Inside Report (2)

Iraq's already strained relations with its neighbor, Syria, are turning worse -- and other Arab hard-liners are feeling Iraqi ire. Baghdad his intensified radio and newspaper propaganda attacks on the regime of Syrian leader Hafez Assad, according to Western monitors, giving detailed accounts of anti-Assad activities. And Iraq sounded a loud protest this week over a recent meeting of Arab hard-liners, hosted by Libya, in which Iran participated.

Iraq's relations with Libya had been improving. But Libyan ambivalence toward Iraq's war with Iran (now in its second indecisive year) may cause problems between the two Arab countries. Diplomats see Iraq as moving away from ties with the Soviets, Libya moving closer to Moscow.m