—Voices from the Sensible Center—

Interpreting the Middle East for North Americans—
Interpreting North America for the Middle East

Current Affairs

2 Ups and Downs for Mr. Shultz—At times, Secretary of State Shultz's vehicle for his Middle East journey seemed more like a roller coaster than a shuttle, as good news followed bad in a seemingly unending cycle. Through it all, however, Mr. Shultz retained his equanimity and his underlying optimism.

3 The Soviet Dimension—Syria is getting the attention—but it's not the only place the Soviet Union is active as it plays a bigger role in Arab affairs than it has for years.

4 Waiting It Out in Iraq—With a massive liquidity crunch besetting Iraq as a result of its war with Iran, the lot of foreign contractors has not been a happy one. But a surprising number of American companies are still in the country and still doing business.

5 Lobby Activities—The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has told members of a House subcommittee that than was requested by the Reagan Administration. On the other side of town, the National Association of Arab Americans was formed by the Justice Department that a 600-page file on alleged espionage activities by a former Senate aide—which it earlier told NAAA had been lost—has now been "located." But NAAA still has not received all of the file, and plans to press its lawsuit against the Department until it gets it.

REGULAR FEATURES

2 Editorial—You really can't expect Lebanon to confront the Israelis eyeball to eyeball and make them blink. But the U.S. could do this if it really wanted to—and it really ought to want to.

6 Facts For Your Files—A Chronology of U.S.-Middle East Relations

7 Book Review—Anthony Cordesman's new book, Jordanian Arms and the Middle East Balance, documents his theme that the U.S. should meet any future requests from Jordan for advanced U.S. weaponry. Cordesman also argues that providing arms to countries on opposite sides in the Arab-Israeli conflict really can create opportunities for peace, rather than war.

8 Personality—George Ball, international lawyer, financial consultant and former top government official, looks at the Middle East with a global perspective—and he also tells you exactly what he thinks. Although not everyone agrees with what he says, just about everyone listens.