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—Voices from the Sensible Center— Interpreting the Middle
East for North Americans— Current Affairs 3 The Lebanon Dilemma—The Reagan Administration apparently can't make up its mind over Lebanon: Whether to jump back in, or stand back and let events take their course. Richard Parker, a former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, examines the dilemma and finds no easy answers. 4 Understanding the Arabs—Humphrey, Jr., came whistling into our office again to ogle our feminist intern, and to ask a question we've heard so often: "Why can't the Arabs be more like us?" We think Miz helped him understand. 5 OPEC: The Next Crisis—What happens when OPEC's two warring members resume normal oil production? It will depend on whether OPEC can enforce new production limits for its other members, and how anxious both belligerents are to make up for lost revenues. 6 Lobby Activities—The 37th anniversary of the U.N. partition of Palestine did not go unnoticed by several hundred Arab Americans in Washington, who spent a recent evening showing solidarity With the Palestinians. AIPAC, kingpin of the Israeli lobby,describes the Palestine National Council meeting in Amman as a test in which the PLO mainstream failed to demonstrate moderation. 8 MESA Condemns Blacklisting—Scholars attending the recent Middle East Studies Association's annual meeting decided enough is enough. They passed a resolution criticizing two pro-Israel groups for activities which could, MESA said, inhibit academic freedom. Regular Features 2 Editorial—If your only reaction to the Palestine National Council meeting was disappointment over Yasser Arafat's unwillingness to endorse U.N. Resolution 242, there's good news. It was a hard-fought, watershed victory for Palestinian moderates over extremism of two kinds Palestinian and Israeli. 7 Personality—Some people save money for rainy days. Washington attorney Merle Thorpe squirreled his away for a worthy cause. Five years ago he found one, and the Foundation for Middle East Peace was launched. 8 Facts For Your Files—A Chronology of U.S. Middle East Relations 10 Book Review—The main focus of Christine Helms's new book on Iraq is the Iran-Iraq war. It analyzes Iraq's current Ba'thist regime and goes a long way toward helping Westerners appreciate Iraq's importance. |