VOL. XLII

No. 18

3-May-1999

The Political Scene

In a successful effort to ward off a unilateral declarationof a Palestinian state, President Clinton has sent a letter to PalestinianAuthority President Yasir ' Arafat which contains the nearest thing to anAmerican endorsement of Palestinian statehood to date. The Americans have alsotaken steps to prevent the peace process from falling into desuetude when theoriginal 4 May deadline for reaching a final status agreement passes. In Iran,President...