VOL. XXXII

NO. 11

19-DECEMBER-1988

The Middle East Situation

In a week of rapid and dramatic developments that have transformed theregional political landscape, PLO Chairman Yasser 'Arafat first failed to meetUS criteria in his speech to the UN General Assembly in Geneva and then came upwith an acceptable formula the next day, and the US announced that it wasinitiating a "substantive dialogue" with the PLO immediately. Thesuccessful culmination of the first phase of the Palestinians' peace drive...