The Palestinian Refugees

The following is an edited text of the presentations at the December 7, 1999, meeting of the Sadat Forum at Brookings, cohosted by Richard Haass, vice-president and director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, and Shibley Telhami, the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland.     

Evaluating the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa

Provides a review of Gibson’s (2004) evaluation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of South Africa. Offers a background to the TRC process then reckons with Gibson’s study in terms of his procedures, the context, the issue of “race”, the truth claims of the TRC, a digression on amnesty, and finally the link between truth and reconciliation. Concludes that this study offers substantial support for the TRC process. A review of James L. Gibson (2004) Overcoming Apartheid: Can Truth Reconcile a Divided Nation? New York: Russell Sage Foundation; Cape Town: HSRC Press, pp. 467.     

RURAL POLICY PROBLEMS: AN ILL-ATTENDED FIELD

The editors call for rural research and policy attention. Past research efforts, while laudatory, have been fragmented and have not directed broad attention to rural problems. Public policies have lacked both support and continuity. Present conditions, in terms of population trends and economics, mean an increasing need to focus on the national importance of rural areas.     

Technology transfer: Water purification,U.S. Army to the civilian community

The Logistics Support Laboratory at the Belvoir Research and Development Center is responsible for the development of water purification equipment for the field Army. Developing water purification systems for military use has led to technological breakthroughs which have benefitted the civilian community. Two examples are the evaluation of the Army's ERDLator for the decontamination of water polluted with asbestos fibers, and design of a plant for the soluble-sulfide precipitation of heavy metals from industrial wastewater.