Search

Discusses the outlook for the acceptance of proposals for peace between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Projected effects of the decision of Arafat on politics in the Middle East; Details of the proposals, including rules concerning refugees; Dissatisfaction of Palestinians with deadlines imposed by Americans and Israelis.

Reports that Jordan's King Hussein designated his son Abdullah bin Hussein as crown prince, and his eventual successor. How Abdullah's leadership could set a new tone for the region; The issues pertaining to Israel and Arab relations with the West that the future generation has to deal with; The soaring population and unemployment rates in the Middle East; How Abdullah is known to have close relations with the younger generation of emirs and sheiks throughout the Gulf.

Focuses on relations between Israel and Syria. The issue of peace and control of the Golan Heights; Background on Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights; Speculation that Syria's President Hafez al-Assad will negotiate with Israel's President-elect Ehud Barak; The Mideast dispute involving Lebanon; Domestic issues in Syria.

Looks at the political dynamics of Israel's hold on the Golan Heights area, which was taken from Syria in 1967. The Israeli election of Ehud Barak for prime minister; The South Lebanon Army's withdrawal from the Jezzine, Lebanon enclave on June 1, 1999; Peace negotiations in the Middle East; Majority of Golan residents voting for Barak; Dislike of the Third Way centrist party that is unwilling to compromise on the Golan Heights issue.

Discusses the relations between Jordan and Syria. Jordan's King Abdullah's visit to Damascus; Jordan's involvement with Israel as Israel and Syria engage in peace talks; Abdullah and Syria's President Hafez al-Assad having similar views on the Mideast peace process; Leadership of the Arab world.

Opinion. Suggests that as Middle Easterners try to figure the implications of King Abdullah II's abrupt succession to power in Jordan after the death of King Hussein, they also foresee a cascade of other momentous leadership changes throughout the region. Changes which may put into question a regional order that has relied on one-man rule; Mention of some of the region's leaders who are aging or in poor health; Forecasting.

Reports how the botched assassination attempt by Israel's Mossad on Khaled Meshal has impacted the power balance in the Middle East. The proposal for a cease fire from Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas, who was freed in the aftermath of the assassination attempt; Israel's insistence on its right to fight terrorism; Concessions that Israel made to Jordan; How the return of Yassin to Gaza impacts Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat; Outlook.

Opinion. Discusses the failed assassination attempt on a Hamas official in Jordan by Mossad, the Israeli secret police. Political ramifications of the attempt; Concessions that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was forced to make; How Jordan's King Hussein benefited from the attempt; Attempts by Hamas to gain a place at the Mideast peace table; Criticism for Netanyahu in Israel; The fluidity that the incident has added to the peace process.

Examines the role of Syria in the Mideast peace process. Syria's relationship with Israel; Signs that Syria is seeking peace with Israel; What is necessary for Syria to make peace with Israel; The controversial Golan Heights; Events in Syria which keep it on the US State Department list of terrorist states, even though no official act of terror has come from there in ten years; Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's decision to not fully withdraw from the Golan Heights. INSET: Syria questions is place on America's `black list'..

Opinion. Discusses the impact that US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's visit to the Mideast had on the prospects for peace there. Her calls for greater efforts from Palestine in restraining terrorism; The determination that the US would be the judge of whether the Palestinian Authority is fulfilling its security obligations; Reprimands from Albright for the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu; Outlook for the Mideast Economic Summit.

Reports on the aftershocks of US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's trip to the Middle East. Efforts to restore mutual trust between Mideast peace partners; Peace between Syria and Lebanon and Israel; The role the Lebanon will play in the peace process; Syria's tacit support for the Hizbullah guerrillas in Lebanon; How Arab leaders are viewing Albright's actions; Outlook for peace.

Opinion. Discusses the prospects for peace in the Middle East prior to Madeleine Albright's planned visit in September of 1997. Albright's plans to reprimand Palestinian leader Arafat for his apparent unwillingness to declare war on Hamas; How the prospects for peace in 1997 compare to the prospects prior to the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995; What the US needs to do to promote peace; Outlook.

Focuses on Madeleine Albright's planned visit to the Middle East in September of 1997. The sense of hopelessness about peace in the region; The widespread desire for peace; Albright's plans to meet with high school students from Israel and Palestine; How terrorist attacks in Israel have affected Albright's plans; How she plans to deal with Palestinian anxiety about a perceived bias toward Israel from the United States.

Examines the Mideast peace process in August of 1997. The desire of the United States to advance to the so-called final status talks; What leaders must do before final status talks will take place; Actions taken by Mideast leaders which have threatened peace talks; The role that Israel and Palestine play in the process; Events which have threatened the peace process.

