"I say to those critics that I am the first American president to have stood up in front of the world — at the United Nations — and call for the creation of a Palestinian state that would live in peace side by side with Israel. We are working toward the day when two states — Israel and Palestine — live peacefully within secure and recognized borders as called for by the Security Council resolution. But peace will only come when all have sworn off — forever — violence and terror."

The president added that he believes that, with the emergence of an independent Palestinian state, the West Bank and Gaza will be governed by Palestinians and that the final border is up for negotiations between the two parties. He does not agree with his critics that the friction between Israel and her neighbors is connected to, or intertwined with, his policy in Iraq.

"The problem with the Palestinians is territory," he told me. "They don't have a state to call their own and they don't have leadership. . . . [T]hose Palestinians who want a change ought to ask for help to build the security apparatus."

As recently as Nov. 7, President Bush again called for a two-state solution. The setting was George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate where he had hosted France's President Nicolas Sarkozy. Afterwards, the two presidents held a press conference, during which Mr. Bush said: "I believe in a two-state solution. I believe there ought to be two states living side by side in peace. so does President Sarkozy. We discussed that today."

Whether French or American, British or Russian, Arab or Israeli, Italian or Japanese or Chinese, a place in global history is awaiting the committed statesman with the courage, insistency, assertiveness to make that kind of strategic thinking a reality.

The 30th anniversary of Sadat's brave initiative in Jerusalem is a propitious time for recalling his final wishes and pledging to fulfill them.

Who will begin to turn the master key to open the correct door that would open to find the kind of peace and loving kindness for which President Sadat — and humanity still yearn for? Yes, Anwar Sadat, I can now reply to you. There is a key to that peace which you sought and died for. But your efforts and sacrifices are not in vain. You remain the exemplary model — even today, 30 years later. The impact you made on me and others is still with us.

But, after more than 40 years of intensely following Mideast issues here and abroad and copious private conversations and interviews with the high and mighty as well as with the powerless and poor, I can attest to the facts that those who have the power and authority to help realize your "initiatives" with ingenuity and perspicacity and bravery have been denied too often by those they have delegated to carry out those initiatives. Too often, the bureaucracies of innovative American, Israeli and other peace-seeking leaders have given de facto assistance to extremists and terrorists such as those who took your life. Your heartfelt vision for peace has been undermined not only by terrorism and war but also by tepid and even obstructionist diplomacy by self-convinced doubters and manipulators. However I'm confident that perseverance, determination and strategic thinking will turn the key to what you so nobly sought that will unlock the way to that permanent peace.

Yes, President Sadat, there is a key to that peace which you sought and died for. Your efforts and sacrifices were not in vain. You remain the exemplary model — even today. The impact you made on me and others are still with us. I was struck then and still am by the sincerity, honesty and audacity of your purpose and vividly recall your fond musings about your talks in Jerusalem. That memory has never dimmed nor has the impact of our in-depth, one-on-one conversations and on-and-off-the-record talks we had before your death.

During his vice presidency and presidency in the mid 1970s, Gerald R.Ford also attempted to expedite peace talks with officials. He noted, however, that serious infighting and bickering from even senior officials, appointed and elected, including ambassadors, had a major effect on negotiations or any meetings.

Ford told me how one official undermined the other from the lowest to the highest position which, in turn, affects any leader's decisions.

"That's why both lower and senior staffs need to be carefully vetted or screened before they are hired in any organization, whether it be in private sector or the White House."

He noted that, particularly in the White House, the president — not aides — should make the decisions.

This included decisions about whom to see, when and why. "The temptation to exceed one's authority becomes irresistible," he said, "and in their eagerness to be close to the president, most aides tell him only what they think he wants to hear."

Ford believed that White House or State Department staff should not be selected from those “cliques of ambitious amateurs” who work in presidential campaigns (actually helping to decide any election) and that aides would be more effective in carrying out their programs and the people's business if they would be competent, accountable and do not focus on their own agendas.

Ford long maintained that he was too tolerant and too reluctant to fire anyone. "In the final months of my presidency," he laments, "I began to face the problem, but it was too late."

