Notebook: The Scoop

Fund-raising: Ready or Not, Here We Don't Come

By J.F.O. McAllister/Washington

(TIME, Aug.18) -- Where, oh, where is Charlie Trie? Congressional investigators have been eager to question the former Little Rock restaurateur and friend of Bill Clinton's who appears to have funneled foreign money to the Democrats. Trie hightailed it to China when the scandal heated up. A month ago, frustrated G.O.P. Congressman Dan Burton asked the President to seek China's help in locating Trie. Lo and behold, two weeks ago, Beijing gave U.S. diplomats the name of the hotel Trie was holed up in, and they passed that along to Burton. But that hasn't permitted investigators to get any closer to their quarry. China considers Trie to be in the country legally, and the U.S. has no right to compel his testimony while he's there. Burton will certainly ask for more help from the Administration and Beijing in coaxing Trie to talk. But you won't find the Clinton camp up nights worrying about Charlie. "We will continue to cooperate and relay any requests he [Burton] may have," says a senior State Department official.

Central Asia: The Great Game, the 1990's Version

By Dean Fischer/Washington

(TIME, Aug.18) -- The Clinton Administration's decision not to oppose a $1.6 billion plan to build a natural-gas pipeline through Iran is a signal that the U.S. wants to improve relations with the Islamic regime. "It's the flip side of sanctions," says a White House official--an inducement to Iran (which wants the pipeline) to stop supporting terrorism, halt its attempts to acquire weapons of mass destruction and tone down its opposition to the Arab-Israeli peace process. White House officials say they're monitoring the performance of newly inaugurated Iranian President Mohammed Khatami for favorable signs. It's all part of a modern version of Rudyard Kipling's "The Great Game"--the 19th century competition between Russia and Britain for influence in Central Asia. Today the prize is access to the Caspian Sea's pool of 200 billion bbl. of oil. But tapping that will require construction of the pipeline network. The U.S. hopes Iran will recognize that it is in its own interest to become a player so that it will qualify for much needed Western investment.