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The United States policy of containing Iran has run its course. Given the geopolitical changes that have swept the Middle East since the Gulf war, continuing on that course would not only destabilize our allies, but undermine our strategic interests in the region. The Clinton administration must now change its adversarial policy toward Iran and initiate a process of "passive engagement" that could lead to normalization of relations between the two countries.

The U.S. policy of dual containment of Iran and Iraq has run its course. Given the geopolitical changes that have swept the Middle East since the Gulf War, continuing the same policy would only destabilize our allies and undermine our strategic interests in the region.

The primary obstacle that stands in the way of peace between Israel and Syria is the problem of "security, both real and imagined.

Israel demands early warning stations on the Golan Heights following the withdrawal of its forces. Syria refuses to meet these demands. While these positions rest officially on security considerations, they are rooted deep in the national psyches of both Israel and Syria.

Only the United S

A comprehensive peace between Israel and the Arab states can be achieved only with Syria's full participation. Such a peace will considerably enhance regional stability, which in turn is in the best strategic interests of the United States. Thus, if stationing American troops on the Golan Heights to monitor the Israeli-Syrian borders becomes the only remaining prerequisite to peace, then the Clinton administration and the Republican Congress should accept this opportunity.

President Clinton's decision to come to the Middle East was courageous, wise and timely. Although the visit was occasioned by the signing of the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty, it will have far-reaching implications on the Middle East's new emerging order. The cynicism that surrounds the president's motivation notwithstanding, the president has seized a historic opportunity to further Arab-Israeli peace, which is vital to American strategic interests.

From every indication, the creation of a Palestinian state is inevitable. The Gaza-Jericho agreement provides only the first stage in the long road toward statehood. Israel and the United States would be well advised to accept this inevitable development and help the Palestinians establish institutions for democratic rule.

On his maiden visit to the Middle East as United States secretary of state, Warren Christopher should lay the foundation for the revival of the Arab-Israeli peace talks without the deportees' cloud hanging over the next round of peace negotiations. It is far better to postpone the resumption of the peace talks by another two or three months, provided that the question of the expulsion is settled and all the deportees have been returned. The US-Israel agreement to allow 100 deportees to return home, with the rest to follow suit by the end of 1993, is flawed and impractical.