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| —Voices from the Sensible Center— Interpreting the Middle
East for North Americans— Current Affairs 3 Iran and Israel: A Parallel—Before the U.S. says yes to Israel's next request for more state-of-the-art U.S. weaponry, it's worth asking whether an open-door arms policy is such a good idea. It didn't work in Iran. And there's considerable evidence it won't work in Israel. 4 Mideast Panel Now Set—Panel members have now been chosen for the House subcommittee on the Middle East. If few probing questions were asked in the past about Israel's policies in the region, you can expect even fewer over the next two years. The panel has been stacked to Israel's overwhelming advantage. 5 Lobby Activities—Over 100 activists representing religious, peace, and political constituencies stepped back from the fray recently to exchange views on the most effective ways of building U.S. public and government support for demilitarization of the Mideast and a Palestinian state. A group with a totally different view, Americans For a Safe Israel, says conservative congressmen are being ignored by AIPAC, a major pro-Israel lobbying organization. AFSI intends to start filling the gap. 6 U.S.-Saudi Economics—Saudi Arabia's economic relationship with the U.S. was overshadowed by political issues during King Fahd's recent visit to Washington. Nevertheless, as Economic Editor John Haldane points out, Saudi Arabia remains America's sixth-largest trading partner and the largest holder in the world of U.S. Treasury securities. Regular Features 2 Editorial—A lot of Middle Eastern leaders believe that if President Reagan puts U.S. muscle behind his own peace plan this year, Middle East peace may be attainable. It's instructive to see who wants him to go for it, and who hopes he won't. 7 Personality—After Najeeb Halaby ended his career as a test pilot he soared to even greater heights in a series of top U.S. government jobs and as PanAm's Board Chairman. He now puts much of his boundless energy into keeping the American University of Beirut alive in the midst of decade-long fighting. Of course, when he's in the Mideast he visits with his daughter, Queen Noor of Jordan. 8 Facts For Your Files—A Chronology of U.S.-Middle East Relations 10 Book Review—If we could afford it we'd buy every American a copy of George Ball's new book, Error and Betrayal in Lebanon. It's probably the best book out explaining how—and why—the U.S. got sucked into Israel's disastrous war in Lebanon, at a cost of more than 250 American lives and an incalculable loss of American credibility in the Middle East. |