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| —Voices from the Sensible Center— Interpreting the Middle
East for North Americans— Current Affairs 3 Iran-Iraq War: Profile of the Combatants—Just how do Iran and Iraq stand after 44 months of bloody war? We give you a rundown on the current state of their economies and military capabilities, as well as an update on their war aims. 4 Iran-Iraq War: The Fallout—The Iran-Iraq war is no longer the "forgotten" war. With new developments that will affect both the future of oil and the future of peace, the whole world is now watching with apprehension. 5 Lobby Activities—Two speakers startled an audience in Washington the other night with first-hand accounts of the abuse of Palestinians in Israeli jails. Meanwhile, a pro-Israel group which has long opposed NBC's coverage of Israel's invasion of Lebanon two years ago has taken its complaints to a federal agency in the hope of getting some NBC affiliates off the air. Regular Features 2 Editorial—Seldom has the Middle East seen two years that have brought so much disaster to so many countries and so many people. We offer some comments on the second anniversary of an invasion that Israel said would open up a "new era" of peace in the region. 6 Facts For Your Files—A Chronology of U.S.-Middle East Relations 7 Book Review—A new book on the PLO by an English journalist reaches this conclusion: The Fateh-dominated PLO has emerged from its recent problems with its cohesiveness and vitality sufficiently intact to carry it into another era, which will most likely be marked by a "new stress on developing military aspects of the struggle inside the Israeli-occupied territories." 8 Personality—The Arab Women's Council, in Washington, D.C., tries to take on two formidable tasks at the same time: combating the U.S. stereotyping of Arab women, and explaining the Arab point of view on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Hala Maksoud, its president, has a background of accomplishment which amply qualifies her to do both. |