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—Voices from the Sensible Center— Interpreting the Middle
East for North Americans— Current Affairs 2 Who's Helping Shultz—While Secretary Shultz was carrying out some intensive direct diplomacy concerning Lebanon during the visits to Washington of the Lebanese and Israeli foreign ministers, it occurred to us that it might be useful for many readers to find out just who the people are in the State Department who lay the groundwork for the Secretary of State's discussions on these and other Middle East issues. We also thought it would be handy to put their names onto a chart (page five), and provide a brief explanation of how they all work together (page two). 3 Exports to Mideast: Still Up—Despite the uncertainties in the oil market, Commerce Department officials are bullish about prospects for U.S. exports to the Middle East during 1983—especially those to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Algeria. Last year, the Department says in a recent report, exports by the U.S. to the region rose by five percent over the previous year—at a time when the exports to the world as a whole declined by nine percent. 4 Lobby Activities—For over a year the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has been tracking Israel's human rights practices in Israeli-occupied lands and has put together a full report on its findings. Meanwhile, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has been lobbying vigorously to up-grade U.S. military cooperation with Israel—and has been using some very strong language, directed against the Administration, to make its case. Regular Features 2 Editorial—The other day Secretary Shultz complained publicly over what he called a "de-stabilizing" event in the Middle East. We submit, respectfully, that his analysis of what really happened was a faulty one. 6 Facts For Your Files—A Chronology of U.S.-Middle East Relations 7 Book Review—If you are waiting for the "definitive" work on the West Sahara conflict, it hasn't been written yet. But if you could use a short (148-pages), concise and yet comprehensive account of this complex issue that covers all the really relevant ground, our reviewer recommends a new book by Professor John Damis, of Stanford. 8 Personality—When the Reverend John M. Sutton started out as a pastor in the Methodist Church, it never entered his mind that he would some day be running a technical assistance foundation or heading a group established to explain the Middle East to Americans. But both these things happened. Read why.
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