Abroad

Baghdad Up the Escalator The imminent arrival of five French Super-Etendard fighter planes equipped with the deadly Exocet missile of Falkland Island fame is anticipated here with ominous satisfaction. These weapons could seriously alter the character of the three-year-old Iraq-Iran war, converting its long stalemate into an international crisis. France is deeply committed to financing the Iraqi military machine, and the new aircraft will give the Iraqis an immense advantage over their opponents. Specifically, the Super-Etendards will be capable of ranging over vast stretches of the Persian Gulf. Their air-to-ship missiles, which blew more than one British warship out of the water in the South Atlantic, could do the same to the biggest of the international tankers. The planes have in-flight refueling capacity, which means they could dominate the northern Gulf and freely launch attacks on Kharg Island, where the biggest Iranian oilloading facilities are located. Blowing up a tanker at Kharg could spark an immense conflagration. By extension, such tactics could close the narrow straits that form the mouth of the Gulf by the simple expedient of sinking ships as blockades. President Carter, while in office, said that if the straits were closed, the United States would act; nothing has happened since to change that position. Other nations’ warships, notably French and British, would also inevitably be affected if supplies from the Gulf were cut off. Insurance rates would skyrocket, and commercial shipping lines would refuse to risk their property and the lives of their crews to load oil in the vicinity of the Gulf. Some observers say that the chief value of the French planes in Iraq is to blackmail Iran into settling the war that has cost Iraq so much money and prestige. Nevertheless, the introduction of so much new military potential into the area is seen as a cause for alarm.

Bogotá Hispanidad The great colonial fortress of Cartagena, the bastion and treasure house of the Spanish Main, is celebrating the 450th anniversary of its foundation by the soldiers of the Conquest. Who should be the guest of honor of the Republic of Colombia but Felipe, Prince of the Asturias and heir to the throne of Spain? Tall, slender, poised beyond his 15 years, wearing the badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece, the prince won the admiration of the descendants of his ancestors’ once far-flung American empire. “You can be proud of your prince,” novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, not notably a royalist, told Spanish journalists. “He has carried out the duties of his father, the king, and we are proud that it is here at Cartagena that he has had his international ‘coming out.’ ” Meanwhile the father in question, King Juan Carlos, was named winner of the first Simon Bolivar prize, given by UNESCO for outstanding contributions toward international understanding, because of his “symbolic acts on behalf of Hispanic reconciliation.” The king has also traveled widely in South America. New emphasis is thus being attached to the historic, cultural, and emotional ties between Spain and its former possessions in the Western Hemisphere.

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Baghdad Up the Escalator The imminent arrival of five French Super-Etendard fighter planes equipped with the deadly Exocet missile of Falkland Island fame is anticipated here with ominous satisfaction. These weapons could seriously alter the character of the three-year-old Iraq-Iran war, converting its long stalemate into an international crisis. France is deeply committed to financing the Iraqi military machine, and the new aircraft will give the Iraqis an immense advantage over their opponents. Specifically, the Super-Etendards will be capable of ranging over vast stretches of the Persian Gulf. Their air-to-ship missiles, which blew more than one British warship out of the water in the South Atlantic, could do the same to the biggest of the international tankers. The planes have in-flight refueling capacity, which means they could dominate the northern Gulf and freely launch attacks on Kharg Island, where the biggest Iranian oilloading facilities are located. Blowing up a tanker at Kharg could spark an immense conflagration. By extension, such tactics could close the narrow straits that form the mouth of the Gulf by the simple expedient of sinking ships as blockades. President Carter, while in office, said that if the straits were closed, the United States would act; nothing has happened since to change that position. Other nations’ warships, notably French and British, would also inevitably be affected if supplies from the Gulf were cut off. Insurance rates would skyrocket, and commercial shipping lines would refuse to risk their property and the lives of their crews to load oil in the vicinity of the Gulf. Some observers say that the chief value of the French planes in Iraq is to blackmail Iran into settling the war that has cost Iraq so much money and prestige. Nevertheless, the introduction of so much new military potential into the area is seen as a cause for alarm.

Bogotá Hispanidad The great colonial fortress of Cartagena, the bastion and treasure house of the Spanish Main, is celebrating the 450th anniversary of its foundation by the soldiers of the Conquest. Who should be the guest of honor of the Republic of Colombia but Felipe, Prince of the Asturias and heir to the throne of Spain? Tall, slender, poised beyond his 15 years, wearing the badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece, the prince won the admiration of the descendants of his ancestors’ once far-flung American empire. “You can be proud of your prince,” novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, not notably a royalist, told Spanish journalists. “He has carried out the duties of his father, the king, and we are proud that it is here at Cartagena that he has had his international ‘coming out.’ ” Meanwhile the father in question, King Juan Carlos, was named winner of the first Simon Bolivar prize, given by UNESCO for outstanding contributions toward international understanding, because of his “symbolic acts on behalf of Hispanic reconciliation.” The king has also traveled widely in South America. New emphasis is thus being attached to the historic, cultural, and emotional ties between Spain and its former possessions in the Western Hemisphere.