VOL. XXXIV

NO. 10

10-DECEMBER-1990

The Political Scene

The Americans for once came up with a surprise in the Gulf crisis byannouncing that they would invite the Iraqi Foreign Minister to Washington andsend the Secretary of State to Baghdad, but the Iraqis seized the initiativeagain when they decided to release all the foreign hostages. Both gestures aresusceptible to being interpreted by the other side as a sign of weakness, whichmay complicate matters further. The Americans, however, insist that...