L. Dean Brown

Ambassador L. Dean Brown, President of Washington's Middle East Institute (MEI), brings to his job the background of a U.S. diplomat and troubleshooter extraordinary—having, among other ventures, directed the evacuation of Vietnamese and Americans from Saigon, taken over the U.S. Embassy in Cyprus immediately after the assassination of the U.S. Ambassador, and entered Lebanon during the height of its civil war to try to mediate an end to the fighting.

The problems that Ambassador Brown encounters at the Institute are neither as world-shaking nor as dangerous, but his troubleshooting talents still come in handy.

According to the Ambassador, the main problem he has to face—one which has been chronic since the institute was founded in 1946—is the need to finance a varied spectrum of activities on a very slim budget.

"We started much too small," he says. "Back in 1946—when MEI was established—"Americans weren't as concerned with the Middle East as they are now. So we began with a financial base that was miniscule compared to those of institutions like the Asia Society or the China Society. We've been playing catch-up ever since."

On a present operating budget of only $500,000 per year, MEI's activities include sponsoring conferences, seminars, exhibits and lectures; providing language and culture courses; publishing books and periodicals (including the prestigious Middle East Journal); operating a 15,000-volume library; and renting out films on Middle East subjects. It does, however, benefit from having its own premises—two townhouses in downtown Washington which it was offered at a modest price by their former owner, Mrs. George Camp Keiser, widow of the principal founder and benefactor of MEI.

Tea and Cookies

An increasingly important function, Ambassador Brown says, is taking care of foreign visitors who have the institute on their itinerary—or are referred to it by the U.S. government and by embassies in Washington. "For example, we'll get a call from the State Department asking us if we could get a small group of Americans together to meet so-and-so, and we always manage to do it," he says. But he adds with mock despair: "Unfortunately, all we can ever feed them is tea and cookies."

When it comes to the politics of the Middle East, MEI takes no position, but has to carry out a delicate balancing act in that sensitive arena. It has acted as host to Lebanon's Maronite military chieftain Bashir Gemayel—but has done the same for Walid Jumblatt, a leader from the other side of the conflict. MEI offers courses on Middle East cultures with such titles as "A Two-Part Colloquium on the Palestinians and the Israelis." In its language courses it offers Arabic, Persian and Hebrew. Attendees at its annual conference have included Israeli and Arab government officials.

Strong Views

Although the institute does not get involved in politics, Ambassador Brown, in his personal capacity, has strong and forthright opinions on developments in the world as a whole and the Middle East in particular. When asked his views of the Arab-Israeli conflict, he told the Washington Report:

"President after President of the U.S., has committed himself to supporting the security and territory of Israel. But the question they should have been asking Israel is: just what is Israel? What are its boundaries? We have not asked Israel this question. This is the hidden problem that Messrs. Reagan and Haig don't seem to be willing to cope with yet.

"Another problem is our seeming inability to understand that other countries have legitimate interests in the Middle East which we have to consider. Our failure, among other things, to address the fundamental problem of what to do about the Palestinian people, is poisoning our relations with Europe. And look at Japan. One of the most significant events of this past year was that the Japanese received Yasser Arafat. Never before have they raised their voice to the U.S. except in trade matters. But now even the Japanese are giving us strong signals that they think we are on the wrong track in the Middle East.

"Finally: why is it that American leaders, while they are in office, say there cannot be a Palestinian state, and then when they leave office say that there can be no solution without a Palestinian state?"

Ambassador Brown had his first prolonged exposure to Middle East affairs when he served as U.S. Ambassador to Jordan from 1970 to 1973. He was there during "Black September" of 1970, when King Hussein cracked down on the Palestinian guerrillas, and remained through the Arab-Israeli War of 1973. Earlier, he was Deputy Chief of Mission in Rabat, Morocco. Ambassador Brown has served as Deputy Under Secretary of State for Management. He was educated at Wesleyan, and joined the Foreign Service in 1946 after army service during World War II. He has been president of MEI since February, 1975.