World Notes IRAQ

Backed by his chemical-weapons arsenal and million-man army, Iraq's Saddam Hussein has become increasingly belligerent. But the Arab world was taken by surprise last week when Saddam rattled his saber at fellow OPEC members Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. He accused the two countries of "stabbing Iraq in the back with a poisoned dagger" by conspiring with the U.S. to glut the world oil market. By some estimates, lower oil prices caused by overproduction have cost Iraq, whose debt is as much as $70 billion, some $14 billion in lost revenue. Iraq also charged Kuwait with stealing oil for the past decade and threatened to retaliate with force if necessary.

Despite the warning, an Iraq-Kuwait war is considered unlikely. U.S. officials believe Saddam's verbal blast is part of his campaign to dominate the Arab world and a hard-nosed tactic to force other oil producers to back Iraq when OPEC ministers hold their biannual summit this week in Geneva. Still, officials do not dismiss the possibility that Saddam might back his words with action.