MER - WASHINGTON - 11/14/97:

During the week another Washington conference about the "Peace Process" took place -- this one keynoted by the new Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle East, Martin Indyk, a long-time protege of the Israeli/Jewish lobby.

The conference was sponsored by a magazine known as "Middle East Insight" -- headed by George Nader -- and by an international affairs center at the College of William & Mary -- headed by James Bill. It was featured on C-Span and attended by the usual Washington press corps, top-heavy these days with mediocre Arab journalists always eager it seems to be used by anyone who will give them free food and easy quotes.

For years the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, has been a favorite for the CIA and other government-connected foreign policy types. Jim Bill has furthered those connections since he came to set up the Center for International Affairs about a decade ago; so much so that his own independence as a scholar is very much in doubt.

As for Nader's "Middle East Insight" publication... it has long been suspected of having very close ties to the Zionist lobby along with the CIA and Mossad. And indeed it is believed that many of Nader's visits to the Middle East region have much more to do with intelligence collection than journalism.

In short, beware of anything that "Middle East Insight" or the College of William and Mary is involved in when it comes to the Middle East.