JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1995, Page 114

Publishers' Page

After the Oslo Agreement...

We told our readers there was much to do to turn Yasser Arafat's and Yitzhak Rabin's Declaration of Principles of Peace into "the beginning of Palestine instead of the end of Palestine." Most of our readers and regular contributors agreed.

"Angels' Choir" Enrollment Rose.

Unfortunately, this willingness to see the job through was not shared by many corporate donors. With a few exceptions, most of our "heavy hitters" struck out this year—or drastically reduced their contributions. When we asked our corporate contacts why, most said: "I agree with you but some of my board members say, 'It's all over.'"

We Had Moments of Self-Doubt.

They aren't good for people who've stayed psyched up to swim against very strong currents for a very long time. Maybe, we thought, we've been struggling upriver so long that we don't recognize that we've finally reached calm waters—a compromise Middle East peace that all rational parties can live with.

When We Set Out for a Month...

In the Middle East this fall, we didn't know what we would find. Do people really think it's all over, or are they ready to plunge back in if things fall apart?

Take 20 Minutes, If You Can...

To read "Journey to the 'New Middle East,'" starting on page 56 of this issue. Read it chronologically, starting with Qatar and ending with Gaza. Most of our readers are more interested in Gaza right now. But we think if you listen carefully, as we did, to what people are saying in the heart of the Arab world, it will help you understand what people are doing in Gaza, and how informed Americans should deal with it.

We Returned With Certainties.

One is that the Clinton administration's cave-in to Israel on Palestine is every bit as catastrophic as its cave-in on Bosnia to Britain and France. In the Middle East, Israel is reneging even on the few concessions made to the Palestinians in the Declaration of Principles because some Israeli leaders figure the U.S. will let them get away with it. If they continue, the whole Israeli-Palestinian dispute is headed back to square one, which will be catastrophic for U.S. interests as well as for everyone else in the Middle East.

In Bosnia, Well, Everyone Knows...

We should have led, not followed. At least much of the mainstream press had that one right. The end result, however, could be that the vaunted "clash of civilizations"—which perhaps was inevitable between Islam on the one hand and Russia and the Greek Orthodox world on the other—will also quite unnecessarily involve Americans.

Because of the Most Inept...

U.S. administration of the 20th century, tens of thousands of Americans could join the hundreds of thousands of Muslims and Christians who are likely to die violently at each other's hands in the Balkans and Central Asia in the next 20 years...

Unless Americans Wise Up!

As all those new members of our Angels' Choir already have figured out, and those recalcitrant corporate board members haven't, we're needed more than ever before. We also think the issues are clearer than ever before. So if you know anyone else who can define them as lucidly and to as broad an audience as we have been doing for the past 12 years...

Help Them Too!

But please, please don't forget us. We were only able to publish seven issues in 1994. We've got to get back to monthly status or someday we'll have no more readers than any of the Middle East quarterlies and bimonthlies that have blossomed and then withered over the years. We think our success is not only because we call issues as we see them, but also because we publish frequently enough to remain timely.

Confucius Really Did Say...

"To see what is right and not to do it is cowardice." We believe that if you read us carefully, as thousands do, you'll be as well informed as any diplomat on the spot.

But, Unlike America's Diplomats...

You'll have the freedom to speak out. And the knowledge to do it authoritatively.

That's How We Can Help You to...

Help America in 1995—if you'll help us now. Meanwhile, if a camel is a horse designed by a committee—like those parsimonious boards of directors—we're probably better off with a heavenly host of horse-mounted soldiers, like those individual members of our Choir of Angels who didn't doubt us, even when we doubted ourselves. Be there for us...

And We'll Be Here for You.

We're Now Also On-Line!

While our articles are not available currently on the Internet, our address via e-mail is: WRMEA@aol.com (We didn't put a period on the end of that sentence, because there's no period at the end of our Internet address.) We'll welcome via that additional channel any letters to the editor, orders, questions, etc., readers and book purchasers may have.

A Major Misunderstanding...

This month's renewal notices turned up two very angry recipients. Both, it turned out, had thought they could renew their subscriptions by sending their money to the Council for the National Interest. One compounded the problem by sending a couple of hundred dollars to CNI to start gift subscriptions for others to the Washington Report. Nothing reached us.

So Here's the Deal...

CNI and AET are completely independent. However, once upon a time CNI members did get a Washington Report subscription as part of their membership—and for that reason CNI decided it was more economical to place its newsletter as an advertisement in the Washington Report than to print and mail it separately.

But That Arrangement Lapsed.

No one there remembers exactly when or why. Now, thanks to those irate letter writers, it's been revived. If you join or renew your membership in CNI with a contribution of $60 or more, they will enter a $19 subscription to the Washington Report on your behalf.

But, If Your Primary Interest...

Is to keep your subscription current, just use the form in the middle of this magazine. And when you enter gift subscriptions, as we hope everyone who has read this page will, do it directly with us.

It's Tough Enough to Swim Upriver...

Without putting rocks in our swimsuits.

Make a Difference.

We've called Senator Bob Dole and Rep. Newt Gingrich and thanked them for sticking to candidate Bill Clinton's Bosnia policy, even after President Clinton abandoned it (see page 7). Now we're faxing our three representatives in Congress to tell them how insanely destructive an American retreat from principle would be in Bosnia. (All the phone numbers are on page 94).

Regarding the Oslo Agreement...

Perhaps you should read what Secretary of State Warren Christopher said while admonishing the Syrians (page 9) for delaying negotiations. Then call or fax the president, the secretary, and your representatives in Congress and suggest that the U.S. should abandon the political pandering and read the same riot act to our "ally," Israel, for delaying implementation of the agreement it signed with the Palestinians.

Tell Them One Standard Suits All...

And Make a Difference, This Month.