M I D - E A S T  R E A L I T I E S - LIE OF THE WEEK UPDATE

For additional information: http://MiddleEast.Org.

Law Professor Francis Boyle writes in response to the recent MER LIE of the Week about AMNESTY USA: "What you are saying about Amnesty International USA is true. I served on their Board for four years. I had to threaten a lawsuit and be prepared to file it in New York to get on there. They depend quite heavily on pro-Israel sources to fund them. They refused to do anything about Palestinians until I got on the Board, then fought me all the way. They are pretty hopeless... Best regards and keep up the good work."

                       Prof. Francis A. Boyle - 1/13/97

Among the many reasons for Amnesty USA's hypocritical coverups of systematic Israeli torture of Palestinians is the "volunteer coordinator" for Israel, Marty Rosenbluth. The problem isn't that Rosenbluth isn't committed (which many who know him insist he is). Rather the problem is that Rosenbluth is ineffectual and naive. No doubt it is precisely this reason why those who control Amnesty in the USA are pleased to have Rosenbluth in a key role they don't want someone more capable and more sophisticated to fill. Contacted about these matters Rosenbluth made a variety of poor excuses and urged that these matters critical of Amnesty not be discussed in public but rather that MER should now try to distribute the Qana Report. The Amnesty professional staff on the other hand was much more circumspect and almost appologetic, apparently knowing very well the major problems within Amnesty when it comes to any matters relating to Israel.

Gary Sick's masquerade as an academic has many legitimate Middle East academics thinking they are involved with someone like themselves; rather than with someone whose covert and CIA connections run deep. "Gulf 2000" is Sick's well-funded information-gathering project that has enlisted many academics to work for and with it. It's nearly impossible of course to come up with the specific details about such matters when they relate to the CIA. The thicket of purposeful confusion, covert deceptions, and cut-out personalities and monies is quite substantial and purposefully designed to obfuscate. There are others in Washington long-involved with Middle Eastern affairs who are widely suspected of government or CIA entanglements while pretending to be independent -- Judith Kipper and James Zogby to name just two. Because of quite a few inquiries it should be mentioned that the MER LIE of the Week some weeks ago about Gary Sick and Gulf 2000 was sent to Sick a number of days in advance of it being sent out by MER. Whereas Sick had always responded promptly to other email from MER, he did not then and still has not denied the MER information. He has instead responded with the typical attempts -- behind-the- scenes and under-the-table of course -- to defame the messinger. Sick is in fact doing all he can to prevent those involved with "Gulf 2000" from getting and considering MER and from becoming involved in the new Committee On The Middle East.