THE ATTACK ON KHARG: A CHANGE IN POLICY?

Although it now appears that last week's Iraqi air attack on Iran's Kharg Island oil terminal has failed to interrupt Iranian oil exports to any significant degree (see page A2), it is arguable that in the longer term the extent of the damage to the Kharg installations may prove to be of less importance than the fact that the raid took place at all.

Since the beginning of the Gulf war nearly five years ago, attempts to explain Iraq's...