He noted that he concurred with one of President Lyndon B. Johnson's press secretaries, George E. Reedy, who wrote in the 'Twilight of the Presidency' that "Presidents should not hire assistants under 40 years old, who had not suffered any major disappointments. When amateurs find themselves in the West Wing or the East Wing of the White House, they begin to think they are little tin gods . . .' "

In his autobiography, 'A Time To Heal,' Gerald Ford writes: "Reedy left the White House staff several years before, but he was predicting the climate that had led to Watergate, and that is disturbing."

Mr. Ford also writes that throughout his political career, nothing upset him more than the bickering among members of his staff. "It was time-consuming, terribly distracting and unnecessary," he notes. "I told my aides I would not tolerate that infighting. But it continued, even accelerated, in the White House."

Later, Sadat described his Knesset address as the "most memorable moment of his trip 30 years ago when he had emphasized that he had come with "firm steps, to build a new life and establish permanent peace."

Who will be the next Sadat?

Where is today's Anwar Sadat who can electrify, who can resurrect the possibilities, wake us all up and then soar over the hurdles of entrenched hatred and insecurities, going beyond misjudgments of the past. Who can choose the peacemakers and elevate them above petty minds and bitter hearts? Who has the stature, who can be empowered to lift our sights, a healer, brave enough to attack the challenge anew? People around the world yearn for action. Above all, who will now turn the correct key to unlock the door to the kind of concrete action plan that energized Sadat. He willed himself to take the risks and so built the moral authority to make the leadership strides to the peace table on which coexistence can be made a reality.

As of now, the ones who have the power, the correct strategic key to turn or unlock are killed virtually when not literally before they can turn it, either by undermining one another or by character assassination.

Therefore nothing is acted upon with moral authority and assertion to end any deadlock. Instead the status quo remains and the ramifications of those who might have the correct key are undermined and thwarted, even destroyed. Yet no one shows sympathy or empathy with Sadat's action or had the human insight needed to help him achieve that noble goal. Instead he was murdered by his own people in his own country.

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As Secretary of State, Gen. Colin L. Powell was asked — at a briefing — how he would fight global terrorism with international coalitions.

"....The enemy is in many places," he replied. "The enemy is not looking to be found. The enemy is hidden, The enemy is very often right here within our own country ....

And so you have to design a campaign plan that goes after that kind of enemy, and it is not always blunt force military, although that is certainly an option. it may well be that the diplomatic efforts, political efforts, legal, financial, other efforts, may be just as effective against that kind of an enemy as would be military force.

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Evil and wicked zealotry are not new phenomena. The fanatic mentality is one of the saddest obstacles in the world's pathway to eventual co existence and the loving kindness that goes with peace. Our priority now must be to expose the twisted, perverted and abusive behavior and thoughts, ideas, even jealousies, of those people and nations the world over who have learned to employ — overtly and covertly — virulence, violence and the tools of threat, torture, deception and shrewd manipulation to seek their own objectives and agendas.

Short of achieving such goals, neither the Mideast nor any other region will be able to move toward Sadat's vision of peace based on his concept of a diplomacy of love, a diplomacy he attempted in his dealings with Israel.

There is, "for sure" (Sadat's favorite English expression) a key to peace in the Mideast.

The question is: Which statesman will use the right key to open the right door which discards the hatred and animosity and suspicion and turn make real the concept of the Golden Rule and Ten Commandments — treat your neighbor as you want him to treat you. That key could be used for every lock or door or person or nation.

As Sadat said: "We need to turn the hatred into love and compassion ... with compassion ... with communication and quiet diplomacy. Even great institutions can be paralyzed by petty bickering or grand disagreements. Foreign ministries, State Departments need to be clear about what's needed. Most of all, they need leadership, the kind that clarifies, motivates and decides.

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On Mideast issues, Ms. Feldman has interviewed every Israeli prime minister, including the first, David Ben Gurion and every American president from Lyndon Johnson through George W. Bush (including Harry Truman, in his post presidential years (l968, l97l, l972) and every Secretary of State from Dean Rusk to Condoleezza Rice.