—Voices from the Sensible Center—

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

Special Reports

2 The Middle East Muddle—We sometimes feel as overwhelmed as our readers by the task of trying to understand the fast-moving and complex events of the Middle East. But we do have more time than most of them have to figure out at least a few of the answers.

3 West Bank: Almost Gone?—With world attention focused on Lebanon and the Gulf, the Israelis have been busy pounding a few more nails into the coffin of Palestinian self-determination in the West Bank and Gaza.

4 The Gulf War and Oil—As long as the war in the Gulf is confined to Iran and Iraq, Americans have no reason to worry over the prospect of gas lines. There are other producers who are willing to make up any lost production.

5 Lobby Activities—Nearly two months after Israel's invasion of Lebanon, the National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA) is still gathering signatures on a petition which NAAA hopes will lead to the cutoff of U.S. aid to Israel. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, on the other hand, is making a major effort to minimize the impact of civilian casualties in Lebanon.

Regular Features

2 Editorial—It takes chutzpah to claim, as Israel does, that no army in history has ever been more careful in avoiding civilian casualties than Israel has in Lebanon. However large or small the number of casualties may be, the record of Israeli carelessness-to say the least-is quite clear.

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

7 Book Review—The revised edition of The Encyclopedia of Islam contains some good scholarship but has a great number of shortcomings. One major defect is the inclusion of numerous articles on subjects which have little or nothing to do with Islam.

8 Personality—When a solid And conservative bank opens up an important facility, it needs a solid and conservative banker to run it. That's what the National Bank of Abu Dhabigot for itself when it put Paul Wayne Wright in charge of its new branch in Washington last year.