Reveals that guerrilla warfare is the most likely course for the future of warfare in the Middle East because of the proliferation of ballistic, chemical and nuclear weapons. The vulnerability of most Mideast nations to low-tech guerrilla warfare; So-called proxy wars; How Mideast governments use proxy groups to advance their goals; Manipulation of Kurdish factions in Iraq by Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria; The attempts of the US to create a so-called Pax Americana; Outlook.

Discusses the prospects for peace in the Middle East as of the summer of 1997. The impact of the heavy US military presence; Unfinished business from the Gulf War in 1991; The collapse of the Arab-Israeli peace process; The breakdown in the 1993 Oslo accords; Division within countries like Israel; The dangerous nature of foreign policy decisions made by politicians instead of foreign officials.

Presents a map of political minefields in the Middle East that have potential to set off conflicts, as of August, 1997. Turkey; Libya; Algeria; Egypt; Southern Egypt; Southern Lebanon; Israel; Gaza Strip; Arab East Jerusalem; Hebron; Tel Aviv; Southern Israel; Jordan; Iraq; Saudi Arabia; Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Gulf islands; Iran's southern coast; Persian Gulf; Bharain and Qatar; Kuwait; Iran-Iraq border; Iran; South Caspian Sea; Northern Iraq; Syria; Golan Heights.

Examines the military policy of the United States in the Middle East. Money spent annually by the US on Persian Gulf deployments; Questions about the actual role that the presence of the American military plays in the Middle East; The belief that US military presence could be a destabilizing factor; The willingness of the US to fight if American interests like oil and allies are threatened; Criticism of the US for its unequivocal support of Israel.

Discusses the Middle East peace process in the wake of suicide bombings by Hamas in Jerusalem. The possible downfall of the Oslo accords; The debate over how well countries and leaders can protect against terrorism; The tough political decisions facing Israel's Netanyahu and Palestine's Arafat; How Arafat is viewed in Palestine and around the world; Outlook.

Opinion. Discusses the prospects for peace in the Middle East following the late July of 1997 suicide bombings in Jerusalem. The bombings as an incentive for peace; The belief that a negotiated settlement is the only path away from recurrent violence and war; Israel's reaction to the bombings; What Yasser Arafat needs to do in the wake of the bombings; What is needed for peace.

Informs that two suicide bombings in Jerusalem, Israel on July 30, 1997 have halted the peace process in the Middle East. The postponement of the arrival of US envoy Dennis Ross, scheduled to discuss new proposals for peace; The call from President Clinton for a deepened determination to achieve peace; The role of Yasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation Organization; Israel's reassessment of its relationship with Palestine.

Reports that Palestinians are generally supportive of Saddam Hussein and Iraq in early 1998. How this support of Iraq hurts Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the Middle East and in the United States; What the support for Hussein means for the Middle East peace process; How Israel has responded to the Palestinian support for Iraq and Hussein; Why many Palestinians say they only support the people Iraq and not Hussein; How Palestinians reacted to Hussein during the Gulf War in 1991.

Opinion. Discusses the Middle East in 1998, as the United States prepares for possible military action against Iraq to enforce United Nations weapons inspections. How support for military action compares to that during the Gulf War in 1991; Why many Arabs do not feel that the US is justified in attacking Iraq; Comments from Ismat Abdel-Meguid, head of the Arab League; How a US attack could throw the entire region into chaos.

Examines the possibility of Israeli retaliation against any Iraqi attacks which occur during any United States military action taken against Iraq to force compliance with United Nations weapons inspections. How Israeli retaliation will affect United States' relations in the Middle East; The willingness of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to retaliate; The message that non-retaliation would send to Israel's neighbors and enemies.

Opinion. Comments on the staying power of Iraq's Saddam Hussein. His noncompliance with United Nations weapons inspections; How he has responded to the military attacks he has faced; Why his honor will not allow him to retreat; What the United States needs to do to pressure Saddam; The likelihood that Saddam will become a so-called Nasser, or savior of the Arab world.

Focuses on the sensitivity of the position of Eliyahu Ben-Elissar, Israel's new envoy to the United States with icy US-Israeli ties. Ben-Ellisar's road map for peace in the Mideast; Mission to convince the US of Israel's conservative vision for peace.

Reports on the stalling of the peace process in the Middle East due to the presidential elections in the United States in November 1996. Arabs' disappointment on the hard-line policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; US President Bill Clinton's commitment to finding peace in the region.

Reports about the important events in the Mideast during 1995. Assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995 by Jewish activist; Role of Rabin in Israel-PLO peace accord; Peace talks between Israel and Syria; Defection of Saddam Hussein's son-in-law Lt. Gen. Hussein Kamel Hassan to Jordan in August; October elections organized by Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

Opinion. Comments on the foreign policy of United States and its endangered national security amid turbulence in the Middle East with the assassination of Yithzak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel. Role of US in North Africa politics as the leading factor to determine its success in peacekeeping in the Arab nations.