Informed Sources

Fear of Falling Oil Prices

WASHINGTON -- France and other U.S. Gulf War allies are eager to win contracts to help rebuild Iraq and want the U.N. to lift sanctions against Baghdad so it can resume exporting oil. But PRESIDENT CLINTON opposes the move -- and not just because Iraq remains a threat. If Iraq starts exporting oil, Administration energy experts warn, the price for crude could fall by nearly half, to $11 per bbl. That would spell trouble for volatile and financially strapped oil exporters such as Russia and Saudi Arabia -- and for 60 oil-patch lawmakers, who begged Clinton for new tax breaks in a White House meeting last week.

Don't Call Us, We Won't Call You

WASHINGTON -- Early last week, with the crisis in North Korea escalating, President Clinton tried to call Chinese President JIANG ZEMIN to persuade the Chinese to put pressure on Pyongyang. The Chinese, however, wouldn't take the call. The Chinese Foreign Ministry explained in a cable that Beijing did not wish to conduct diplomacy by telephone. Baffled, the White House went back to diplomatic channels.

Let's Get Presidential

WASHINGTON -- Fearing that news of Whitewater and sexual-harassment charges could erode public confidence in PRESIDENT CLINTON'S character, advisers are urging him to watch his temper and avoid swearing. "It's not easy," says one high Administration official. "The President uses the F word a lot."